We carry out work on concreting the floor in the garage. Do-it-yourself concrete floor in the garage. Underlayment floor

Among the existing coating options, the most practical and durable is the floor in the garage made of concrete. From this publication you will learn how to properly pour a concrete screed with your own hands and ennoble it in various ways. We will also consider an alternative solution for a car repair shop - a durable wooden flooring made of boards.

How to concrete garage floors

Since most garages are designed to store cars, the flooring in such rooms is under increased stress. In order for the concrete base to serve for more than a dozen years, it must be poured according to the industrial flooring technology - to make a monolithic slab with reinforcement and waterproofing on a sand cushion.

Reference. The thickness of industrial coatings that can withstand a load of 500 kg / m² of area is 150-250 mm. The minimum thickness of the base for a passenger car is 10 cm, provided that good reinforcement is made. For heavier vehicles - minibuses and trucks, this figure increases to 150 and 200 mm, respectively.

Procurement of building materials

To pour a concrete floor in a garage on the ground, prepare the following materials:

If it is planned to build an inspection pit in the garage, then additionally you will need red brick for the construction of walls, plastic pipes for laying electrical cables and ventilation devices.

For laying ventilation in the pit, PVC sewer pipes are used.

The calculation of the amount of building materials is carried out as follows:

• a pillow of sand 10 cm high is considered over the entire area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe room;
• to prepare 1 m³ of concrete mix, you will need 6 bags of cement (50 kg), 48 buckets of sand (capacity - 10 l) and 74 buckets of crushed stone;
• waterproofing - the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe garage plus overlapping of the canvases on each other and overlaps on the walls of 100 mm;
• polyethylene foam - the perimeter of the room, multiplied by the height of the screed;
• the total length of the reinforcement is calculated on a grid with cells of 15 x 15 cm.

Note. The cement screed is made with M200 concrete in proportions by volume 1: 3: 5 (cement / sand / crushed stone). The ratio of components by weight is shown in the table.

Base device

In order to make a reliable foundation for concrete floors in the garage with your own hands, you need to dig a foundation pit 30 cm deep (calculated from the design level of the future coating). At this stage, an inspection ditch with a width of 0.8 m plus 25 cm is also dug out on brickwork, the length and height are arbitrary, selected individually depending on the height of the owner and the size of the car.

The walls and floors of the pit must be covered with roofing material, and then proceed to masonry

Advice. If you plan to install underfloor heating in the garage, then the depth of the pit will have to be increased by 50-100 mm (insulation thickness).

Perform further work in this order:

Note. The same operations must be performed in the inspection ditch, excluding the laying of the reinforcing mesh.

Before concreting the floors, you need to equip a pit for car repair - perform a simple screed, build brick walls and frame them with metal corners with shelf sizes of 35-50 mm. During the laying process, lay a metal-plastic pipe between the bricks under the lighting cable and a sewer pipe for ventilation. See the video for details of the technological ditch device:

After 3 days, when the masonry mortar has set, install plank formwork and lighthouses around the ditch. The latter are recommended to be made from reinforcement welded to rods driven into the ground, as shown in the photo. The number of beacons depends on the width of the garage and the rules for stretching the concrete mixture, but usually 4 are enough. - 2 along the walls and a couple in the middle.

Recommendation. Garage floors are best insulated with high-density polymeric materials - 35 kg / m³ foam or extruded foam. Lay thermal insulation boards on top of the waterproofing, but under the reinforcing mesh.

Laying extruded polystyrene foam on waterproofing

Instructions for concreting

Ideally, the floor in the garage is poured with imported concrete from an auto mixer (in jargon - a machine - a mixer). You will be required to: calculate the amount of concrete mix, order its preparation at the nearest enterprise and take the car at the specified time. For ease of installation, it is advisable to prepare a wooden gutter covered with plastic wrap, otherwise you will have to scatter the concrete with a shovel.

The use of a concrete mixer reduces the cost of the process, but adds labor intensity. To prevent cracking of the screed, the interval between batches should not exceed 40 minutes. The work is done like this:

After pouring, close the garage and do not disturb the monolithic slab for 7 days. If work is carried out during the hot summer period, water the concrete daily with a small amount of water. After a week, remove the formwork from the pit, and after another 7 days you can start finishing. It is allowed to load the coating after 4 weeks, not earlier. The master will tell you more about concreting floors in his garage in the video:

How to cover a concrete surface

An unprotected concrete coating tends to generate dust throughout its entire service life. The easiest way to avoid this is to saturate new garage floors with a deep penetrating primer. But over time, the surface wears out and dusts again, so concrete should be finished with something. We offer these options:

• the cheapest way is to prime and paint;
• buy rubber plates (these are used in stadiums) or a conveyor belt and stick to a concrete base;
• arrange a self-leveling floor made of polymeric materials.

Reference. There are many options for garage coatings, one of them is paving slabs. But, judging by the reviews on the forums, after 2-3 years of operation, a track from the wheels of the car forms on it. It is impossible to avoid the phenomenon: the tile is laid on a sand cushion, which sags from a constant load in one place.

Painting instructions

Simple painting of floors is carried out with special compositions that are resistant to abrasion - acrylic, silicate or polyurethane enamel. The first two are applied with a wide brush or roller, and polyurethane - with an airbrush. Application technology is as follows:

1. Remove as much dust from the surface as possible.
2. Treat the floors with a primer 2 times with a drying break of 15 minutes (or the time indicated on the package).
3. After the primer is completely dry, apply 2 coats of paint.

