help needed- concrete flooring

[Ayesha]

Hi,
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I'm new to this site as well as to home renovation having just brought our first home 8 months ago and could really do with a little in sight into all your know how...please<O></O>
After looking at the options I think I want to use the concert floor under the old carpet and tiles as a finish and are wondering what my options are. Is it possible to have a thin layer of coloured concert laid on top of the existing floor and how hard will it to be to remove the tiles? What is the costs involved? and any other info you think is useful

Cheers
Ayesha

[cyberhonky]

the tiles will come up pretty easy with a shovel, the adhesive is the hard bit. i hired a kanga hammer (with a spade attachment) for the day to get rid of the adhesive. bloody messy job, 1/2 the house was covered in cement dust.

as for the putting a thin coat of cement on top, i dunno.

[johnc]

You can certainly put a thin plaster (render) coat on the floor providing it is a clean surface, i.e. no glue, dust or other rubbish on the surface. However what you will end up with is just a basic concrete floor which is fine if you want the room looking like the garage. There are different products that can be used but that is out of my area, some pre coloured and best laid by someone who has done it before, otherwise a sand cement mix works. A topping coat never has the strength of the concrete base and can be damaged (chipped or cracked) if heavy objects hit it.

John

[Master Splinter]

You can hire a concrete grinder from Kennards to give that 'exposed aggregate' finish that is popular at the moment. The exact look will depend on what your concrete mix is like. Can be sealed with either a clear or tinted finish.

You may have to re-do the skirting boards - sometimes they are not a good fit against the concrete, as the carpenters know that carpet or tiles will hide any gap they leave.

You'll also have to fill nail holes in the concrete from the carpet gripper strips, as well as filling any damage from removing the tiles. I'd recommend an epoxy glue for doing this - you can tint it to approximate the colour of the aggregate to hide it more,

[Ayesha]

Thanks for the advise,

Sound like we are best to pull up some of the carpet and see the condition of the concrete etc.

Just a couple more questions,
we have a 9month old baby and I'm wondering for how long should we keep her away for the house after the tile/glue removal and sanding has been done...sounds like a really messy job.

I'm even actually started going of the idea and are re-thinking the option of tiling. I'm i right to believe that we don't have to worry about removing the old tile glue in this case, just remove old tiles and lay new?

Cheers
Ayesha