Carpeting a grotty concrete floor - suggestions?

[graduate_owner]

Hi all,
The concrete floor in my hallway is really poor. I can easily gouge out saucer sized holes with a screwdriver, it is that weak. The underlying readymix is fine. The floor was laid over 20 years ago and we just had offcuts of carpet on it as a temporary (?) covering while other jobs were being completed. However we now want to have a new carpet laid at a cost of over £700. Obviously I want a tidy job done and I am concerned that nailed-in carpet grips will not hold.
What are my options here?
Do carpet fitters use self adhesive gripper strips in cases like this? If so should I strengthen the floor first ( and with what - self levelling compound, epoxy type stuff) or just seal with PVA?

Or am I on a losing wicket here, and the only solution is to dig up the floor ( easy job) and have it re-laid properly? My wife REALLY does not fancy that.

Any suggestions?

K

 

[RogerS]

I'd bite the bullet and remove the grotty stuff.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

When are you moving?

 

[graduate_owner]

Hah, yes, move and leave the problem for someone else. However I would like to enjoy a few more years here before I get too old to manage the grounds maintenance so I would like to have a decent job done. I just don't fancy all the mess involved in re-laying the floor.
There is another issue, and that is finding a builder who will (a) do a good job - I know of several locals who have paid top price and had really shoddy work done, some by builders who were recommended. (b) come when they promise to, as I don't want to dig out the floor then be kept waiting for months while living in a mess.

Problems, problems. But what I want is solutions, solutions.

K

 

[sunnybob]

everytime I have made a "quick fix" I have regretted it again and again and again.

You know whats the right way to fix this existing botch. Send her to her mothers for the weekend and just do it.

 

[Racers]

I read the last line wrong, my mind switched the second letter in botch to something else.

But +1 on the do it right.

Pete

 

[RobinBHM]

Is it a screed floor? if so and if you are removing it ready for the new, then maybe best to find a screeder or plasterer rather than a general builder.

The problem is you will need to leave a few weeks to dry before laying a carpet.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I had a really awful concrete hall floor. The carpet fitter said he'd stick the gripper down and so long as I used a good thick underlay and carpet it wouldn't matter. It didn't for ten years til I sold the house.

 

[MattRoberts]

The concrete in my garage is terrible - bumps and dips and generally like the surface of the moon. I slapped a load of rubber paint on it thinking it would smooth things out and be this perfect rubber floor by the end of it. Needless to say I now have a bumpy peeling half rubber half concrete mess.

The moral of the story is : do it properly first time

 

[joethedrummer]

Dig up the loose areas, seal with PVA, latex with grano chippings to fill low areas,second coat latex self levelling to finish. Latexing might be best left to your floorlayer. OR, just do it properly. dig it all up and get a screeder in.

 

[GPB]

If the screed is thick enough, could you dig it up and replace with a chipboard floor, fixed to battens with insulation between?

 

[dzj]

Maybe a plywood subfloor over the screed?

 

[graduate_owner]

My thanks to everyone for their suggestions. I have had a word with a reliable local plasterer who will be calling in within the next few days to assess the situation. My wife is gradually coming around to accepting that the house will be in a mess for at least another month, depending on drying time of new concrete.
I had considered covering with boards but it would raise the floor too much and have too many knock on effects.

I await the outcome of the plasterer' assessment.

K

 

[HappyHacker]

You can get fast curing screeds that do not need time to dry out. You would have to some web searching as I cannot remember the names but have seen adverts for them. Perhaps more expensive than concrete but lets you get on quickly. I agree withe the others sort it out now otherwise you will be messing around for years, I speak from experience :-(

 

[graduate_owner]

There I was, all psyched up ready to dig up the floor and have to wait 5-6 weeks for the new screed to dry, when along came my plasterer friend. "Nowhere near as bad as I was expecting" he said. "I've seen much worse than this" he said.
I was very pleased to hear that. My wife was even more pleased, with the images of mess, clutter and vast clouds of dust dissolving away from her eyes.
The solution we have all agreed on (plasterer, carpet fitter, wife and myself) is self levelling compound to stabilise the floor, especially around the edges, and self adhesive carpet grip strips. The bulk of the floor can stay as it is. So glad someone suggested asking a plasterer.

Thanks everyone.

K

 

[RogerS]

I don't want to rain on your parade, K, but is he proposing applying self-levelling compound over what is already there? Or are you still removing the friable stuff that you mentioned in your OP first? I do think that you need to do that otherwise I think the self-levelling compound will eventually break because of the friable stuff underneath. I could be wrong - and I hope I am for your marital bliss.

 

[graduate_owner]

He seems to think the screed is firm and not as friable as to warrant removal, and the self levelling compound will provide a good surface for the grippers to stick to. I'm reasonably confident this will be an acceptable solution. I certainly hope so.

K