An important point. The primer is selected according to the type of paint. If the latter is made on an acrylic basis, you need to buy the appropriate primer.

How to make a self-leveling floor

This wear resistant coating consists of two coats: a thin cement based self leveling screed (eg Cerezit CN-76) and a two component epoxy based paint. Preparation of concrete for application is carried out in the same way - dusting and thorough priming. Then proceed according to this algorithm:

Note. The surface can be made rough by pouring so-called decorative chips in the form of multi-colored crumbs on fresh paint.

Complete curing, or rather, polymerization of the epoxy coating occurs within 7 days. After that, the floors are allowed to be used.

Installation of wooden flooring

Wood flooring is not the best solution for a garage, but it is relatively cheap. The flooring is made of boards with a thickness of 35-40 mm, laid on logs from a bar with a section of 10 x 5 cm. The interval for installing beams is 0.5 m.

Installation of wooden floors is done according to the following technology:

Advice. To ventilate the underground space, make a pair of air ducts with grilles in the corners.

The peculiarity of arranging a concrete screed in the garage is that during operation it will be subjected to a large load. Such a floor should be durable, practical, economical and retain its original properties for as long as possible.

Most vehicle owners use garages not only to hide their vehicles, but also as a workshop space. Here they store equipment and tools that cannot be kept in the house. Therefore, in most cases, the owners choose a concrete screed in the garage as the best option, because the durability of the materials used in this case guarantees such a floor a long service life.

Requirements for the floor in the garage

So that during operation the floor covering in the garage does not create problems when carrying out repair work with the car, it must meet the following requirements:

1. Strength and reliability of the floor in relation to mechanical damage. Almost daily, its surface is subjected to abrasive friction, shock and high loads, since the vehicle has a significant weight. Therefore, an incorrectly executed floor screed in the garage can make the top finishing layer unusable.
   Resistant to fuel and lubricant mixtures and chemicals. Both laminate and linoleum will quickly deteriorate under their action.
2. Fire safety. Based on this requirement, it can be argued that wooden floors cannot be laid in garages due to their increased flammability.
3. Wear resistance. The room where the car is located is intensively exploited.
4. Moisture resistance. Heating in garages is infrequent, which leads to condensation on the walls and ceiling. In the winter season, snow falls off the fenders and wheels of cars, which melts. Therefore, the floor covering material must be moisture resistant.

Based on the above requirements, the concrete floor in the garage can be called the best solution.

A solid foundation for garage flooring

The main problem with arranging the floor in the garage is that it is located close to the ground, which contains a large amount of moisture. This feature can cause serious trouble to the car owner and cause significant material damage. The concrete floor screed in the garage is laid on the prepared base. Concreting the floor in the garage and installing the floor covering is carried out according to the principle of the so-called "pie", which is considered the best option.

The sequence of layers in the direction from the ground up looks like this:

1. Mound of gravel (rubble). It performs the function of a kind of drainage, which helps to remove excess fluid and prevent its penetration into concrete.
2. Soft clay or sand. This layer is responsible for removing moisture from the concrete and transferring it to the gravel.
3. Reinforcing concrete layer.
4. Waterproofing. Thanks to her, groundwater does not penetrate into the floor of the building. The starting layer is made of mastic, and the main layer is laid in two layers.
5. Warming material.
6. Concrete screed plus reinforcement.
7. Self leveling floor covering. This layer is poured at the request of the owner of the garage and it is not necessary to do it, but it will significantly improve the quality of the concrete-based screed. By the way, a properly made base allows you to fill in inexpensive compounds.

Types of waterproofing materials for the garage floor

There is a restriction on the materials used in the arrangement of waterproofing: membrane or film products should not be used, since they do not have the required elasticity, and they are not able to cope with the amount of groundwater in spring and autumn.

Experts consider inexpensive roll coatings with good consumer characteristics to be the best choice of materials for the waterproofing layer in the above-described pie. Professionally performed waterproofing works in the room will protect it from dampness, prevent the appearance of mold and the spread of fungus, and thereby prevent the building from collapsing, and the property in the garage will not deteriorate.

There are several types of floor waterproofing in a garage building:

• anti-pressure, which protects against the ingress of groundwater;
• non-pressure - prevents the harmful effects of flood runoff and rain;
• anticapillary - protecting the structure from the negative effects of capillary moisture.

In addition to creating waterproofing in the garage, it is necessary to install an effective ventilation system.

Phased construction of a concrete screed in the garage building

When a do-it-yourself floor screed is installed in the garage, all actions are performed in stages.

Carrying out preparatory work

The old floor covering should be removed. Installation of a new screed on the old base should not be done.

A qualitative result can be achieved only by replacing all the layers of the previously existing "pie". If there is a viewing hole in the building, the remnants of used waterproofing, wall coverings and the old floor structure are also carefully dismantled. The lower level in the room must be cleaned to the very ground to the maximum.

Sand and gravel pad

Well-cleaned from litter and various debris, the soil is compacted and leveled. To create a sand and gravel cushion use:

• crushed stone (gravel);
• oily clay (you can sand).

When choosing gravel, experts recommend using a single-caliber medium fraction material. The fact is that the use of bulk material of large or small size leads to a decrease in the quality of the finish surface. The "pillow" is poured and leveled, focusing on the level. The ideal thickness of the compacted layer should be 4-5 centimeters, and the minimum -2 centimeters.

