How to make a simple uninsulated concrete floor

[Kalle1978]

I have a space under/next to the basement stairs (old cottage) that consists partly of concrete floor/wall and partly of soil/LECA pellets. I would like to cast an uninsulated concrete floor over the entire area to use as storage.

What is the recommended construction for this? Moisture from the ground is likely.

My idea was to dig out 10 cm, pour in LECA pellets, and then self-level a thin (20-50 mm) floor over the entire area (LECA + existing concrete) to achieve a continuous finished floor. Would that work?

 

[torparavgrund]

If there is one thing I can say with certainty that I regret in my past renovations, it's that I too often demolished too little and didn't go all the way.

My advice? Dig out 30 cm, add some capillary-breaking gravel, add suitable insulation, then concrete, then apply leveling compound over everything. To really make it complete, knock away the existing concrete (it goes faster than you think, and renting a proper jackhammer doesn't cost much for a day) and temporarily prop up the stairs with something. Trust me, your future self will thank you for spending a few extra days on this.

 

[Kalle1978]

If there's one thing I can definitely say I regret in my previous renovations, it's been that I've demolished too little and not gone all the way.

My advice? Dig out 30 cm, add some capillary-breaking gravel, add suitable insulation, then concrete, then self-leveling compound over the whole thing. To really make it complete, chip away the existing concrete (goes faster than you think, and renting a proper demolition hammer doesn't cost much for a day) and temporarily prop up the staircase with something. Trust me, your future self will thank you for spending a few extra days on this.

Thanks for the tips. I also considered chipping away the existing concrete. This is just a storage space so I thought I'd keep it as simple as possible.

 

[Kalle1978]

Mixing of expanded clay pellets and self-leveling compound. First, poured in the expanded clay pellets. Then the compound and turned around with a shovel. Tomorrow, the leveling of the surface will be done. About 20 mm.

 

[fribygg]

Why such an expensive material as levelling compound? I would have chosen regular fine concrete.

 

[Kalle1978]

Why such an expensive material as self-leveling compound? I would have chosen regular fine concrete.

Dries quickly and can be applied thinly. It's a small area. It required one bag of self-leveling compound for 100 liters of leca

 

[fribygg]

Dries quickly and can be applied thinly. It is a small area. It took one bag of self-leveling compound to 100 liters of leca

Does the self-leveling compound have enough load-bearing capacity without concrete underneath?

 

[Kalle1978]

Will the self-leveling compound have enough load-bearing capacity without concrete underneath?

I believe this should be a proven technique according to what I've found through Google.

 

[Kalle1978]

The final result was quite alright. Some lecakulor floated up that I removed.