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Hi y’all,
I’ve been lurking on here for awhile now, but am finally being driven from the shadows by a diy that I began a week ago.
I live in a first floor apartment in Sydney, built approx 1975-80. I’ve just pulled up the gross, manky carpet in the empty bedroom in favour of the concrete underneath. My aim is to seal/finish/paint/overlay the concrete in this room as a trial and if it’s (mostly) successful , I’ll get rid of ALL the gross, manky carpet (seriously, it’s yuuuuck).
Removing the carpet was the easy part as no adhesive had been used. However, I have a few concerns about the state of the concrete and am unsure of what next my steps should be!
SO FAR:
I believe the concrete is unsealed, as it’s rough, porous and absorbs water. I did a simple MVT test (see picture of coles bag duct taped to floor) and waited 3 days but there were no signs of condensation and the area that had been taped off wasn’t a darker colour. However there is a dark patch in the middle of the floor that is definitely moisture and it was there when I removed the carpet.
After repeated cleans, there were other darker areas like this as well although they’ve since dried out. I held the wet/dry vac over the main darker part for 30 seconds and it left a circle of lighter (drier) concrete when I removed it. (See pictures).
CLEANING PROCESS:
I used Clean n Easy Concrete & Driveway Cleaner (1L to 10L water) with a coarse broom and scrubbing brush and have done 2 passes with this (after letting it sit a while). I then used a metal scraper to remove as much of the paint, dirt and dark lumps of concrete as I could.
I mopped the floor with fresh water, used a wet vac to soak up the excess and have had a pedestal fan blowing on the floor (& the window open) for several hours. I just checked and it seems to be dry in there, except for that original dark spot 🤨
CURRENT STATUS...
I don’t want to keep using water in there in case I’m making things worse, plus I think the remaining paint would come off quite well with a Josco Abrasive Nylon Cup Brush or similar drill attachment (suggestions very welcome!)
REMAINING TASKS
- Fill tack holes, divots and low spots with Builders Quickset Concrete & sand (once set)
- scrape & smooth back dark, hard, raised patches of concrete (not sure what these are called, but pic in gallery)
- remove paint and stains with Joyco drill brush attachment
- hand sand entire surface so it’s smooth, uniform and ready for either sealing/paint/polish/top layer.
I haven’t decided coz I don’t know what I’ll be working with yet! 🤷♀️
Just before writing this, I was deep in the archives of the Hive-mind that is Bunnings Workshop 😃I figure I should take care of this concrete creature before jumping headfirst in to a kitchen reno, right? But WOW everyone! So many amazing diy’s here!!
Regardless of how my con-creature turns out, I’m looking forward to learning some stuff!!
Peace 🛠
That sounds like you have just about everything covered. As the self-leveller will find the level, you might need to run something across your door to stop it creeping out. Even some painter's tape run across the door would work. A little barricade if you will. You're only laying a layer a few millimetres thick so it shouldn't be too much of an issue. I believe you will need a trowel to help spread it around the room before it starts self-levelling itself.
Please let me know once you have placed your order and I will contact the store to verify everything is correct. If you show the special order team the webpage for Davco Lanko K11 CWA Part A + B they'll have everything they need. You would only need one bag.
Mitchell
I'll be back on the site on Friday and I'll be here over the weekend if you are thinking of giving it a go then. In the interim, I trust our helpful members will be able to answer any other questions you have.
Good luck!
Mitchell
Hi @Lumberhack,
I've reached out via private message to get some contact details from you. I'll then have the special orders team contact you if that's easier.
Mitchell
