disintegrated cement where floor meets the wall


  #1  
Old 08-14-14, 10:16 PM
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Question disintegrated cement where floor meets the wall

Good evening everyone. I am very new to DIY and this forum. I am trying to install laminate flooring in the living room of my townhouse. After removing the carpet and baseboard, I noticed that there are some disintegrated cement (not sure whether it's concrete or cement) along the line where the floor meets the wall.
Some observations:
1. The townhouse has no basement.
2. The floor is cement (or concrete)
3. The wall is an exterior wall separating the backyard and the living room.
4. I tried to push the material under the dis-integrated cement. It feels soft and feels like some kind of foam.
5. There are a couple layers of plastic and foam-like material under the wall as well.

Is the disintegrated cement something to be concerned about? Should I fix it somehow?

Thanks for your advice!
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Old 08-15-14, 05:33 AM
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I looks like a skim of concrete on top of the expansion joint material. I'd vacuum up any loose bits and lay the flooring.

Also, don't forget to remove the 1/4 round molding before laying your flooring. Then when you put the 1/4 round back up it will cover your flooring's expansion gap around the perimeter.
 
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Old 08-15-14, 05:00 PM
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Scrape away any loose material, looks like some expandable foam over spray. You can skim coat it with a floor patch material. Speed Finish is a product that Big Orange stores carry. Mix a small batch and drag it into the voids and smooth it out. Work fast as it is quick curing concrete.
Custom Building Products SpeedFinish 10 lb. Patching and Finishing Compound-SF10 at The Home Depot
 
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Old 08-17-14, 11:21 AM
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Thanks czizzi and Pilot Dane.

Any idea why the skim of concrete was initially applied on the foam/expansion joint material?

Is it normal that the concrete has turned into loose pieces/dust?
 
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Old 08-17-14, 03:02 PM
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That layer on top was not "applied". Before the concrete was poured they put that expansion material down. It's sort of a squishy, flexible board about 3/4" x 4" so you are seeing the top edge. It's top edge is often used as a guide for the top level of the floor. Then they poured the concrete and troweled the surface smooth. That troweling motion transferred a bit of the cement on top of the expansion strip. It's crumbles because it's so thin. It's the same stuff that's in the floor but because it's so thin you can really see the brittle nature of concrete.
 
 

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