Before leveling the floor in the garage, a layer of river sand is poured 10-12 centimeters high. You can use soft clay. Then the gravel-sand cushion is carefully compacted. Both layers in total should have a height of approximately 15 centimeters. After completion of the work, the quality of the installation is checked using a level.

If there is an inspection hole in the garage building, a pillow of gravel and sand is laid not only on the floor of the room, but also at the bottom of the basement. To make the work convenient to perform, mark the level of the layer around the perimeter of the walls or install columns with marks.

Fixing the level of sand

Before making a floor screed in the garage, professionals recommend covering the sand and gravel cushion with a 1.5 cm layer of cement with the addition of sand in a ratio of 1:4 or 1:3 to make the coating more durable and reliable. Next, in the work you need to take a break for about a day, so that the concrete is completely dry.

Performing initial waterproofing and gluing rubber-based tape

The inspection pit and the base of the floor are covered with a thin layer of bituminous mastic, partially capturing the walls at a low height. Before this, the places where the walls of the room meet horizontal surfaces are glued with a self-adhesive rubber tape with waterproof properties.

Laying layers of basic waterproofing

In order to protect the premises from the destructive action of groundwater and various types of precipitation, before the screed is poured in the garage, it is necessary to select the appropriate waterproofing roll material.

Suitable for this job:

• hydrostekloizol;
• bituminous roofing material;
• polyethylene film with a thickness of 1 mm.

Rolled waterproofing material is laid evenly, avoiding waves and folds. Segments of canvases are overlapped by 15-20 centimeters and glued to the walls with waterproof tape. When creating waterproofing, the material is placed at the bottom of the pit and the floor of the building so that it goes onto the walls at a distance of about 10-12 centimeters.

There must be at least two waterproofing layers. In this case, a combination of different materials is allowed. For example, a plastic film is laid down, folded twice, and roofing material is placed on top of it. If in doubt, you can additionally put another waterproofing material. As a result of such measures, a favorable microclimate will be created in the room, and tools and objects will not suffer from moisture and corrosive processes.

Installation of a heat-insulating layer

A necessary measure, before making a screed in the garage, is the laying of insulation. They select building materials for thermal insulation, taking into account the climate in the given region and the functioning, or lack of a heating system in the room. Qualitatively performed work on insulation will allow you to be in the garage in comfortable conditions at any time of the year. You can use either mineral wool or glass wool, or foam. Extruded polystyrene foam is also involved.

The insulation is mounted with a layer having a thickness of 7-10 centimeters - if necessary, the material is folded several times, and to arrange the temperature gap, the joints and the perimeter are fastened with a damper tape. Thermal insulation must be performed on all surfaces without exception inside the garage building. The area where the entrance to the room is located is recommended to be insulated more strongly; for this, more material is rolled out there.

concrete reinforcement

There are a number of recommendations on how to properly make a screed in the garage. So that it does not crack and spread, a reinforcing mesh is placed on the floor base and on the surfaces available in the inspection pit, consisting of metal rods with a diameter of 8-9 mm, which form cells ranging in size from 15 to 20 centimeters.

When doing a do-it-yourself screed in the garage, one should not forget that the area where the car will be and heavy equipment or other objects will be additionally reinforced with another layer. It is allowed to lay a metal mesh with larger cells. As a result, the coating will become more wear-resistant, as it will be protected from the appearance of defects.

The fittings are fixed in such a way that before starting work it is located in a suspended state, rising 4-5 centimeters above the level of the base. To do this, it is customary to use props made of metal or plastic. The distance between the edge of the grid and the walls of the room is kept within 5 centimeters.

Filling the screed in the inspection hole

A reliable coating is made from a solution containing fine gravel, cement M200-M400 and river sand in a ratio of 5: 1: 3. The thickness of the screed in the garage in the inspection hole, as a rule, should be 10-12 centimeters, and it is not necessary to perfectly level its surface.

Installation of beacons

In order to obtain an even floor covering before pouring the screed in the garage, you should use beacons from a metal profile or tubes with a cross section of 2.5-3 centimeters (read: ""). They are fixed on the flooring with a thick concrete mixture. Guides are placed at intervals of 1.5-2 meters from one another. Lighthouses are treated with machine oil to make it easier to remove them after completion of work.

Preparation of concrete solution

To do this, they usually take 1 part of cement, 3 parts of sand and water in an amount equal to ½ of the cement volume. In some cases, a little fine gravel is added. Now ready-made building materials for creating screeds are on sale, containing fiber and special plasticizers, which ensure the creation of a strong and durable coating. Uniform mixing of the solution is ensured by the use of a low-speed mixer.

Filling the screed

It should be done simultaneously over the entire surface of the garage floor. The solution must be laid out, focusing on the beacons. Work starts from the far corner, for leveling use the rule. The required thickness of the floor screed in the garage is 6-7 centimeters.

To prevent cracking of the top layer, its surface must be moistened at least every 10-12 hours. You can use this method: the concrete coating is sprinkled with wet sawdust, and sprinkled with water from time to time. Two days later, the lighthouses are carefully removed, and the voids after them are filled with concrete mortar. We should not forget about the need to leave 5 mm expansion gaps between the walls and the screed.

To do this, you can use (optional):

• polystyrene;
• plastic profile;
• expansion tape.

