Gypcrete: Mundane Concrete or Sexy New Floor?
Gypcrete both a general and trademarked term that refers to lightweight concrete used for sound insulation and radiant floor heating. In the past, it was applied then covered up by wood or other flooring materials.
A recent trip to my neighbor’s house reveals that it can be much, much more. According to my neighbor Rory, USG recently came out with a variant of gypcrete (possibly called Levelrock) that allows for coloration. This means you can have a thin, lightweight concrete floor without the need for additional bracing or understructure. He covered his entire first and second story floors of his house with a layer of Levelrock. It’s beautiful, functional, and seems relatively inexpensive. Rory says it only weighs 14# per sq. ft.
The cost? Roughly $5000 for materials and installation. Coloration and sealing cost around $6000. That may sound like a lot of money, but it’s for two floors (a total of nearly 2000 sq feet) and one should factor into this the fact that it provides the house with a giant radiant heat sink.
USG has a new website with more information: www.levelrock.com
UPDATE 6/6/07: I visited Rory’s house the other day and I’m sorry to say the colorant and sealant are not holding up. Part of the problem is he’s still doing construction, which is hard on the floor. Nevertheless, I was surprised to see how delicate the surface was – places where he had put down tape peeled up the colorant and sealant. This leads me to believe that the process is more of a surface treatment, rather than a true penetrating stain/colorant. The vendor is returning to redo the entire floor, so we’ll see how that goes. The unfortunate part is that Rory’s already put down floor trim.