Sloped concrete garage floor replacement

[Rua69z]

Hello, I am new to the site and this is my second post. The first was introducing myself in the new member area.
Hopefully it’s appropriate to jump in and ask a few questions as I have many! I have bought a new home and it is our project for the next few years. We are at the point we are ready to tackle a tuck under garage conversion and I am fairly comfortable doing much of the remodel work myself.
The floor today is in tough shape it is cracked and sunken in several places plus it has a six in drop from front to back. I am looking to jack hammer out the old and level the ground and prepare for a new floor. I have been kicking around the idea of replacing the floor with wood joists and flooring and am looking for opinions and comments to start. I will be adding a family room, bathroom, and laundry room in it. It has a main heat duct running through it with access to water and sewer. It does have a steel beam running through the middle that I am fine with. In bringing the floor to level I would like to drop the front the six inches for more headroom rather than add to the rear. I live in the county and in talking to the inspection department there are no permits required for work on the inside of your home but obviously I want it done right. Sorry for the long post but I am trying to cover some of the challenges.

 

[xyster101]

Sounds like a plan. Hard to picture without pictures.
Once the old concrete is removed, what is underneath? Typically stone of some sort. I don't know if you should put wood framing directly on stone and it would need to be pressure treated.
I would think you need to level the stone and pour a new concrete pad, maybe not at thick. Once a vapor barrier is installed on the floor you could add a wood floor over the concrete.
Or put a vapor barrier over the stone and build up with joists attached to the walls?

 

[Rua69z]

I had a friend that did a treated basement with a wood floor it did away with the feeling of concrete plus easy access for other projects. I was thinking of putting concrete runners I guess at 8’ to span a 2x6 treated joist that would basically be at ground level? I am wondering first if I should tear out the concrete as a start point. It is cracked and sloped plus I’m sure there is no vapor barrier underneath. Someone had suggested to rip a 2x6 to level off the floor but I think it gets the headroom too low along with the existing issues

 

[bczygan]

Concrete...period!

 

[MScott]

Since you are converting this space from garage to living area, it would not be necessary to use a full 4-6" concrete floor but I do think that a concrete floor is a good idea to help level the floor. If you prefer not to be living directly on concrete, you can use Dricore panels over the concrete. These provide a level of vapour barrier, insulation and isolation so the floor is more comfortable without losing as much headroom as a conventional wood floor.

 

[Rua69z]

Ok thanks for the reply. I was not excited about the wood floor idea anyway. Thanks for the input.

 

[cvairwerks]

Rather then jack hammering it all out, I'd think about going with a concrete saw and cutting it up. Might take a little longer, but you would then be able to mark out what needs to be removed and not run the risk of breaking it up beyond what must be replaced. You'd have to bust up only one small section to get to where you could lift out the cut pieces. Also much cleaner in the long run. Concrete dust will go everywhere and that means in the house too, when you break it up dry with a jack hammer.