A metal corner is laid out along the perimeter of the inspection pit at a distance of 50 millimeters, and its walls are poured with concrete, having installed formwork, or brick lining is made. In some cases, the screed is laid at a slope of 1-2% relative to the garage door or drain grate.

For flooring use:

• tiles;
• thick rubber;
• polymer layer;
• painting.

The thickness of the concrete screed in the garage is rather big, so it dries for about a month and only then the finish is laid.

Experts recommend not to equip the floors in the garage building with absolutely smooth, but to make them a little rough, so that grip between the coating and rubber increases and slippage of car wheels is not allowed.

The comfort of being in the garage largely depends on whether the floor is made correctly. It must be durable, reliable, moisture resistant. Not many materials meet these requirements. One of the most common is the concrete floor in the garage. In order for it to perform its functions, it must be done correctly. How - in detail, we will describe step by step in this article.

Foundation preparation

The concrete floor in the garage is done on the ground. But most often the soil itself is not a sufficiently reliable and dense base, therefore a base device is required - cushions of crushed stone and sand. Preliminary and mandatory work is the removal of the fertile layer, up to clean soil. With a fertile layer, organic matter and most of the microorganisms are removed, and in clean soil they contain a minimum amount.

The first stage of the concrete floor in the garage is the removal of the fertile layer

Zero mark

As a result, you get a pit of some depth. Crushed stone and sand will be poured into it, but in order to understand whether its depth is sufficient or excessive, it is necessary to determine the “zero” level of the floor. It is convenient if the floor is flush with the threshold of the gate. Often they make it just below the threshold, but then you will have to somehow drain the water, and it will definitely be, if not in spring-autumn, in winter, from melted snow, for sure.

Mark the zero level of the floor along the perimeter of the walls. The most convenient way to do this is with a plane builder (electronic level or level). Turn on the device to display the horizontal plane, set it at the desired level and draw along the beam.

The laser level is easier to work with

If there is no laser level, use the water level. It is not so convenient with him: you have to transfer the mark many times along all four walls. These marks are connected by a straight line, instead of a ruler, you can use a bubble level, at the same time you can check whether all the marks have been set correctly.

The water level will have to transfer marks to all walls

Calculation of the thickness of the PGM layers

As a result of these works, we have a foundation pit and a zero floor mark. Now you can calculate how thick the layers are needed to reach the desired height. It is necessary to proceed from the following dimensions:

• the optimal thickness of the concrete floor in the garage (if there is a car or lighter transport) - 10 cm;
• the minimum thickness of the crushed stone layer is 10 cm;
• sand - not less than 5 cm;

In total, it turns out that the pit should be no smaller than 25 cm deep. And that doesn't include flooring. If you simply impregnate or paint the concrete floor, then no additional centimeters are required; for any other coating, add the required thickness.

The structure of the concrete floor in the garage

Having received a specific figure, you can plan the amount of sand and gravel. If the layers turn out to be very large, you can fill up the bottom and compact the soil (but not the fertile layer). If the depth of the pit is not enough, we take out some more rock.

On the walls of the garage, marks can be applied by which it will be possible to control the thickness of the layers. With a small garage width - 2 meters or so - these marks are enough. If the garage is wider, you need to set up a few more stakes in the middle and mark them too. Of course, all marks must lie in the same plane. This is again conveniently done with a level. Another way is to take a flat bar or board, attach it to the marked marks. Put a level on top of the bar / board. If everything is set correctly, the bubble will be in the middle.

If you plan to make a hole in the garage, it's time to dig a pit under it. If the pit is with brick walls, you can immediately pour a concrete floor into it. While you are engaged in backfilling under concrete in the garage, it will gain the required margin of safety and it will be possible to lay out the walls. They can be driven out after backfilling pillows of crushed stone and sand on the floor.

Bedding materials

For a normal concrete floor in the garage, it is better to take not gravel, but crushed stone. Gravel, with its rounded edges, you will never compact to the required degree. And if the base under the concrete is unstable, even a thick reinforced slab will burst. Therefore, we import crushed stone, medium and small fractions. Medium 60-70%, the rest - small.

The pillow consists of compacted rubble and sand

There are no special requirements for the quality of sand for pillows. It is important that it be free of clay inclusions, but it can (and should) be sieved before laying.

Making a pillow under the concrete floor

The first step is to level the bottom of the pit. We remove irregularities, fill in the hollows, bring the level to the horizon. Do not think that the concrete floor in the garage can be done with violations. You can do it, but then the plate will crack, you will have to redo it.

Now we take a vibrating platform (you can rent it) or a manual rammer and compact the soil. Along the way, once again leveling the plane. When the soil is compacted, crushed stone can be poured. Do not fall asleep the entire volume at once - 10 cm is not normally tamped. The maximum layer is 5 cm, but 3-4 is better. We fall asleep the necessary part, distribute, level (with a rake) achieving approximately the same thickness. We take a rammer or vibrating plate and ram.

It is better to ram with a vibrating plate

This crushed stone rammer is very important when constructing a concrete floor in a garage - a certain amount of crushed stone is driven into the ground. As a result, it becomes even more dense, the bearing capacity increases, and the possibility of subsidence is excluded. Tampering is considered sufficient if you step on the surface without leaving any traces. In the same way, all portions of crushed stone are rammed, bringing to the required thickness.

