Grinding Concrete

[nterry1957]

Ok, I went against some advice and poured my floor myself with some help from family. I just couldn't afford what anyone wanted to charge for the pour. The finished turned out ok but we did it in 3 different pours and the seams look terrible. In fact one seem is probably 1/4" uneven.

Can I grind the entire floor to level out the seams? is this feasible? I know you can rent floor grinding equipment but is it designed to take off that much material?

The floor is 40x40 5" thick with fiber.

Thanks in advance.

NT

 

[Armorpoxy]

Hi, 1/4" in the grinding world is very, very large and difficult to do. You will need a good, commercial grinder with a low grit # diamond pads like #6 or #18. Be prepared to grind and grind and grind, and when you hit aggregate, that will really slow you down.

 

[dadsEH]

This is not a diy project.
why not put another layer of concrete on it?

 

[nterry1957]

Not what I wanted to hear...

The building is half built... Pouring more would be out of the question. I reckon I may just have to live with it.

I'm going to bring a concrete guy over to get eye balls on it and give me his opinion.

 

[TheGunCollector]

They make a machine specifically for this. It's called a planer and will remove much more than a grinder. You'd need a grinder to smoothe it out afterwards.

 

[Armorpoxy]

Also, use of a good 7" hand grinder with a diamond cup wheel could help greatly to knock down the uneven lip. It may not be perfect, but it will help.

 

[MagKarl]

For small areas I would also suggest an angle grinder with diamond wheel to better blend the transitions if you are comfortable. I've used a $10 flat diamond wheel from HD with surprisingly good results.

 

[nterry1957]

Of course if I do this, I'll be going with some sort of coating for the floor so it won't look so bad.

 

[Trey T]

I would hand grind the seam to level and feather it out about 6". I wouldnt fuss over 1/4" trying to level the entire floor out though .... sounds OCD to level out such a large space.

how does the floor function now? is there a trip hazard for 1/4" difference b/t the seam?

 

[nterry1957]

I would hand grind the seam to level and feather it out about 6". I wouldnt fuss over 1/4" trying to level the entire floor out though .... sounds OCD to level out such a large space.

how does the floor function now? is there a trip hazard for 1/4" difference b/t the seam?

It will function ok and I don't think it's a trip hazard. Just looks bad. I poured it myself and that seam just didn't come out right.

I wouldn't grind the whole floor. Just the seam and about 1-2 feet on one side of the seam.

 

[Bob Warner]

I recently had a slab poured and they left a huge raised area in 1/4 of the floor. They guy that poured it checked it and said he missed it but would fix it. The next day he showed up with this
http://www6.homedepot.com/tool-truck-rental/Concrete_Grinder_10/50200-HD/index.html
and in about three hours the floor was flat, really flat. The only problem with this is that when ground down you also ground through the rocks in the mix and you can see them. Not a problem for me as I just painted the floor with garage floor paint.

This will take out your 1/4" without a problem, mine was more than 1/4" in a pretty large area.

Rent it for 4 hours and ask them if you can just add 4 more hours with a phone call, that is what the guy did for mine. He ended up renting it longer because of the drive.

There are several Home Depots in my area and all of them had this machine available to rent.

Easy as using a floor buffer. Just put a fan blowing on the area cause it does raise a lot of dust.

 

[lakeroadster]

Easy as using a floor buffer. Just put a fan blowing on the area cause it does raise a lot of dust.

And wear a respirator... "Concrete contains a compound called crystalline silica, which when exposed in the air can be a major health concern".. read more here: http://www.forconstructionpros.com/article/10116869/breathe-safe-when-concrete-cutting

 

[nterry1957]

I recently had a slab poured and they left a huge raised area in 1/4 of the floor. They guy that poured it checked it and said he missed it but would fix it. The next day he showed up with this
http://www6.homedepot.com/tool-truck-rental/Concrete_Grinder_10/50200-HD/index.html
and in about three hours the floor was flat, really flat. The only problem with this is that when ground down you also ground through the rocks in the mix and you can see them. Not a problem for me as I just painted the floor with garage floor paint.

This will take out your 1/4" without a problem, mine was more than 1/4" in a pretty large area.

Rent it for 4 hours and ask them if you can just add 4 more hours with a phone call, that is what the guy did for mine. He ended up renting it longer because of the drive.


There are several Home Depots in my area and all of them had this machine available to rent.

Easy as using a floor buffer. Just put a fan blowing on the area cause it does raise a lot of dust.

Thanks Bob! Maybe there is some hope after all!