Concrete floor - Screwed up - Big time!

[sunmiller]

Hello all,
Im a newbe DIYer and learning the hard way! I just bought on old victorian house and had major damp issues so had to remove the quarry tiles in dining room aound 16sq ft. I put in DPM and insulation (Expanded polystyrene) and on top of that 2.5" of concrete. The plan was to level the concrete by eye then levelling compound on top of that. TUrns out im about 1.5" to high in the middle graduating down to the perimeter. I basically gotta get the floor down and below the level to start applying the levelling compound but what is the best way to cut it down? The concrete has set and is now pretty hard..... Help!

 

[IJWS15]

Hammer & Chisel, SDS drill, windy hammer . . .

Sooner you start the better - the concrete is getting harder day by day.

 

[sunmiller]

I have finally decided the whole lot has gotta be ripped up! No way around it really. Once it's ripped up, instead of concreting im going to screed it all. Going to hire out a Kango to rip it all up! ArghHHHHH! Oh how life challenges sometimes.....

 

[mac391]

Slow down kid,,,

You don't have to take it all up unless there is a definate height restriction, a 40mm high spot can be levelled using screed and aggregate.

 

[r896neo]

You will probably find a heavy sledge makes a quicker job than a kango

 

[BIGdanTHEplasterer]

if i was you id get two lads in there with some concrete plainers and take the high point down a bit

 

[sunmiller]

Yes, i've looked into concrete planers/scabblers and they all are only designed to literally take off a couple of mm. I dont think there are any that would take off up to 40mm. I also dont think levelling compound is designed to bulk up floors, it's more designed for filling in minor indentations up to a couple of mm. Also screed has a minimum depth which in some areas i wont need more than say 10mm. If i start chipping it out here and there and then patching it up with the above compounds it will not be a very stable base and eventually crack up. Unless there are any other suggestions i reckon it's all gonna have to be taken up...

 

[will2000]

Yes, i've looked into concrete planers/scabblers and they all are only designed to literally take off a couple of mm. I dont think there are any that would take off up to 40mm. I also dont think levelling compound is designed to bulk up floors, it's more designed for filling in minor indentations up to a couple of mm. Also screed has a minimum depth which in some areas i wont need more than say 10mm. If i start chipping it out here and there and then patching it up with the above compounds it will not be a very stable base and eventually crack up. Unless there are any other suggestions i reckon it's all gonna have to be taken up...

mira x plan self levelling compound levels up to 50mm

good stuff

 

[sunmiller]

Good suggestion mate but not very cost effective as 1 25kg bag covers 0.29 sq meters at 50mm and i have 16sq meters! @£20 per bag id need 30-40 bags costing me over £600. Think the answer is to rip the bloody thing up!

 

[regsmyth]

What about using a grinder to cut into the concrete down to the depth required, then hammer and bolster them off (like chopping out a notch in timber).
If you keep the concrete damp, the dust will be minimal.