Sand is poured onto the compacted gravel. It is also divided into parts of 2-3 cm. The peculiarity of tamping sand: it must be moistened, they also say - shed. Wet sand is rammed, again focusing on the layers.

Now you can start forcing the walls of the pit, if any. They are brought to the level with the finished floor or even a little higher - so that you can wash the car right in the garage without fear that water will get into it.

damper clearance

A concrete floor on the ground is often referred to as "floating". This is because it is made incoherent with the walls of the building. In this case, the walls and floor can sag or rise independently of each other, while maintaining integrity.

So that the floor in the concrete garage is not connected to the walls, a damper tape is laid around the perimeter (sold in hardware stores) or thin sheets of foam plastic (10 mm thick) are cut into strips. The width of the strips - 12-15 cm - they should protrude slightly above the floor finish. The excess height of the damper is then cut flush with the floor.

damper tape

Waterproofing a concrete floor in a garage

Concrete itself is not afraid of moisture, high humidity is harmful to the car body, as well as to things and equipment, which are accumulated in the garage a lot. The choice of materials for waterproofing depends on how close the groundwater is and how high it can rise in season.

If the groundwater is high, no special waterproofing measures can be taken, but a dense plastic film (with a density of 250 microns or more, can be reinforced, can not) be laid on the sand. in this case, the film is more needed so that the moisture from the concrete does not go into the sand, which cannot be allowed. With a lack of moisture, the concrete will not gain the required strength and will crumble.

The waterproofing film is spread out

With a high level of groundwater, it is better to take a denser and more reliable waterproofing - waterproofing or its analogues. In any case, the film panels are overlapped - they overlap each other by 10-15 cm. To minimize the possibility of water penetration, the joints are glued with double-sided tape, it is possible twice (at the beginning of the joint and at the end).

Waterproofing starts on the walls, above the damper tape. She is temporarily fixed there. After the concrete has been poured and set, it can be cut.

Reinforcement

Since the loads are supposed to be serious, the concrete floor in the garage is reinforced. For passenger cars, you can use a ready-made mesh of wire 7-8 mm in diameter, the size of the cage is 15 cm. Two meshes are connected to each other with plastic clamps or special knitting wire.

The waterproofing of the floor in the garage is made with waterproofing, the reinforcing mesh is installed on the bricks

Another point - the mesh should be in the thickness of the concrete, approximately in the middle. It would be wrong to simply lay it on the film - the metal does not corrode inside the concrete only if it is at a depth of at least 3 cm. In order for the concrete floor in the garage to serve for a long time and not crack, the mesh is raised above the waterproofing by 3-6 cm. There are special coasters for this, but halves of a brick are more often used. They just have a thickness of 6 cm. Place them under the reinforcing mesh so that it does not sag very much.

Installation of beacons

In order for the floor in the garage to be even, it must be leveled. It is more convenient to do this with the help of a special long bar, which is called the “rule” (the emphasis on the letter “I” is from the word “rule”). This bar is supported on even bars, set to the desired level. They are called beacons.

As beacons, you can use any smooth and long objects. It can be pipes, bars, special beacons that are sold in hardware stores. They must be set at the same level with the level mark of the concrete slab applied on the walls.

Lighthouses are placed from the far wall, towards the one in which the doors are arranged (most often it turns out that along a long wall). The installation step is 25-30 cm narrower than the length of the rule. If the rule is 150 cm long, the distance between the beacons should be 120-125 cm. About 30 cm recede from the wall, put the first beacon, then others with a given distance.

This is how the concrete floor is poured in the garage along the lighthouses

They are usually installed on islands of densely mixed solution. They lay out the slide a little higher than necessary, press the beacon into it so that it is at the right level.

When installing beacons, you can make a slight slope of the concrete floor towards the doors (0.5-1 cm per meter). In this case, the water will flow by gravity from the floor to the street. Just note that in this case more concrete is required - you have to lift up the farthest edge of the floor from the entrance, but this is offset by ease of use.

The next day after pouring, the beacons are removed, the voids are filled with mortar and leveled to the same level as the previously filled floor.

pouring concrete floor in garage

The brand of concrete for the floor in the garage is M250. Its characteristics are more than sufficient both in terms of strength and frost resistance. Due to the fact that the thickness of the plate is large, even a small garage requires a large volume of mortar. Let's figure it out: for a small garage measuring 4 * 6 m with a concrete floor thickness, 4 m * 6 m * 0.1 m = 2.4 cubic meters will be required. Taking into account the fact that a slope is needed, it will be all 3 cubes. If you do it yourself in one day, you need to use two concrete mixers - one will not cope. It takes a decent team to get the job done.

It takes a big team to mix concrete in a concrete mixer

There should be one person on each concrete mixer. This is provided that all the components are right there and they will also load them into the pear. If the components need to be brought up, this is two more people. Plus, two have to carry concrete to the place of its laying and one - to level. It turns out a considerable brigade. Such a composition will have to work all day. Even if the assistants are free, they need to be fed and watered. It is unlikely that this alignment will help save a significant amount of money compared to ordering ready-made concrete from the factory. Unless you will work in one hand, pouring the floor in parts. This is also possible, but it can threaten with cracks at the joints of floor sections flooded on the same day. You can reduce the chance of such cracks by removing the cement laitance that forms on the surface with a metal brush.

