Pouring new concrete floor on top of old
Pouring new concrete floor on top of old
(OP)
I'm trying to find the best (and cost effective) way to replace 2 inch wood floor blocks. The blocks sit on a concrete reinforced floor. I currently pay about $25/sq foot to cut out the old floor, repack, and lay rebar and pour a new floor. I have about 25,000 square feet to do. I would like to lay 2 inches of concrete on top of the existing floor but I worry that if I do not select the correct materials and process the floor will fail.
Does anyone on this forum have a suggestion for methods/material selection?
Is there an asphalt grade that is suitable for factories. I bought some asphalt blocks from a company in Pennsylvania..these blocks are rated close to 1500psi. That might be OK for light forklift traffic...but these blocks have brittle edges and need a perfectly flat surface for installation.
Does anyone on this forum have a suggestion for methods/material selection?
Is there an asphalt grade that is suitable for factories. I bought some asphalt blocks from a company in Pennsylvania..these blocks are rated close to 1500psi. That might be OK for light forklift traffic...but these blocks have brittle edges and need a perfectly flat surface for installation.





RE: Pouring new concrete floor on top of old
How thick are the wood blocks?
What size are the wood blocks?
What is the condition of the wood blocks?
Do you know the condition and thickness of the concrete beneath the wood blocks?
What is the loading of the reconstructed floor?
Is the area temerature controlled?
RE: Pouring new concrete floor on top of old
What size are the wood blocks? 4in x 6in
What is the condition of the wood blocks? wood blocks are beat up. In a metalworking environment the wood blocks expand and contract with moisture resulting breakage and loose blocks. Its a poor worksurface for employees as well as for the fluids oils and water that it is exposed to.
Do you know the condition and thickness of the concrete beneath the wood blocks? at least six inches everywhere...condition is for the most part excellent....it is 70 years old...has some wear from multiple machine installations over the years...and some buried conduit.
What is the loading of the reconstructed floor? I don't have specifics...but some machinery is over 10k lbs...load distributed
Is the area temerature controlled? factory temps...some higher heat around furnaces...for the most part 60-80 degrees
RE: Pouring new concrete floor on top of old
Make sure that whatever weight you add can be supported by your base slab, if it is other than a soil supported slab.
RE: Pouring new concrete floor on top of old
Dik
RE: Pouring new concrete floor on top of old
As an alternative, you could install a bond break between the new concrete and the old. This is done in some concrete paving operations, know as whitetopping. For pavements, 1 or 2 inches of asphalt is most commonly used as the bond break. ACPA's website, www.pavement.com, has information on the process. There may be other bond breaks that could be used in your case, I'm just know sure what they would be.
RE: Pouring new concrete floor on top of old
You can also consider cutting joints in the old floor to cause future movement to occur there, but you'll have to cut them deep and you'll have to repair any cracks in the existing slab by epoxy injection or gravity feed if they're large enough. Then you can use a bonded topping on the floor and cut the joints directly over the underlying joints and you should get pretty good service.
RE: Pouring new concrete floor on top of old
One question though; wouldn't the existing concrete floor have to be very smooth for visquene to act as a bond break?
RE: Pouring new concrete floor on top of old
RE: Pouring new concrete floor on top of old
RE: Pouring new concrete floor on top of old
You may not even pay much more for it.
RE: Pouring new concrete floor on top of old
I've got quotes of $20-25/sqare foot to pull remove the old concrete and pour an entirely new floor. Our other options seem to be removing the wood blocks and filling (2 inches)with a Latex mix concrete and topcoat at $8.50/sq foot or 2inches of epoxy mortar mix with topcoat at around $12/sq foot.
RE: Pouring new concrete floor on top of old
RE: Pouring new concrete floor on top of old
RE: Pouring new concrete floor on top of old
I have seen this in heavy duty repair shops for steel tracked equipment. No need to wait for curing of concrete is one of the reasons it is used.
Dick