concrete finish

[Pulpo]

I'm soon to do some concreting for the workshop, come garage floor.

I cannot see myself covering the concrete for the workshop.
It will stay bare concrete.

A wood trowel I believe leaves a slightly rough surface.

A broom leaves a rougher surface.

And a steel trowel leaves the surface smooth (and slippery)

Any thoughts on what would be best or preferred.

So if you had the choice what would you choose.

Regards

Pulpo


:confused:

[kenmil]

Mine was completed a couple of months ago by my next door neighbour (who is a concrete contractor) and he used a wood trowel. I have no problem with the texture of the surface and it is certainly not slippery, so I would suggest that is the best compromise between rough and smooth.:D

[sandman]

A compromise b/w slippery & non slippery???????????
I have found that it's worth all the extra work to helicopter it to a very smooth surface as you won't believe how much easier it is to sweep / clean being non abrasive surface. (you may even do a mix of bondcrete & mop it onto surface as they do in stores etc with bare concrete. You will find it's no where near as slippery as you would think!
This is in my humble opinion the best finish for a shed floor.
Good luck, Sandman.;)

[Gino]

Hi Pulpo.

I made the concrete in my shed smooth as I figued it would be easyer to sweep as well as wheel things around.
I felt that I did not need to make it slightly rough as it would not be getting wet hence I didn't need the tracktion.
On the other hand my outdoor concrete is semi rough as I will need the traction when it is wet.
Just one more thing I also purchased some sealer but after reading the data sheet it warned against sealing smooth surfaces as it would make them more slipery.

G

[soundman]

I vote for helicopter finish.
Any good contractor should be able to produce a variety of finish by controlling the moisture content (by waiting or hosing) at the time of trowling.

My floor is helicoptered but not shinny.


BIGGGG HINT

Make sure they put plastic sheet down before they lay the slab.

many will shortcut on sheds, they did on mine & I have constant moisture problems. Rust, mildew ect.

[Baz]

I will be painting my (fairly smooth) concrete floor with non slip paving paint. Figure it will be a lot easier to keep clean, have a mat on order (Carba-Tec) to stand on in front of the lathe.
Cheers
Barry

[John Saxton]

Hi, generally speaking when laying off the floor finish consider perhaps a slightly rough texure to compensate for spills/slipping as well as the variety of footwear you're likely to use over the years.
Personally I would hazard a guess that perhaps floating off with a wooden trowel would give you a finish to provide a modicum of traction if needing to move machinery etc around.
Far better to have purchase when you want it than to worry about the sweeping up of waste.
Just my 2c worth.Good luck in your endeavours.
Cheers:)

[Gino]

just one more thought for you pulpo.

When they did my floor, instead of having the usual lines pressed into the concrete which are placed so that if there is going to be a crack it will crack on the line. Instead mine is completely flat and in place of the pressed lines in the ground I they put this thin metal instead which does the same job as the above, only thing is when you do need to wheel things around the object you are wheeling woun't get caught in the pressed line.
I know they are not called pressed lines, I just cant at the moment remember the proper name.

G

[kenmil]

If the floor is reinforced with steel mesh - as it should be unless it is quite small - there is no need for jointing.

[trevorZ]

The grooves in concrete can be called contraction joints and go for a helicopter (steel) finish, more than enough traction for a shed and a bit easier to sweep clean.

[Pulpo]

Thank you all for your insight.

I will probably go with a steel finish.

I tried using a helicopter once not straight forward also it would not be cheap as it would be needed on a few occasions.

If the surface is too smooth I may paint it with some traction paint.

However, after a disastrous weekend, with little going to plan.
Trying to dig holes through rocks is not fun.

The concreting has been delayed.

Some facts the area is 78m sq (8.4 cubic metres of concrete)
Yes it will have f72 steel mesh sitting on bar chairs.
Yes I will use a plastic barrier

I asked to the local contractor for a quote he wanted $5,250, the site was cleared and reasonably level.

Materials at a retail price including delivery, (concrete delivered)
$2,000.

Hence it’s going to be DIY. Because I lack the experience and expertise, it will be done in 4 sections, hopefully I'll only stuff up once.

I'll get to do some woodworking making the formwork.

Technically the hardest part is the expansion or someone mentioned contraction joints in the concrete.

I know I will use some sort of foam sponge between each concrete slab, which will sit on the steel mesh up against one side of the 1st slab of concrete

My question
Each section will be 3.5m * 6m is it necessary to have a groove in the middle of this slab? Prefer none.

Could I use a flat thin piece of steel? (Not exactly sure what this is)?

Any comments or thoughts or insight will be greatly received.

Regards

Pulpo