How do I repair this solid floor

[mk2phil]

Our house has a solid floor. There's a section about 6" deep underneath the patio doors that seems to be raised by about 0.5" above the rest of the floor - its almost like a plinth.

You can clearly see it through the carpet and we're going to be having french doors fitted so we want to level it with the rest of the room.

Can I simply use a hammer and bolster chisel to chisel away the excess down to the sanme level as the rest of the floor and then patch up where necessary with a sand and cement mix to make it level?

OR should I chisel the floor out to slightly lower than where I want it and use self levelling concrete to get it level, and smooth it out with a metal trowel?

Any help much appreciated

 

[masona]

Is the other side the conservatory? If so, make sure the French door is exterior & not interior and locks conform to BS 3621, insurance reason

 

[Nige F]

those hands haven`t done much diy

 

[Kes]

Hi,

You appear to have the same problem as us, concrete subfloor that has sunk relative to the external wall. You can chip away the raised part and finish flush, but it probably won't be easy. Check the floor level in the conservatory, if it is level with your raised sill then I would leave it as it is. Alternatively you could build up a slow 'ramp' on your lowered floor to give a smooth transition, the difference doesn't seem that much to me.

Rgds.

 

[mk2phil]

haha! One is the missus and the other is mine - web designer afraid!

I couldn't really capture it in the photo but its pretty visible normally and pronounced when you step on it.

 

[noseall]

agree with kes. it is the differential movement between the floor slab and the inner leaf of the wall. you may even find a course of bricks just below the floor's surface. i would fettle these out to form a trough. line the trough with some dpm and fill with a dryish mix of sharp sand and cement. this can be rub floated and trowelled, level with the existing floor.

 

[mk2phil]

If I was to create a gradual ramp - or even chip away and then re-level what would I use to do it - not very good with sand and cement mixtures/concrete etc. Could I buy a ready mixed solution of the shelf from somewhere like wickes that just needs mixing with water - that'd suit me fine.

Mixing sand and cement together seems like it would just create a mixed powder! Surely I want concrete thats solid?

 

[noseall]

don't buy readymix bagged stuff 'cause it's shoite. when i say dryish i mean add enough water so that the mix just holds together. thats how the pro's mix floor screed anyhow.

it will set rock solid if you mix it 4:1 (sand-cement)