New garage floor?

[Eckie]

Hey ---

I'm buying a house in Maple Grove -- new construction. I'd like to get some recommendations for the garage floor -- I know the floor is cured so I'm not worried about the waiting period. My thought is -- now is the time to do this since it's never been driven on/spilled on/etc.

Who's a fan of sealing vs. the epoxy flooring? I'm not interested in having someone professional job due to cost.

That being said -- I've never really been a huge fan of the Rustoleum epoxy kits....but maybe they would work since I know the existing floor is clean and won't need much prep?

Or --- should I just seal the floor and leave it as is?

It's a 3.5 stall, insulated and it will have heat this fall.

What have you guys done? Thanks!

[Shack]

It all depends on what you want. Sealing is much cheaper than doing an epoxy floor coating, so it all depends on what you want the floor to look like or not look like.

I know some other options on the do-it-yourself level that I have heard good things are Krylon, Armorclad, & U-coat It. Then you have (on the cheaper end) products like Rust-Oleum, Weatherbeater, and a couple others.

Only you can answer your question. If the epoxy is the direction you decide to go, do a youtube search on the product you decide or (if not included) request a dvd instructional video. Also read the directions, which it sounds like you would with the research you have been doing.

Personally I do like the epoxy coated garage floors. They make a garage look nicer. If it does pull up after time, strip it and do it again down the road. In a low traffic, residential setting, it should last forever if applied correctly.

Good luck!

[skolfoppa]

I agree w/ Shackbash. Epoxy has a nice look and when done correctly will last a long time with very little maintenance. If you take the DIY route, put the money saved in labor into the product. Step up into the industrial grade epoxy, and follow the instructions to the letter. Many HOs don't allow the epoxy and clear coat to cure for the proper amount of time, and then they scratch their heads when "pick up" marks show up. My .02. Skol.

[blakeb]

U COAT IT and u dont regret it, follow the directions and it will be excellent, over the past few years i have done a few floors, the very first one was a u coat it every other brand i applied was not as good.

[griz29]

Here is a tip for you - I have put a couple hundred gallons down at NEW school that was recently built. Make sure to rent a floor scrubber and get some aggressive sand paper for it and scuff the curing agent that was applied to the concrete. You want a profile on the floor for the coating to grab ahold of. Also I would recommend a clear coat on top if you go the Professional or regualar Rustolem. I have used the Home depot brand and it is not as good others imo. Make sure it is clean and dry and you shouldn't have any problems. Good Luck Griz

[Eckie]

Great advice guys --- thanks --

If I go this route -- here's my plan -- since the floor is new and basically clean, I plan on cleaning/sweeping, power-washing, sanding (per Griz), power washing again, and let dry.

Now -- appy epoxy as per instructions ... and make sure to wait several days before driving on it, which won't be a problem since I'll own the house 3-4 weeks before we'll be moving in.

Someone mentioned not being a fan of the Home Depot brand --- if not, would the Rustoleum brand be sufficient?

Shack -- thanks for the other types/brands...I'll research tomorrow. Speaking of, I thought I remembered seeing a pic of your garage and it had a great floor in it --- what route did you go?

[mn_bowhunter]

I've heard great things about the sherwin williams epoxy from a few professionals I talked to on job sites. They all said that they've used a few different products and sherwin williams was best. All of them also laughed about the rustoleum kits.

[Tom7227]

Does the epoxy get slippery when wet? Little slush on it? What do you do to make sure this isn't a problem? I think this subject has come up before and there were concerns expressed about that problem. I wish I had it but there's no way i could do it with my 50 year old pock marked floor.

[skolfoppa]

Does the epoxy get slippery when wet? Little slush on it? What do you do to make sure this isn't a problem?

There are a couple solutions to this problem. One is to use a grit product, like Shark Grit to give the floor some traction especially around areas of higher foot traffic. I throw a little extra in the mix around the inside garage door and step, and along the obvious paths you take to the vehicles. Also different top/clear coats have different levels of adhesion. Adhesion can change with levels of thickness(mils) as well. Then the obvious... keep it clean as grease and oil will bead up and, in rare occasions, create "slicks" of death, or hard falls . Skol.

[Shack]

Quote:

Make sure to rent a floor scrubber and get some aggressive sand paper for it and scuff the curing agent that was applied to the concrete.

This could also be achieved by using something similar to a drywall pole- sander and your hands for a residential garage. Something bigger, that rental charge looks mighty cheap lol! Good point. Just like getting your finish coats of paint to hold to the primer. Funny how that works, but basically the top-coat product (pretty looking) has nothing to hold on to and eventually pulls away. The very small groves left after sanding act like an anchoring point of sorts for the final coat. Eckie, I think Griz was saying to sand the first coat of the process after apply it, not the bare concrete surface itself. I assume the concrete is porous enough which allows the first coat to anchor to the floor. The first coats surface is very smooth and nonporous (for a lack of better words) and needs a scuffing for the second coat to hold on to.

I thought the HomeDepot house brand was Rust-Oleum?

skolfoppa explained it very well. That is a minor downside to the epoxy floor coating. Even with abrasive/grit added, they tend to be slippery when went, more so than just bare concrete. I think the grit is a must and even for the final look (this makes just plane none-speckled floor epoxy look like you did not just paint the floor ).

I never did epoxy my garage floor. Unfortunately I did not do the concrete work when my house was build. I could not even buy the concrete at a commercial discount for what my builder was giving back in form of a credit (mistake at the time on my part). Double unfortunately, the crew who poured my garage floor did it on a day I was not able to be their. They did do a nice job (talked with the guy in charge several times before the pour was scheduled), but they screwed up on one major, easy, no-brain-er thing. They poured in the later afternoon and did not cover it The slab froze that night and was a massive white mess of chloride the next day when the sun hit. I did get a substantial credit back from the builder in lew of any warranty on the slab (which got me a mudroom and a bathroom in the mudroom (unfinished minus trim, ceiling texture, & paint). It worked out in the end and I never did tear it out and replace it like I was going to do my first year in my house. So I just sealed it a good couple months after it was poured (would have right away but at the time I did not know if it was being torn out or not). I used a high gloss sealer on of my buddies in the concrete bussiness gave me in a 5gal can (orange and black can). Not sure of the name, but my floor for a couple years looked like a glazed donut. I should do it again for looks. It still seems to seal fine though.

Tom= I have seen professional companies epoxy over 50 year old concrete in automotive dealerships that I have worked in over the years. The concrete was pretty bad and after the process it looked like new again. Not sure what extra steps go into this? I would assume it involves a latex patching compound/mortar of sorts, like Por-Rok, Dash Patch, or Sta-DRI. Depending on the size of the pops/holes, or the unevenness of a crack/heave, you would apply as directed in the instructions. For the deeper situations, I would use some metal screen (similar to fine metal lathing or a stucco mesh), cut to the size that fits inside the depression, and then drill-sink a couple of Tapcon screws to hold the wire mesh to the floor. Then skim coat the latex patch mix level and sponge trowel finish it. Let it cure and boom! You have a smooth/strong even surface to apply your epoxy floor covering too!