If you decide to order concrete in a mixer, you should install a receiving tray that will direct the flow of concrete to the center of the garage. From the center it is already easy to distribute it to all corners, and then stretch it with a rule. To facilitate the leveling of concrete and increase its grade, immediately after the preliminary distribution, the concrete is treated with a submersible vibrator for concrete. At the same time, air bubbles immediately come out, the concrete becomes more fluid and fills all the cavities itself. Beacons will be needed only for orientation, and maybe partial alignment.

Curing

After pouring concrete, if it's not very hot outside, you can simply close the garage doors. If there is a window, it must be hung so that the sun's rays do not fall on the concrete. If the street is too dry and hot, the concrete is covered with plastic wrap or damp burlap.

During the week, the stove should be watered daily. It is more convenient to do this over burlap - you can water the burlap without much suffering in relatively small streams, and it will give moisture to the concrete. If the concrete floor in the garage is covered with a film, it is removed before watering, then stretched again. When watering, in this case, you need to make sure that the drops are small - you need a nozzle with a large number of holes. In any case, the degree of watering is to a uniformly wet state (determined by the dark gray color of the surface), but without large puddles.

Insulated concrete floor in the garage

There are two options - to insulate an already filled slab, pour a screed on top (the structure in the figure below) or make insulation right away by laying it under the main slab.

Insulated garage floor

When choosing the second option, the insulation is laid on top of the waterproofing layer, a reinforcing mesh is placed on it. The rest of the process of pouring the concrete floor in the garage is similar, only it is necessary to take into account the thickness of the insulation when calculating the depth of the pit.

As a heater for this case, it is recommended to use extruded polystyrene foam (EPS) with a density of at least 35 kg / m3. It has very good characteristics, can withstand heavy loads, does not absorb or let water or steam through. So it is also an additional vapor barrier.

In order to be sure that the insulation will not be squeezed under the wheels, it makes sense to lay a layer of geotextile on top of it. This is a non-woven membrane that is used in the construction of roads. Its function is load distribution, just what we need.

The minimum thickness of EPS is at least 5 cm, better - 8 cm. It is better to lay in two layers, shifting the seams when laying - in order to isolate the floor from the ground as best as possible.

How to pour clean floors in a garage building with concrete with your own hands is known to professional builders, craftsmen with a capital letter. But they are in no hurry to reveal secrets, to make them public. Meanwhile, there are no particular difficulties in this, only scrupulous observance of technology, the use of high-quality materials and a minimum of tools will be required.

Motorists planning a concrete floor in the garage want to understand what are its advantages and disadvantages, unlike latex or wood. Such a coating is arranged in open areas, ramps, it is suitable for parking lots and closed insulated boxes.

The advantages of a concrete floor are as follows:

• durability;
• low cost;
• universality;
• ease of manufacture.

On a completely frozen floor that has gained strength, you can safely put a motorcycle, a car - it will withstand the weight, will not crumble or deteriorate.

Necessary tools and materials

To make a concrete floor, you will need simple, common tools. To prepare the mixture, you will need a concrete mixer - a special installation with an electric drive. It is not recommended to use manual labor for 2 reasons: it will take more time, and significant efforts will be required to evenly distribute the components in the mixture, in addition, the full amount of work will have to be divided into small portions equal to the batch capacity.

You will also need a trowel - this is a special device for leveling the concrete mixture; level, as well as a few shovels. The materials that are needed to make the floor are easy to buy at a hardware store: cement, crushed stone and sand. For greater strength, it does not hurt to use reinforcement - mesh or ready-made frames.

Choice of concrete pavement

An important criterion for choosing a future concrete coating is the brand. The strength of the floor, durability and proportions of the components will depend on it. The correct selection of the composition of the mixture, taking into account the requirements for the manufactured plate, is half the success.

An important point is related to the foundation itself: the floor will be laid on the ground or on top of the existing, “old” coating. It is likely that excavation of the topsoil (in the first case) and the obligatory crushed stone preparation will be required.

To get started, you need markings: what will be the thickness of the floor, where to draw lines on the walls indicating the upper edge of the future coating. The composition of the "pie", immediately preceding the concrete floor, is as follows: a layer of sand without clay impurities, not river (up to 5 centimeters), on top of it - crushed stone (about 10 centimeters). And already at the end a monolithic slab with a thickness of at least 10 centimeters will lie.

Passenger

For a small car, a small car, the determining factor is the thickness of the crushed stone layer and concrete - about 100 millimeters each. It’s not bad if the top edge of the finished coating is flush with the ground level outside the gate so that a threshold does not form: it’s more convenient to use the garage, drive in and out.

Wire meshes with a diameter of 5-6 millimeters are suitable as reinforcement - this will increase the strength of the structure.

Freight

For a minibus, a truck, the requirements for the base are tougher: the thickness of crushed stone and slab is doubled, and reinforcing bars or welded rolled mesh with a diameter of 1-12 millimeters are used as a frame. Accordingly, the brand of cement should be used not lower than M400.

Preparatory work

Preparation includes excavation or removal of the old floor (earthen, wood). The main guidelines at this stage will be the following requirements: work carefully, in accordance with the predetermined thicknesses of the layers of the bed / floor, be sure to use a level.

It is extremely undesirable to “hack”: the flaws made at the initial stage will require adjustments at the subsequent ones. For example, an error in the calculation of the coating, careless digging will cause overconsumption of concrete, the need to level the clean floor mark by increasing the amount of the mixture.

