Power Floating Advice

Joined
4 Apr 2008
Messages
2,160
Reaction score
375
Location
Hertfordshire
Country
United Kingdom
Moving on with my self build extension and this weekend I plan to pour the concrete floor slab. This will be a finished floor over insulation so it has to be right.

I plan to power float the floor, so looking for advice from people who have experience of this.

the total area is around 40m2 and I've built up masonry to FFL.

HSS hire offer a float and also a finishing disc. This seems to imply that the finishing disc would be used after floating, but reading some articles they suggest that the pan is used first and then it's floated using ever increasing degrees of angle??

Advice please!
 
Sponsored Links
Blades tend to be for finishing, disk optional for rough smoothing.

Get the surface as level as you can with levelling board first. Timing is everything for when the surface is ready to float.
 
as above. get it wrong an youve got a problem.
why power float a small area?
why not get a couple of concrete guys in for the morning pour and they eat it up with or without any power stuff. youl need more hands for concrete pouring anywayesp if thers barrowin.
 
Why power float a domestic extension if you don’t mind me asking - I thought that was only for commercial/industrial purposes? I once had a large workshop power floated as we needed a tough finish for trolley jacks/axle stands etc. Are you just going to be walking on the finished power floated floor with no floor covering?
 
Sponsored Links
To answer the above questions, I'm happy to pour the concrete myself with the help of a friend, the same one who helped me pour the foundations. I'm sure as long as I've got the machine set up correctly and I begin floating at the correct time, I should get a good finish, and a lot better than I would do with a trowel.
Often it's easier to do a job yourself than try to find someone who is willing to turn up for such a small job (or at least that's what I've found lately).

Power floats aren't necessarily only used on large commercial / industrial projects. I've worked on sites where they power floated the concrete screeds on 3 bed houses, whose footprints weren't much more than 40m2 each.

As for the finishes, it's not decided 100% yet, but I might yet get the concrete polished, so in that case there won't be any additional floor covering. Even tiling, having a power floated finish will make tiling the floor easier.
 
Last edited:
Have a think about your floor finish as if you are to tile it after power floating it it'll need shot blasting or similar.

It's not hard to power float, don't be scared to get on the wet concrete. You can get on it earlier with the pan. It'll look a right mess but don't worry.
Don't float with water ontop.
Go at 90 degrees overlaping half and do the same number of passses.
If the machine is jumpy you have a high spot, so you'll have to do more passes.
Store the machine when not in use either off the concrete or a bit of floor which will noy be seen.
Expect to be working on it into the night.
 
Never seen the point of a PF floor in a domestic extension. Screed is the best method especially if you are doing a knock-through.

Concrete is tricky to work with at best. I have always shied away from PF floors because of the unpredictable nature of the curing process and the sheer hard work involved in achieving a lasting finish, that will all get covered in muck in any case.

Bonkers.
 
As an amateur, I agree with noseall. The first concrete floor I did at my place, I completely mucked up by trowelling it. I imagine you could ruin the flatness much more effectively with a power float, without experience. When I did a subsequent floor, I just screeded it with a long board, and left it. It was perfectly good for tiling on.
 

DIYnot Local

Staff member

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.


Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

 
Sponsored Links
Back
Top