Posted by GL on June 17, 2000 at 07:00:15:
inches of new concrete on top.
You are going to have to get a cement mason to do this so you might as well start calling them and getting quotes. Tell them what is wrong and ask for prices, there may be some new fix I never heard of but I doubt it.
CRAPPY concrete job, fixable? - Posted by Jeff
Posted by Jeff on June 17, 2000 at 01:42:16:
I found out yesterday my handy man concrete contractor missed his calling in life and should have been a baker putting on cake icing . Now I have a 24’ X 30’ piece of really,really rough and hilly garage floor. Is there a fix? Can another 1" or so be poured over it to smooth it out or do I need to get out the jack hammer. What kind of concrete will adhere.
Bad thing is the house is sold subject to the repair. thanks in advance, jeff
Re: CRAPPY concrete job, fixable? (long) - Posted by PatrickMD
Posted by PatrickMD on June 18, 2000 at 22:22:21:
Jeff, I was a state highway concrete inspector for quite a few years. Where consecutive days’ concrete pours meet is called a cold joint. There has to be a compressible material between the two surfaces (like the black soft line every so often in a sidewalk) to absorb movement due to thermal expansion and contraction. I’ve never seen a horizontal layer system on concrete. Even if you can avoid a law suit by negotiating a rebate, they’re never going to be happy with it and will slander your good name at every chance they get.
If you’re going to go ahead with the magic leveler, you might want to try to make a model test bed first before you invest any more money. You’d make a small square of wood whatever size your local landfill will let you dispose of cheaply, say 2’x2’. Make a wood frame the thickness of a 1" bed of gravel plus the concrete and the leveler. Then, on an out-of-the-way piece of level ground, place the frame on a slightly larger piece of heavy plastic. Place 1" of gravel in the frame. Pour the concrete floor thickness on the gravel. (Careful, less water is better. Too much water wrecks concrete!) Let it set 3 days. Then add the leveler and let it set per the directions. What you’ll be looking for are any signs of separation, cracking, shrinking or expanding of the different materials at different rates. It may take a couple weeks to see conclusive results. I’m not sure how much time you’ve got. I also can’t say if this model will really show what you need to know - that is, will it work? It’s good customer service to admit mistakes and then fix them. I’d pull it out, have it done right and consider it a lesson learned. Good luck.
Re: CRAPPY concrete job, fixable? - Posted by kf_az
Posted by kf_az on June 17, 2000 at 10:49:33:
There is a product that Home Depot sells that is a concrete leveler. It’s for tasks just like this. You just add water and pour it out over the surface. It finds the low and uneven spots with very little troweling. The good thing about the product is that you can just pour it over existing concrete and it can be as thin as like a half inch or inch. The downside is that it’s pretty pricey. Your surface area size on this project may be cost-prohibitive. You’ll have to compute how many bags you will need for the job vs. having a concrete guy/truck re-pour the slab and do it right. Good luck.
kf_az
Re: CRAPPY concrete job, fixable? - Posted by Laure
Posted by Laure on June 17, 2000 at 09:15:01:
I’d offer the buyers a choice. a discount on the purchase price…say 500.00, or fix the floor.
If the floor has as rough a surface as you say, and concidering it is brand new, I’d just go over it.
Be done and cut your losses and offer the buyer some cash.
Good luck.
Laure 
Re: CRAPPY concrete job, fixable? - Posted by Ben (OH)
Posted by Ben (OH) on June 17, 2000 at 07:36:58:
I’m a contractor and hear this kind of thing all the time. I don’t understand why folks get into these kind of problems. Basically you have to tear out, and do it right. But, since it sounds like you were looking for price in the first place you will end up spending more for a corrected job than if you did it right with a concrete finisher in the first place. You can go over it, absolutely. But, in a year or less it will fail. Pay for the best! It works.
Re: CRAPPY concrete job, fixable? - Posted by chris
Posted by chris on June 17, 2000 at 04:15:57:
Jeff-
Hopefully your guy doesn’t have the $$$ from this bothched job. Can you get him back out there to show him what he screwed up and how you want it to look? You may want to grab a couple of pictures now of the job he did as proof later on in case you need it.
-Good Luck,Chris
Re: CRAPPY concrete job, fixable? - Posted by Laure
Posted by Laure on June 17, 2000 at 20:31:39:
I’ve heard this stuff is great ! I’ve heard of it being used in commercial buildings
Laure