Level markup

Includes the removal of lines on the walls, the installation of high-rise beacons that facilitate the work. The ideal option is marking with a level, but the use of a level - laser or water - is also suitable as a compromise. The task is to balance the bubble exactly in the middle, which means that the planned surface (line) is horizontal.

To make it easier for yourself, the risks are performed with a bright marker, which will be visible against the background of the wall. It is permissible to pull a thin cord (for example, white) over the driven nails.

Soil preparation

It consists in cleaning from pollution (spills of oil, debris), excavation of the top layer of soil and deepening to the required, predetermined level. The roots of plants, trees, grass, any foreign inclusions are also removed. They will remain under the coating, may begin to destroy it and will not allow you to do a job with good quality.

The root system of flowers is able to break through such dense structures as concrete and asphalt, so it is very important to completely get rid of their presence.

Backfilling of sand and gravel cushion

In fact, the layers of gravel and sand are not mixed, like components in cooking, but are laid alternately on the ground. It is recommended to level the "floor" of the mini-pit, in order to carefully and accurately distribute the components of the pillow. Sometimes it is advised to soak and compact the sand in order to increase the density of the layer, to fill all the voids at the bottom of the pit.

Regarding crushed stone: professionals prefer to use more than one fraction, but a mixed one - up to 2/3 of the medium, the rest - fine. Such proportions will provide the required rigidity of the layer so that it does not “play”, and the individual particles lie tightly against each other. Crushed stone is also rammed with a manual or mechanized rammer. On top of it, waterproofing is arranged.

Waterproofing

Modern technologies allow the use of cheap and effective methods to ensure waterproofing of the future coating, eliminating its contact with the soil and aquifers. For example, ordinary plastic film used for greenhouses and hotbeds. There are also more "serious" compounds - polymeric and bitumen-based. They need to be applied to the finished preparation, wait for it to dry, and then proceed to the next stage - laying the reinforcement cage.

Reinforcement

Opinions regarding the need to reinforce concrete with steel rods or mesh differ: on the one hand, such a step increases the strength of the slab, on the other hand, it increases the cost of work. By itself, concrete tolerates distributed and point compressive loads well, but with a sharp pressure drop it can burst.

The reinforcement in the body of the slab perceives external influences and allows them to be dispersed over the entire plane of the structure. The mesh and frames are used to strengthen the floor, increase its strength, reliability. In this case, the metal is laid with a small gap (not close) to form a protective layer of concrete (usually 2-3 centimeters).

Pouring concrete

The components have been purchased, everything is ready for concreting and flooring. It remains to decide on the methods of implementation: mix the solution manually or with a concrete mixer. The latter option will improve the quality of concrete, increase labor productivity. It is not necessary to buy a new unit for this, it can be rented.

Do not forget about the ratio of concrete components - crushed stone, sand and cement, as well as the amount of water added.

The liquid mixture fits better, but its brand will be lower, the rigid one is more difficult to work with, but the plate will come out strong and reliable. As a compromise, it is possible to purchase a ready mix at a concrete mixing plant - it will be manufactured and delivered directly to the site, in the required quantity and with the required quality. It is highly desirable, for a good filling of voids, to use a vibrator or a vibrating screed.

Layer thickness calculation

The thickness of the layers, the choice of brand of cement and the calculation of the components of the mixture depend on the load on the future foundation. For an ordinary garage in which a bicycle or motorcycle will stand, it is one, for a passenger car - another, for a truck - a third. Approximately the thickness of the plate for a small car is selected within 100 millimeters, for a car of greater weight - 2 times thicker. A layer of rubble is approximately equal to this value, sand - about 5 centimeters.

Installation of beacons

Lighthouses are needed not only at sea, but also in construction: they determine the marks and boundaries of the laid concrete layer. Markers are set in height, marking the upper edge of the future slab, as well as along the edges, if pouring is done in several stages. Their color and material are chosen so that they can be seen well against the gray background of cement.

Filling the screed

The screed is made of cement-sand mortar and refers to additional work. Most often, it is done to level the surface or before installing an insulating layer.

Problems often encountered

There are a number of questions that beginners should pay attention to in order to help them avoid mistakes:

1. Settling of floor areas. Most likely, voids formed in the preparation, or it itself was not done carefully enough.
2. Cracks (mesh fine or deep). The technology was violated: the choice of the water-cement ratio was incorrect, the load was applied before the onset of the mixture setting (28 days), the work was carried out at low temperatures.

Filling the garage floor can be done in different ways. The concrete floor attracts with its strength, comparative cheapness and the possibility of making it yourself. For many motorists, the garage becomes a second home, and therefore the issue of arranging this room is approached with all seriousness.

The floor in the garage is in specific conditions that distinguish it from similar coatings in other rooms. In addition to the standard requirements for any floor covering (strength, moisture resistance, durability, environmental friendliness, fire safety), the floor in the garage is subject to specific influences:

1. A significant mechanical load caused by the mass of the car has both a static (when the car is stationary) and dynamic (when the car is moving) character.
2. Local mechanical loads when installing a jack and other mechanisms.
3. Impact mechanical loads caused by falling heavy objects and tools, often with sharp edges and corners.
4. Chemical impacts occur when such fairly aggressive substances as gasoline, diesel fuel, machine oil, coolant, solvents, etc., often get on the floor, as well as the influence of exhaust gases.

