Have you thought about converting your garage or basement into a comfortable space? Are you stumped about what to do with the cold uninsulated concrete floor? In this video we explore how to level the floor around a tapered floor drain.
Leveling a tapered concrete floor drain with pea gravel
A 50-pound bag of pea gravel is equivalent to 0.5 cubic foot, so two 50-pound bags cover 1 cubic foot. Knowing that a 50-pound bag of pea gravel averages 0.5 cubic foot makes the calculation easy — a cubic foot is a 12″x12″x12″ or enough fill to cover 12 square feet 1 inch deep.
To determine how many square feet of pea gravel you need, consider not only the width and length of the area you want to cover, but the depth at which the gravel should be spread.
How to level the pea gravel?
Use a straight edge guide to level the gravel.
One method on the expensive side is to level a floor involves using a self-leveling compound, which uses liquid and gravity to smooth out any dips in the subfloor. Pea gravel is an inexpensive way to level a floor without the expense of leveling compound. Here we are using a straight edge to distribute the pea gravel evenly and filling in the voids and dips.
A special note always fix structural issues first. Never cover up a problem, it will be less expensive to fix it now and more difficult to fix later.
How do I Install InSoFast panels over gravel?
Installing the panels then subflooring.
Test the InSoFast panels over the gravel. Make sure that the panels are fully supported by the gravel and the panel is firm and flat.
InSoFast’s 1.5 pound density foam will conform the the irregular pea gravel for a tight, quiet, and flat fitting floor.
I have uneven floor and I don’t want to use gravel
Alternate method for leveling a floor using shims.
Measure and make a template. Cellular PVC is a waterproof, rot proof shim material for supporting the InSoFast studs. Here we are using a make shift scribe to mark the cut on the PVC trim board.
Prior to installing panels, the low spots can be cut and fitted with shims over the concrete floor Here is a video link to leveling floor system.
