Please help

[heatherp6]

the quantities were 3 1/2 ballast to 1 cement, he asked what is a vapour barrier,
the paint was one he uses at work, so he knows its not cheap,
the mixture wasnt sloppy, it was tampered and floated,
the concrete wasnt soaking and the water came to the surface, after a little while,and he didnt add water to liven it up,the cement was made by quinn,
He did put down viscreen,
he,s been to the builders yard where we bought all the stuff from, and theyve given him some hardener and some self levelling compound,they didnt charge for these items,which was really nice of them,
they are a decent bunch anyway,which is why we,ve always used them, theyre called Pawletts,

[lutonlagerlout]

hmmm
something has gone wrong here
was the ballast loose or in bags?
I have had loose ballast before with too much fines in it
without seeing it its hard to tell but at 3.5 to1 it should be rockhard
too much water is usually one of the biggest problems ,followed by frost or rain getting to the uncured surface
quinns cement is ok
LLL

[heatherp6]

the ballast was in ton bags, does it make much of a difference

[Brucieboy]

As LLL says, the concrete should be rock hard. 3.5 to 1 is quite a rich mix. Quinn cement looks fine - from their website it appears to be a CEM II (CEM I blended with pfa) which is similar to most general purpose cements available at builders merchants / DIY stores. Excess fines in the ballast could be a cause (either bulk bag or small bags) - it's normally about 50% by volume. From what you've said, your hubby seems to have done everything OK? The concrete wasn't too wet, it was tamped and floated with no water extra added. A bit of a mystery. Some photos would help. Can you still scratch the surface and remove the stones easy or has it hardened up in the last few days?

[GB_Groundworks]

Maybe there a confusion on how wet it should be, it should stand up of its own accord (think risotto consistency) there is a massive tendency (guilty as charged) of wetting it up to be like runny porridge to easy workability and positioning of it.

We wet it up a bit in footings etc anything that's not structural or finished or had a slump specd

[simeonronacrete]

Hi

I think as has already been said it's a result of too much water in the screed, perhaps not enough cement, rain on the surface followed by high temperature, lack of curing.

As to a remedy, an epoxy or any other floor coating, no matter how cheap or expensive, won't stick to a weak, friable dusty floor. That's why it's coming off. You can put a sealer onto the floor which will soak in, but only after you've removed the peeling floor paint. The sealer will be easily absorbed into what sounds like a very porous floor, so you may need several coats to achieve a result. And generally sealers improve a floor. It's almost impossible to turn a bad floor into anything but a better one - seldom into a good one.

The professional remedy is to plane off the top surface until you reach a sound surface - assuming a sound surface exists underneath what you can see. Then lay a thin bonded screed which will be harder and stronger and make you happy.

You're now into the realms of specialist surface preparation and thin bonded floor screeds. If you'd like a specialist contractor to visit and give their opinion and a price please let me know.

Regards