As a rule, high design requirements are not put forward for the garage floor covering, but the reliability parameters must be on top. The floor in the garage is concrete, in general, meets the basic requirements, and therefore is popular in garage construction.

There are problems that still arise during the operation of concrete pavement. As a result of the dynamic load during the movement of the car, there is a significant dustiness caused by the constant peeling of particles of the concrete components from the surface. Oil and gasoline stains on the concrete pavement form stains that not only spoil the appearance of the floor, but also violate fire safety standards. In addition, these substances, being absorbed into the concrete, destroy it and cause unpleasant and harmful fumes, especially at elevated temperatures. These problems necessitate a particularly careful approach to pouring and applying the necessary additives and protective coatings.

Concrete floors in the garage are made on the basis of a sand-cement mixture. The most common composition recipe: cement grade not lower than M400 (1 part), river sand (3 parts) and crushed stone of fine fraction (3 parts). All this is thoroughly mixed with water to a state of thick sour cream. A concrete floor screed meets the most important requirements, but to create a truly durable and reliable garage floor, it is necessary to provide waterproofing from below (protection from groundwater and precipitation) and a protective cover from above (from peeling, dusting and impregnation with chemically active liquids).

Surface protective coating can be provided in several ways. Often used such means: polyurethane or epoxy composition, special paint for concrete. Such a coating should not give the effect of sliding for a person and automobile wheels, which is ensured by the necessary surface roughness.

Modern materials will help provide the necessary protection. One of the popular options is a topping system. This dry mix contains cement, plasticizers, pigments and fillers that provide improved mechanical and chemical properties. The solution prepared from this mixture is applied over the concrete screed until it is completely solidified. This hardening coating adheres reliably to the concrete pour and creates a reliable protective layer. It is important after 4-5 hours of exposure to carry out the final grouting of the layer using a special paddle tool.

Required tool

When making a concrete floor in a garage, the following tool should be prepared:

• grinder for cutting reinforcement;
• construction mixer;
• vibrator or bayonet shovel;
• shovel;
• Master OK;
• putty knife;
• rule;
• a hammer;
• hacksaw;
• pliers;
• roulette;
• construction level;
• metal ruler;
• a container for preparing a solution;
• measuring bucket.

Pouring concrete floor

In order to properly pour the floor in the garage with concrete, it is necessary to perform several mandatory measures for waterproofing and strengthening the screed. If necessary, you can think about floor insulation.

How to fill the floor in the garage with concrete, in the garage, the arrangement of the concrete floor is as follows:

1. Removal of soil over the entire floor area to a depth of 40 cm. The surface is well compacted.
2. Formation of a pillow under a coupler. For this purpose, a layer of gravel of fine fraction 15-20 cm thick and a layer of sand 10-15 cm thick are poured. If there is a desire to insulate the floor in the garage, then expanded clay or slag can be used instead of gravel.
3. Waterproofing installation. A roofing material or plastic film of increased thickness is laid over the pillow. The material is laid with an overlap of at least 20 cm.
4. Installation of the reinforcing layer. On the waterproofing layer, it is necessary to lay a reinforcing layer in the form of a mesh of steel reinforcement with a diameter of 12-16 mm. If the garage has a large area or is designed for a heavy vehicle, then the reinforcement is carried out in 2 layers. At the intersections, the reinforcing rods are interconnected with steel wire.
5. Installation of the bounding formwork. A limiter in the form of a board of the required width is installed around the perimeter of the garage, and also limits the viewing hole.
6. Installing beacons. In order for the filling of the garage floor to provide a flat floor, it is recommended to use beacons, the tops of which form the surface of the concrete screed. Such beacons can be made of wood or metal, and are fixed strictly vertically over the entire floor area in increments of 50-60 cm. The imaginary surface along the tops of the beacon is checked using a building level. The surface can be strictly horizontal or with a given slight slope.
7. Preparing and mixing concrete mortar. It is important to ensure uniform mixing of the ingredients, and therefore it is recommended to use a construction mixer if pouring is carried out manually, without using a concrete mixer.
8. Pouring a rough concrete floor. The solution is evenly distributed with a shovel over the entire floor area, compacted, and then leveled with a metal rule. The surface is leveled along the tops of the beacons. The thickness of the concrete layer is about 12-20 cm. The compaction of the mass is carried out using a vibrator, and in its absence, using a bayonet shovel. Filling the entire area in 1 run is very difficult due to the significant volume of the solution. To simplify the task, concrete is poured in sections that are limited to temporary mobile formwork from a board of the desired width. The flooded subfloor is aged for 10 days to dry and gain strength.
9. Filling the final layer. The previous reinforced concrete layer is considered a subfloor. A finishing cement screed is poured over it. It ennobles the appearance and redistributes the load. A screed is made from a mixture of cement and sand in a ratio of 1: 3 with a thickness of 4-6 cm. The above-described hardening topping system can be used as the final coating.
10. Formation of a protective coating. If you want to increase the reliability of the garage floor, you can pour a protective layer of epoxy mixture or polyurethane over the concrete screed. The manufacture of such protection is carried out strictly in accordance with the instructions for the material.

The concrete floor in the garage is widespread among motorists, because. adequately satisfies all requirements. To increase reliability, it can be covered with protective layers. Any person can make such a floor, but certain rules must be observed.

How to fill the floor in the garage with concrete in the garage updated: November 15, 2016 by: Artyom