my old concrete patio that is now a inside patio floor is very solid however it has many chips and gouges from all the years of us kids playing on it about 40 years ago, ther are no cracks or signs of crumbling question is what do or use to smooth the slab out the deepest divots are 3/8 or less deep. we are not sure what to do with the floor after it is smoothed.. is there a type of floor paint that could help keep the cold out?? thanks for amy replies jim

If this is now inside space, you could kill two birds with one stone by installing a new finished floor. A floating click type floor with a foam pad would cover up all the ugly and give you a little separation from some of the cool of the slab. Plus, if you install a floor on top, your repairs can be limited to some vinyl concrete patch on the deeper divots in the slab.

If not a new floor, then use a vinyl patch for the holes and paint. But, you will be able to see the patched areas through the paint and the paint will do nothing to insulate. However, it will cost a lot less then new flooring.

jaybee thanks for the info, can you tell me a little bit more about this click type floor like how thick it will be after installing and if moisture happens to get under it if it will xause problems thanks again jim

Click and lock would be like Pergo or could be a real wood floor. It is about 1/2" thick.

It would not like getting wet from below. If you have this issue click and lock may not work. Check for floors that are rated for below grade (as in a basement) and you can probably use those on your slab.

Another option would be to tile it with an unglazed tile.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sparky617,

Basically as Sparky says. There are several different materials used in floating floors, for a slab install you use an engineered laminate - this is a plywood or composite base with a layer of finished flooring on top. Thickness is about 1/2", maybe a little less. Also on a concrete slab - you install the laminate on top of a padded vapor barrier. All floating floors go on top of a ~1/8" thick pad, but there is a better grade pad that is also a vapor barrier used for concrete.

Installed as above, it can handle typical moisture from a slab with no problems. However, all floating floors are not great with water leaks. If you ever get any kind of flooding, it's almost impossible to dry under the floor without removing the floor. so moisture is OK, actual water is not.

Beyond that, floating floors are definitely a 'you get what you pay for' type of product. Cheap stuff that looks like crap runs $1.00 / SF. Somewhat decent is in the $2.50 / SF range and the really good stuff starts around $3.75 and up. Best stuff I've seen is by Schon, sold through Lumber Liquidators.

Jimbo4dog,

Jaybee and Sparky617 have given you solid information. They know what they're talking about.
I, on the other hand, am just a DIY wannabe with an opinion. So, please take it for what it is.

Part of my ranch home is on a concrete slab and about seven years ago we covered it with click together laminate. It looks okay, but now we kind of regret that we didn't use real wood or tile--something that would look better.
Also, I don't know what area of the world you live in, but I can tell you that, during the cold months here in Western New York, that laminate over concrete gets cold (even with a foam backer).
If I had it to do over, I'd install nice looking tile over an in-floor heating system.
If you live in a more temperate climate, then you might consider Jewelstone (a product from DuROCK). I'm considering using it on my outdoor concrete walkway. I think it takes a bit of experience to attain the really cool, faux stone, effects possible, but the simpler looks seem attainable by a DIY'er (take a look at http://www.durock.ca/jewelstone.html if interested).

Perhaps other contributors have direct experience with in-floor heating over concrete or with Jewelstone. In my opinion, they're options worth considering.

Let us know what you end up doing and how it turns out.