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Posted by Yo Yo Yo on July 7, 2007, 4:43 pm
While not a professional, I have used add-in mesh. It seems to work
okay save for the surface. Don't get me wrong - I think it's a great
idea, but getting a smooth surface with it is difficult at best.
-Alex
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> > > In a home I'm building I am planning to use "Superior Walls" which say
> > > they
> > > set directly on compacted stone rather than concrete footers. You then
> > > come
> > > in with the concrete for the basement slab. What I would like to achieve
> > > is
> > > a concrete look (finished that is) like the floor you see in Lowes with a
> > > sheen on it, totally smooth. I also certainly don't want to experience
> > > cracking in a basement slab either so consider this a two part question.
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> > > What are the techniques I need to specify to obtain this smooth finish
> > > like
> > > the floors in Lowes or Home Depot?
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> > > What is the best steps to take to achieve a basement slab that will not
> > > crack as easily as I may just keep the bare concrete as the floor rather
> > > than put carpet or some finished floor on top of it? At this point the
> > > home's width will be span by the Floor Trusses so there most likely will
> > > not
> > > be any load bearing down on the slab, in the middle, except stick framing
> > > walls we put up but none are expected to be load bearing walls.
>
> > > Thanks in advance for your answers
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> > If it was me I would provide minimum footers with those walls even though
> > they say that non are required. Use 8 inch deep and 12 inch wide with (2)
> > #4 rebars running continuous along the length of wall.
> > For the slab if you want to be conservative use a 5 inch deep slab on grade
> > with #4 rebars each way at mid depth at 18 inches on center. This would be
> > better than using welded wire fabric. Fabric mostly gets stepped on and
> > winds up close to the soil. Be sure that you provide a 4 inch gravel base
> > with vapor barrier on top of the gravel base prior to pouring the slab.
>
> > Good luck.
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> > CID...- Hide quoted text -
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> > - Show quoted text -
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> With Superior Walls, it is absolutely mandatory that a crushed rock
> footing be used; the "system" requires them. There are specific
> requirements for the width and depth of the footings to provide the
> necessary load bearing capabilities. Substituting with concrete
> footers, even though they can support the load, will void the Superior
> Walls warranty against water infiltration and will probably result in
> your building inspector failing you.
>
> As far as the slab goes, ditto what Chuck said. If you want a glass
> smooth finish, you'll need a good concrete guy with a power trowel.
> After they screed and hand-float the concrete, which is where most
> slabs would be considered done, they go over it with the power trowel,
> which is essentially like a big floor buffer. They continue to do
> this as the concrete sets, pushing the larger aggregate down into
> mixture, and when done properly the result is a floor like at Lowes or
> better. You can even rent one and do it yourself, but your results
> may vary.
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> The other thing that will help to prevent the floor from cracking is
> to use fiberglass reinforced concrete. This will typically cost you
> $5 to $10 more per yard of concrete, and it's usually done in place of
> the rebar, but doing both would give you a very strong slab. What I
> don't know is if you can still get a glass smooth finish with the
> stuff.- Hide quoted text -
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> - Show quoted text -
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