Cheapest way to level large concrete floor without losing height

Question

I have an old building that I am converting into a living space. The slab foundation is very old and uneven in a lot of spots. I need to level it, but I can't increase the height of the floors too much, or I won't have enough head room for the building code.
Here is a picture of the space, its hard to see the floor but it has a lot of dips and cracks in it.

I would like the entire floor to be level, so I can finish it with tile, carpet, or laminate. My original thought was to lay sheets of plywood down and level them with shims. I would only lose about an inch of height. The obvious way would be to use leveling cement, but that is too expensive. At 800sqf it would be around $4,500.
Is there an industry standard or would laying plywood down be my best option?

Z4-tier · Answer

There isn't much you can realistically do that will make those slabs even: either one has to come up, or one has to go down. I don't know what options are available for mudjacking a slab with a house on top, but if you could even find someone that can do it, I'd imagine both the cost and risks would be.... a lot.
depending on how big the gap is, you might be able to level it with epoxy. There are self-leveling coatings designed to fill gaps and cracks. You could also try using vinyl floor tiles to make the transition more gradual.
Probably the easiest (and cheapest) thing to do would be to get a big diamond grinding wheel and bevel down the lip. It won't make the slabs even, but at least you won't trip over it anymore.

Peter Manson · Answer

The easiest and most practical would be to clean slab , put a bonding agent and use concrete with smaller aggregate , im in canada so it would be 10 mm ( .394 of an inch )  You can then pour floor min depth of about 1.5 inches which is not much loss ..You need 4 to 5 yards max of concrete plus pay the finishers should come to about $2,000.00 maybe $2,500 max but i doubt it
Then its done , level and looks good ...I really dont think settlement is an issue looking at age of lumber used so further settlement is an non issue

Cheapest way to level large concrete floor without losing height

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