Gentlemen and ladies,

I couldn't find anything in the basement forum archive so I thought I'd try posting a thread...(posted this in masonry forum but - no responses)...here goes:

I jackhammered a drain trench across my concrete basement floor (as well as drains for new basement bathroom) and had plumber friend install the drain lines - now - I need to patch over the trench and bathroom floor area.

There will be a variety of floor finishes over various sections of the trench: ceramic tile in bathroom, carpet in recroom, perhaps vinyl in entry/hallway...

My questions:

1) Should I straighten the irregular jackhammered trench lines (with concrete saw) before pouring concrete?

2) Should I replace the entire bathroom floor rather than just patching the drain trenches? I'm concerned about tiling across a patch line.

3) What type of mix will work best?

4) Should the existing concrete be "primed" in some way to ensure adhesion with the new concrete?

5) In some instances other cracked areas meet the trench - I've removed some adjoining cracked concrete, but, don't want to go on forever - how do I determine a good stopping point to patch to?

6) What else do I need to know or do???

Thanks in advance for your help...regards...Iceman

 

Go to www.doityourself.com/concrete. The crack repair info is very helpful. Quikcrete is a popular product for doing such repairs. You should be able to feather the filler in existing trenches to create a smooth transition between adjacent concrete and the new filler to create a smooth surface for all your floor coverings. Should you discover uneven concrete before floor covering installation, there are self-leveling compounds that can be mixed with water.

 

I would just pour the trenches with concrete. Use 4000 lb mix with a fiber additive. Pour it, trowel it and cover it with your flooring. Not a problem, it is done every day.