Archived from the Tools In Action forum (In The Shop). This thread is read-only.
I’m trying to even out my dirt/rock garage floor by adding 3-4 in of 1/4″ and below limestone fines and mixing/raking in type I / II portland cement into the top 2-3 in. Idea was to use a plate compactor to get it mashed down then sprinkle with water, compact, sprinkle. Well, the small rock mixture with the slippery cement powder doesn’t seem to be suitable for a plate compactor as the machine tends to borough down through the substrate spitting it out from the sides, even at it’s slowest speed. This is a problem I’m guessing larger rock mixtures don’t suffer from. So now I’m left trying to figure out how to get this stuff compacted, I guess by hand? The good news is the rock the machine managed to compact looked fairly good with no gaps. The cement is mixed in thoroughly and fairly deep. Although I’ll be watering/misting I’d say gingerly I plan on giving it enough water so it reaches the bottom layers, and keep it damp over the next week as it cures.
My only ideas for compacting so far are either a 8×8 hand tamper or possibly a weighted roller? Any suggestions?
Rock won’t tamp down like dirt or sand.
Use an upside down stiff rake or a sideways boot motion to “level” the rocks.
Yes thanks wingless I actually ended up turning my hard rake upside down and leveled like you described. Works well.
I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the floor tonight. Raked it even, sprinkled water, and tamped it all down. Leveled out fairly ok but not as good as I wanted. It’s got some shallow spots I’d like to fill it possible.
Any suggestion for any kind of floor leveler that would work on a floor like this that’s gonna remain damp (with my continued watering) for about the next week as it cures?
bradleyheathhays wrote:
On 5/16/2021 at 10:39 AM, bradleyheathhays said:I’m trying to even out my dirt/rock garage floor by adding 3-4 in of 1/4″ and below limestone fines and mixing/raking in type I / II portland cement into the top 2-3 in. Idea was to use a plate compactor to get it mashed down then sprinkle with water, compact, sprinkle. Well, the small rock mixture with the slippery cement powder doesn’t seem to be suitable for a plate compactor as the machine tends to borough down through the substrate spitting it out from the sides, even at it’s slowest speed. This is a problem I’m guessing larger rock mixtures don’t suffer from. So now I’m left trying to figure out how to get this stuff compacted, I guess by hand? The good news is the rock the machine managed to compact looked fairly good with no gaps. The cement is mixed in thoroughly and fairly deep. Although I’ll be watering/misting I’d say gingerly I plan on giving it enough water so it reaches the bottom layers, and keep it damp over the next week as it cures.
My only ideas for compacting so far are either a 8×8 hand tamper or possibly a weighted roller? Any suggestions?
Make an epoxy coating or polished concrete floor on top of the stones. Then, over time, you won’t have cracks in the floor and the stones won’t stick out.