Ranger Digital
Active Member
again i dont think he wants to level it, but slant it.
How to pour 1/2" of concrete on my basement floor, but slanted
- Thread starter IVB
- Start date
mustangcoupe
Senior Member
I agree You want to slant it a bit twards the sump. which should still be easey enough with thin angled boards and the screed method mentioned above.
IVB
Senior Member
I actually got a CQC'er who's going to be in my 'hood in a few weeks who knows about levelQuik, mortar, etc; he's going to stop by, check it out, and advise me on the simplest path forward. We may actually try and get it done while he's here given the room is so small, but if that doesn't work out i'll def contact you.
Photon
Active Member
Have you tested your home, especially the basement, for Radon? If you have that gas in your living space, now is the time to find out, because the cures for radon and ground water can be related. A drain tile, actually a perforated plastic pipe, around the inside of the basement footing under the slab connecting to the sump pit drains the water before it rises to the level of the floor. It also presents a method to extract Radon before it enters the living space. Leveling the floor might be solving just a part of the problem, and you will still have a wet floor if you rely on just that to get the water into the sump.
Photon
Active Member
Radon is a radioactive gas resulting from the decomposition of Urnaium. It is a problem for humans because it causes, or increases the likelihood of lung cancer. It is found in most parts of the country, and seems to occur almost randomly. One house may have it, and its neighbor might not. It occurs most often in areas with certain rock formations or faults (Oakland?) nearby. Home improvement stores around where I live have inexpensive test kits for Radon.
For homes with a Radon level above the "safe" EPA limit, you need to find a way for it to leave the area under your house without going through the occupied area. This is typically accomplished by installing a PVC vent pipe from under the basement slab up through the roof. It may or may not require a small fan. Any cracks in the basement floor are sealed, including the joint between the floor and wall. Then the pressure under the slab is slightly lower than above it, so the gas can't enter the living space. To ensure the sub-slab pressure is uniformly low, it is common to remove about 12-18 inches of the basement floor all the way around the perimeter. Then dig out the earth to the bottom of the footing. Lay a perforated black plastic pipe all the way around the basement and terminate in the sump crock. Then fill the trench with crushed rock and lay concrete. Caulk the floor-to-wall seam with urethane caulk. A seal cover goes over the sump, and a PVC pipe goes up through the house exiting above the roof line, or whatever your local code requires.
The same foundation perimeter drain system is used around here to remove ground water before it rises to basement floor level, so it is a simple addition to add the Radon vent. We have about four inches of gravel under the entire floor in Wisconsin homes, so water and Radon can easily flow to the perimeter drain, but I've read the perimeter drain is enough for most retrofits.
To summarize, the perimeter drain is an important part of the solution for both Radon and ground water. It would be a shame to put all the work into sloping your floor only to later discover you have Radon and still have to install the drain. Spend the $10 for a Radon test kit before you fix the water problem.
For homes with a Radon level above the "safe" EPA limit, you need to find a way for it to leave the area under your house without going through the occupied area. This is typically accomplished by installing a PVC vent pipe from under the basement slab up through the roof. It may or may not require a small fan. Any cracks in the basement floor are sealed, including the joint between the floor and wall. Then the pressure under the slab is slightly lower than above it, so the gas can't enter the living space. To ensure the sub-slab pressure is uniformly low, it is common to remove about 12-18 inches of the basement floor all the way around the perimeter. Then dig out the earth to the bottom of the footing. Lay a perforated black plastic pipe all the way around the basement and terminate in the sump crock. Then fill the trench with crushed rock and lay concrete. Caulk the floor-to-wall seam with urethane caulk. A seal cover goes over the sump, and a PVC pipe goes up through the house exiting above the roof line, or whatever your local code requires.
The same foundation perimeter drain system is used around here to remove ground water before it rises to basement floor level, so it is a simple addition to add the Radon vent. We have about four inches of gravel under the entire floor in Wisconsin homes, so water and Radon can easily flow to the perimeter drain, but I've read the perimeter drain is enough for most retrofits.
To summarize, the perimeter drain is an important part of the solution for both Radon and ground water. It would be a shame to put all the work into sloping your floor only to later discover you have Radon and still have to install the drain. Spend the $10 for a Radon test kit before you fix the water problem.
IVB
Senior Member
Well, one of the CQC'ers (Keith) extended his trip to CA so that he could help me with this job. We just spent 2 days going the concrete route as one corner turned out to be 3" lower than the center, plus that way we could slope it. It turned out great, but it started raining yesterday and I realized there's a crack in the foundation that's leaking water into that room. I may have found it, so my next job is to confirm that, get some of the foundation repair goop, and smear away. There are a couple of "low" spots, but that means 1-2mm, after which the water drains into the sump pump, so it's totally cool. Plus if I patch that foundation crack, water really shouldn't be coming into here anyway.
We even had enough concrete left over to repair my broken step
Check it out. Thanks Keith!
Before
After
We even had enough concrete left over to repair my broken step
Check it out. Thanks Keith!
Before
After
HAHA....this one made me chuckle....it took us a half day to get the materials and clean the floor!
Incidentally the pictures IVB posted don't do the changes justice. The floor went from having a 3" high hump near the middle to being virtually flat. We followed the previous control joints so hopefully that will be where it cracks. We couldn't figure out how to install the 2.35 screen and 7.1 surround sound but perhaps on the next trip....
