Basement without additional flooring / cleaning floor slab

So, I think something like that is called a construction defect. I mean, I think I have read about something like this before. Especially when you are only in the few-centimeter range, it creates a tripping hazard, which is controlled, among other things, by the brain.

Of course, that’s not optimal and would have been avoidable in a new building. But: countless old building owners have gotten very used to something like this, learn to recognize and love their tripping hazards, and after some time, can’t even say anymore where something is actually off. It’s obviously classic survivorship bias and guests should always be warned nicely. But to take the basement floor with its forever sandy condition into the ground floor because of such small deviations from the norm? That wouldn’t be my priority ;)

It is more of a requirement problem than a defect. The client demands a basement with a raw concrete floor. After it is finished, he realizes that it was a bad idea and wants a floor. If the staircase is already finished, it will no longer be possible to adjust it to a uniform step measurement because the requirements have changed in the meantime. And of course, it would be smarter to adjust the staircase if still possible.

Our basement is intended to house only laundry, storage, pantry, and technical rooms. Not least for cost reasons, we are foregoing heating, insulation, and plastering or painting work here. However, we are currently wondering whether it was a mistake to forego screed and an additional floor covering. Does anyone have experience with a basement where the plain floor slab forms the base? Can this concrete surface be wiped damp in everyday use and cleaned of coarse dirt?

I can hardly imagine a better place to save money. I have already had garages with bare floors without any problems, and I lived for over twenty years in a multi-family house (from 1972) with such a floor. If I mop in a basement, I go to the doctor. Sweeping I did without problems or wear. There was no sand ingress from the basement. The floor in the stairwell had the same covering as the above-ground floors, and then at the transition between the stairwell and the basement corridor a ramp as a mortar wedge. That worked perfectly. However, back then we were talking about about 4 cm screed thickness.

But because of such small deviations from the norm, now taking the basement floor forever sandy into the ground floor? That would not be my priority setting ;)

It was not a judgment either, rather the indication that a few centimeters more are more than expected and can have an effect. The OP can inform themselves about it. I would first seal it with a special paint before something like this happens in the opposite sense:

Yes, I meant purely the optical impression that the brain thinks the foot has to compensate but it doesn't, and then the floor comes sooner or later than expected = tripping...

The builder demands a basement with a raw concrete floor. After it’s finished, he realizes it was a dumb idea and wants a floor.

We had that in the old house, floor slab and nothing on it. Then we did it ourselves, poured leveling compound and glued and grouted the cheapest tiles from the clearance sale on top. The stair feet still stand on the floor slab today. It’s been holding for 30 years.

I would first seal that with a special paint,

I had both in garages: one with bare concrete floor, and the other with a waterproof coating. The only difference was the puddles from dripping snow: one dried slowly (usually two days until nothing was visible anymore) and the other was swiftly wiped away with a squeegee.