Contractors and Concrete Slab Question

HI all, I live in the inner west of Sydney, Australia, and have a large (56m2) building in my back yard that i want to turn into one large live room/rehearsal space. I've trawled this forum, (it's great thanks), and have Rod Gervais' book, spoken to a few knowledgable people etc. I'm really only at the stage of getting my info and concepts down, no plans yet. But I have a couple of questions that i couldn't seem to find answers to, that i'd love some help with...Apologies if they've been covered somewhere else. 1. Concrete Slab: I know that if you have a slab that is built on the ground, and is isolated from other buildings, that one school of thought is to NOT bother floating the floor. However, the shed has had flooding issues in the past (resolved now), and the slab is in poor condition, (water damage, cracks, etc). Is it possible/advisable to simply level the slab (levelling compound etc) and then lay a new layer of concrete over the original slab, and then proceed from there? Would that end up still being cheaper and less work than floating a section of the floor in this case? (i'm going to leave an storage area inside the shed untouched. 2. Contractors: I'm really not that handy, and definitely would need to employ contractors, but am aware that the construction techniques are very different for achieving sound isolation, as opposed to just building a house. Can anyone recommend a good builder that may have had experience with doing these types of jobs? I've done labouring in the past and would help out where i could. THanks in advance for any feedback. cheers JP

Bump :D

anyone?

Hi JP, and welcome!

Is it possible/advisable to simply level the slab (levelling compound etc) and then lay a new layer of concrete over the original slab, and then proceed from there? Would that end up still being cheaper and less work than floating a section of the floor in this case? (i'm going to leave an storage area inside the shed untouched.

I'm no expert on concrete, but as far as I know that should be possible. I do know that there are special bonding agents that can be applied to help new concrete "stick" better to old concrete, but no idea how that might apply in your situation. Your best bet is probably to call a contractor and ask him. By the way, please check the forum rule for posting: you seem to be missing something important! :) - Stuart -

Thanks for the reply Stuart. I've added my location to my profile. If it's something else I've missed please let me know. So, to go back one step further, In your (or anyone else here's) opinion/experience, if the area is now watertight, but the slab is cracked in places, would this be a suitable basis for a studio floor, (non-floated) or would the state of the concrete slab be detrimental to my goals. (ie a suitable floor for a studio). Also still very keen for any referrals of builders etc. Thanks again

Just following your thread ... Maybe you can get some pics posted here. It might NOT help ... but. The issue may be, how bad are the cracks, or out of whack is the floor. If you tried to resurface ... is the floor stable enough, or will it crack more? You maybe need to call in someone to examine it in person, but yeah, they may have THEIR interest in mind as they determine you need a whole new floor :roll: Another thing, have you tested for moisture emanating from the concrete ... using clear plastic, duct taped to the floor for several days. More questions than answers ... but, well, the floor is kinda important! just trying to help.

Great tips and comments mate. Much appreciated Jp