I'm building a new house and wonder what advise the almighty :up: BBS might offer up regarding garage floor coatings/sealers. One side will be for Wifey's car--the other will be my shop until the new one is built. I'm thinking non-slip, oil & fuel resistant, durable etc. Anyone have any thoughts? Good and bad experiences? Thanks in advance!!
Check out the Garage Journal ( www.garagejournal.com) . There is enough information over there to make your head explode. Best thing that won't give you problems would be professionally installed epoxy. Next down is do it yourself with really good prep work. Polished and sealed works very nicely as well. Oh, and it's all friggin expensive.
Are you planning on doing it yourself or having it done? I own a decorative concrete business and have been laying quite a bit of the chip systems lately in garages. I'm not asking to get your biz, it'll just give me the info I need to tell you what to do. For the basics though, you can do acid stained, polished, sealed (no color), or a chip system (recommended for a garage/shop!) These installed by a pro will range from $3.50-$4.25 a sqft. I really reccommend a chip system. they look great, hide dirt, clean easily, last a LONG time, are slip resistant, hot tire resistant. All tha attributes you would want in the garage. If you are going to do that yourself you'll need a grinder or shot blaster to prep the floor properly to begin with. If that is what you are thinking let me know and I'll send you some more info on it.
why not just get colored concrete right from the batch plant or trowel in the color and then seal it? I just built a house 1 1/2 years ago, prepped the floor very well and put down the two part epoxy...... and although it looks nice it is starting to chip off pretty good in some spots. .02.......
Then you didn't do something right. I'm not trying to be a smartass but that's the facts. Did you grind the floor and do a moisture vapor emission test?
In my last two houses we have used the asphalt tile available at the Depot stores or at color tile (same tile you see in the grocery store or your local school). Available in a huge number of colors. color fast, CHEAP (about .65/sft + glue) you can replace a single tile if necessary and it is just about indestructible. We put it down ourself.. the whole floor was about $400 bucks.. and it is TOUGHER than the epoxy systems and it is color fast. DON'T USE the peel and stick stuff it is laminated an not as tough as the glue down stuff.
If it is new construction, make sure your concrete guys get a good vapor barrier down. In Calif. I use 6 mil plastic. Don't know what your freeze/thaw cycle is where you are, ask your foundation guys what they are using for vapor barrier. Will you be pouring foundation with big rock or pea gravel? If you go with a rich 6.5 or 7 sack mix have the guys hard trowel garage floor then after it has cured up a bit grind and polish the floor then seal it up with a solvent based sealer and you're good to go. If color is something you'd like you can always apply a muriatic based stain for color then seal with solvent base sealer. That is the simplified version. I personally have not had good luck with overlays of any kind over time.
If you are possibly looking for an alternative, which nearly all my customers are, if they don't race that is, please check out www.ultimatefloorsystems.com I am a dealer for RaceDeck flooring, give all racers a 10% discount, made in the USA and its cheaper and lasts longer than coatings and can be replaced if you damage a tile. Granted its not the look of an epoxy covered floor but it will last longer and easier to change colors if you change your mind a year or two down the road. And if you move, you can pick it up and take it with you. Good luck.
I just built a house and put down an epoxy coat in the shop. In order to do a good job you will have to etch the concrete with Muratic acid. The spelling is probably way off. But beware this stuff is a little sketchy in confined spaces. So you might want to do this prior to house completion. The epoxy product I used was from TNEMEC, I belive there were 3 coats. Its a professional grade product that you can only buy from the manufacture I think. I would stay away from any chips, reason being when you drop that screw it disapears in the chip pattern. My only problem is where I droped a 30 lb vise, the paint may have stayed on the concrete but I now have a divit.
+1 on chips. We just re-did the showroom floor of my dealership with it, and it is AWESOME! Durable, easy to clean, looks REALLY good.
I just had a 24 X 40 X 10 garage built. They sealed the concrete floor the same day they poured it. Holding up great. Check with the people doing the concrete work for options.
I did the Home Depot epoxy floor coating it looks nice, took a few days, & was about $400 :up: super soft, don't drop a wrench or use a kick stand :down: If I could do it over, I would go with the RACE DECK tiles
Light Gray Porch and floor enamal, or your favorite color, at your local ACE hardware store. Sweep the floor dump some down and roll that baby on there. Mine has been down in my shop for years. Cheap and it works real well. I need to redo mine at present....nah....I'm good.
