transforming a rough, unsloped concrete floor

[jbryce]

I would like to learn how to transform an old, rough, unsloped concrete floor into an acceptable brewery floor. Sufficient drains already exist, so if there is a way to smooth and slope the concrete surface toward the drains, that would be ideal. I have read several threads on epoxy, crack filling, etc. but haven't found any info on smoothing/sloping an existing concrete surface prior to coating. Is this normal practice or is sloping and smoothing done with the coating instead in this type of situation?

[BelgianBrewer]

Typically the concrete is sloped and the floor finish that is troweled onto it has an even thickness.

I would recommend that your talk to BASF. They now have the UCRETE product in their portfolio.
http://www.buildingsystems.basf.com/specificbrand.asp?brandID=143

If you decide to go with tile floors, talk to a contractor about the difference in thin set and mud set. I do not know what the maximum slope is they can achieve with mud set.

BelgianBrewer
www.sbmbrew.com]

[kramling]

Make sure the thickness of your existing concrete is thick of enough to support the weight of your brewing equipment. Most concrete pads average 4" thick which won't support the weight of your equipment when full.

I cut out the existing footprint of concrete where my equipment was to go and had a new foundation engineered to support the weight and have the right slope towards the drain. This ended up being roughly 8" thick with rebar reinforcement.

Once the concrete has cured I will coat it with a few layers of epoxy.

Good Luck.

Cheers,
Steve