I have a concrete basement floor that is ~95 years old. It resembles the surface of the moon; it's lumpy and uneven. The 'craters' range in diameter from 1" to about 1', and their depth is between 1/2" and 3/4".

In addition to being unsightly, it's impossible to keep clean because the pits trap dirt and little bits of concrete grit, and it is not pleasant to walk on. I would like to smooth out the surface to address these issues.

The local concrete specialty shop recommended a self-leveling compound (this one: http://www.mapei.it/Referenze/Multimedia/NovoplanEasy_TDS_EA.pdf) but it is $24 per bag, and I'd be lucky if a bag will do more than 10 square feet. For an 800sf basement, that's about $2000. Plus, the floor is not level from end to end, so when I dump in the $2000 worth of leveling compound, it may all end up in one corner of the room. And, it doesn't appear to be marketed for use as the final floor finish; they say it is just an underlayment. The products that are marketed as a final floor finish are twice the price. So, I think this is not an option for me.

Someone else suggested that I make my own sand mix (1 part portland cement, 2 to 3 parts sand) and just trowel it on. This would be less expensive, and the surface would only be as good as my troweling abilities, but it would probably do the job. I am not sure if it would be strong enough in areas where it is thin though - I don't want it flaking off if it doesn't bond well to the existing concrete.

I'd also like something that provides a bit of a moisture barrier (it's not damp to the touch, but if you leave a cardboard box on the floor for a week or two, the cardboard gets soft). A third person told me that there is some sort of penetrating sealant product you can paint on, but they didn't recall the name of it.

Do you guys have any thoughts or ideas on how to tackle this project? I don't want to spend a lot of money on it (a few hundred $ max) because the basement is dumpy and only used for storage. The ceiling is too low to ever turn it into a usable living space.

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