Sunken slab.

[Floorist]

During WW2, defense workers were moving by the thousands into the KC area, into a community called Ruskin Heights. The government contractors put up hundreds of slab houses. They decide that if they poured a footing for the walls, they could pour the slab inside that, it would act as a form and they would go up faster and cheaper.
When I started carpeting some of them in the 80's, the slabs had shrunk 6-8 inches below the walls. That made the base boards up in the air. We stretched the carpet in and stapled it to the bottom of the baseboard to cover the gap. Has anyone else ever seen anything like that? I had someone ask about a slab like that and it's why I brought this up.

 

[Ernesto]

You mean the slabs sunk 6 to 8 inches? Thats pretty odd, never seen that.

 

[Floorist]

You mean the slabs sunk 6 to 8 inches? Thats pretty odd, never seen that.

Yep, the slabs sunk and the outside walls didn't. At least 300 of those homes and every one that I worked in, was that way.

 

[Ernesto]

Improper compaction or none at all

 

[Floorist]

It had been a corn field. They just plowed it under and started pouring concrete according to one of the old timers.

 

[Tucks]

I think the cowboy from AZ is right,
sounds like WWII construction, throw up the houses, fast, to get the planes and tanks rolling out to the Pacific and Europe,

 

[TNT]

We have a few subdivisions around here of 50s and 60s government housing tracts, all on slabs. They haven't much sunk, but they are very hard slabs, yet powdery.

Tia

 

[rugaddict]

yo rusty---i just had to deal with this a few months back---common area in an apartment complex---only sank a couple of inches---i used vct which i set up as a pyramid---bottom piece 12 inches--next piece 11---blah blah blah---then i used plani patch with milk to smooth it out---one full day of prep---i told them i was 100 percent sure it would sink some more---they said they knew it too---just another day at the office--man i love my job