I've got a garden "shed" (made by roofing between the house and the
fence and adding a door) that's used for storing garden tools; it's
about 6m x 1.5m. The floor is a weak sand and cement mix but it's
becoming quite powdery so I was wondering what to do with it.

If I PVA the floor first, is a self-levelling screed likely to give a
good-enough surface for wheeling a lawn mower in/out?

Other ideas are paving or decking but these sound like a lot of hassle,
and more expense.

Nospam wrote:

I've got a garden "shed" (made by roofing between the house and the
fence and adding a door) that's used for storing garden tools; it's
about 6m x 1.5m. The floor is a weak sand and cement mix but it's
becoming quite powdery so I was wondering what to do with it.

If I PVA the floor first, is a self-levelling screed likely to give a
good-enough surface for wheeling a lawn mower in/out?

Other ideas are paving or decking but these sound like a lot of hassle,
and more expense.

I would have thought so.
--
Tim Watts

On Apr 9, 12:45*pm, Nospam wrote:
I've got a garden "shed" (made by roofing between the house and the
fence and adding a door) that's used for storing garden tools; it's
about 6m x 1.5m. The floor is a weak sand and cement mix but it's
becoming quite powdery so I was wondering what to do with it.

If I PVA the floor first, is a self-levelling screed likely to give a
good-enough surface for wheeling a lawn mower in/out?

Other ideas are paving or decking but these sound like a lot of hassle,
and more expense.

PVA dissolves outdoors.


NT

On 09/04/2012 23:00, NT wrote:
On Apr 9, 12:45 pm, wrote:
I've got a garden "shed" (made by roofing between the house and the
fence and adding a door) that's used for storing garden tools; it's
about 6m x 1.5m. The floor is a weak sand and cement mix but it's
becoming quite powdery so I was wondering what to do with it.

If I PVA the floor first, is a self-levelling screed likely to give a
good-enough surface for wheeling a lawn mower in/out?

Other ideas are paving or decking but these sound like a lot of hassle,
and more expense.

PVA dissolves outdoors.


NT

The PVA will only be to bind the surface of the sand/cement mix before
the screed is on it - although it will get damp from underneath.

Nospam wrote:

On 09/04/2012 23:00, NT wrote:
On Apr 9, 12:45 pm, wrote:
I've got a garden "shed" (made by roofing between the house and the
fence and adding a door) that's used for storing garden tools; it's
about 6m x 1.5m. The floor is a weak sand and cement mix but it's
becoming quite powdery so I was wondering what to do with it.

If I PVA the floor first, is a self-levelling screed likely to give a
good-enough surface for wheeling a lawn mower in/out?

Other ideas are paving or decking but these sound like a lot of hassle,
and more expense.

PVA dissolves outdoors.


NT

The PVA will only be to bind the surface of the sand/cement mix before
the screed is on it - although it will get damp from underneath.

If the slab is damp and/or you want bombproof, use SBR instead of PVA. It
penetrates (unlike PVA) and once set, it is 100% resistant to damp
degradation.
--
Tim Watts

On 10/04/2012 09:07, Tim Watts wrote:
Nospam wrote:

On 09/04/2012 23:00, NT wrote:
On Apr 9, 12:45 pm, wrote:
I've got a garden "shed" (made by roofing between the house and the
fence and adding a door) that's used for storing garden tools; it's
about 6m x 1.5m. The floor is a weak sand and cement mix but it's
becoming quite powdery so I was wondering what to do with it.

If I PVA the floor first, is a self-levelling screed likely to give a
good-enough surface for wheeling a lawn mower in/out?

Other ideas are paving or decking but these sound like a lot of hassle,
and more expense.

PVA dissolves outdoors.


NT

The PVA will only be to bind the surface of the sand/cement mix before
the screed is on it - although it will get damp from underneath.

If the slab is damp and/or you want bombproof, use SBR instead of PVA. It
penetrates (unlike PVA) and once set, it is 100% resistant to damp
degradation.

Only twice the price of pva now -it used to be a good deal more IIRC.
I still prefer the behaviour of pva in mortar mixes for everything bar
extreme conditions or very fine feathering. SBR doesn't really integrate
with mortar, and drops out without constant stirring.

On 09/04/2012 12:45, Nospam wrote:

If I PVA the floor first, is a self-levelling screed likely to give a
good-enough surface for wheeling a lawn mower in/out?

I thought normal self-levelling compound was specifically only
recommended and intended for use where there will some sort of floor
covering on top? ie, if so, it wouldn't be durable enough for what the
OP proposes?

David

Lobster wrote:

On 09/04/2012 12:45, Nospam wrote:

If I PVA the floor first, is a self-levelling screed likely to give a
good-enough surface for wheeling a lawn mower in/out?

I thought normal self-levelling compound was specifically only
recommended and intended for use where there will some sort of floor
covering on top? ie, if so, it wouldn't be durable enough for what the
OP proposes?

David

Stopgap 300HD does say "Not a wearing layer" but it's actually fairly hard.

A coat of floor paint would protect it - or dowse in dilute SBR, then it
will be like iron.
--
Tim Watts