Epoxy coating for cement garage floor ?

[Walt G]

I am currently expanding my 63 year old garage. Existing garage is masonry construction, has been insulated, electric heat added. Size of existing poured concrete garage floor is about 18 feet wide x 22 feet deep I am adding 6 feet to the front. Old floor has some oil drip stains from the leaky old pre war cars (if they don't leak you don't drive em !!) I would like to coat the floor (new floor will be poured concrete also) with an epoxy coating . Probably won't have this done (won't do myself) until it gets warmer next Spring ( I live on long island and it is pretty damp here now)

I welcome all suggestions - will the epoxy coating stick to the oil stained areas? should the floor be power washed before the coating is applied? Is an epoxy coating the way to go? Your input would be most welcome.

For what it is costing for the expansion/heat/insulation etc I could have bought another car but , want a really nice space for my 40 Buick Roadmaster and 30 Packard std eight. Before I contact someone to do the job I would like to have some answers from fellow squirrels who have had this done.

THANKS!

[Guest BillP]

Whenever I pour a concrete floor, in addition to other things, I use a heavy-duty vapor barrier and insulation board. I have a concern, especially in my area, of water penetrating up through the pad and causing condensation and corrosion. Of course, you don't know what is under the existing pad; probably nothing.

 

You want to seal the existing pad, but logic would say that water would/could push up and blister the new seal topping. That makes sense, and there are products that seal yet allow water to pass. I would do something like that. If I was still concerned, I would put a tarp under the car to intercept the water directly under the car. The heat you have added will greatly improve conditions and help humidity in the garage.

 

Whenever I have a coating question I usually find the answer and good products at Sherwin-Williams. Here's a link, and BTW, I have no connection to them, other than being a customer.

 

https://www.sherwin-williams.com/home-builders/services/paint-technology-and-application/sw-article-pro-coatingconcrete

[46 woodie]

Walt, the epoxy floor coatings that are available from the big box stores first require an acid etch before the top coat can be applied. They specifically state that the floor must be free of grease and oil or the epoxy won't adhere to the floor. Oil stains that have leached into the cement are almost impossible to remove. I have tried everything from lacquer thinner to scrubbing with dish soap and I can't seem to get it clean. Anyone have any ideas?

[Walt G]

Thanks fellows appreciate your comments so far, yes 46 woodie, what you stated about the floor cleanliness is what I had suspected. The floor in my garage isn't totally filthy but as you state oil has leached into the cement. I thought epoxy would possibly be a solution , also be easy to sweep out, or mop out if necessary. Yes, please , anyone  give us some ideas.Thanks.

[Spinneyhill]

As above, any existing floor must be clean, oil etc. and dust free for the paint to stick. Kitty litter is excellent at soaking up oil, as is bentonite clay (which may be in KL).

 

Before occupying our new house, I had the garage and workshop floor painted in epoxy. It was a very good move. Spills are easy to mop up. It is easy to sweep and mop. Concrete surfaces are always dusty from the liquor on the surface; the paint suppresses that. The Red Shed is not painted and it is always dusty.

 

Your DPC (Damp Proof Course) should be under the floor, not on top of it when building a new floor. No doubt you are onto the drainage requirements to prevent frost heave under the floor.

 

If you are painting an old floor with no or uncertain DPC under it, you would probably be better with a concrete sealer first. Dupont make one that grows crystals into the concrete pores. I looked at it for tanking the inside of the concrete block basement of our '60s house with poor tanking on the outside. Is it Wakefield ? make a good concrete sealer too; I think it operates in the same way. I looked at it for the drive but it was horrendously costly to get the stuff here so left it (no-one markets it in NZ as far as I can discover). Of course, oil in the pores makes it impossible for it to work. Whatever you use, remember the concrete is alkali and an acid etch will remove (some or all of) the smooth surface. Exposed aggregate is done that way.

 

Having said all that, if you are subject to winter freezing and have no DPC under the existing floor, it might not be a good idea to seal the moisture into it 'else it freezes. Another idea might be to put a breathable layer down (e.g. thick geotextile) then a DPC and lay a new floor on top. You could even install underfloor heating in it, then paint.

 

[hullinger]

I'll share my prospective on epoxy floors.  Once they are on they look great and clean up really easy.  Oil, grease, dirt all wipes away with a little cleaning spray.  The down side is that the floor becomes very slippery when wet.  It's like walking on ice.  Also, when I bring a car into the garage that is wet, the wet tires leaves dirt trails on the floor that need to be wiped up each time.  Every few months I need to scrub the floor and hose it out to clean it up those dirt trails.  After scrubbing it always shines like new again.  I know it doesn't sound like a big deal but it becomes one more household routine maintenance item that needs to be done.  Would I epoxy the garage floor again?  Sure would but I would also want to find a product that doesn't get so slick when wet.

 

Chris 

[46 woodie]

Chris, some of the epoxy floor products offer a sand like media that you lightly spread across the floor when the epoxy is still wet. It offers anti slip protection.

[Spinneyhill]

Just a note about the process. Our paint took a while to dry, esp. in the saw cuts. Dust stuck to them so they look dirty. I also walked on it too soon. It really took a while. Maybe we used the wrong paint.

[Beltfed]

It seems from the comments above that the epoxy is going to be a problem with the oil and such.  I have seen several shops that have a tile floor laid down over the concrete.  One was a checker flag pattern the other orange and white (big Univ. of Tenn. fan).  No idea on cost.  See vendors who sell it for garages at big car shows.

[ply33]

We bought the house we are now in 11 months ago and decided to get the garage floor epoxy coated prior to moving in so that oil leaks, etc. would be an easy clean up. The house itself is about 60 years old. Not sure how old the garage was as it might have been added later, but it was pretty old, very cracked and, of course, had stains.

 

I decided to go with a product called SpartaFlex which they say is not an epoxy but it is a two part chemically curing type product. Also, near as I can tell, not available for the do-it-yourself crowd. The vendor did a nice job of cleaning the old stains, filling the random cracks, cutting new crack control grooves and applying the product. Not cheap but it looks and works great. There is a fleck type product added to the final coat that provides wear resistance and keeps it from becoming slippery when wet. So far, just under a year now, I am very happy and would recommend the vendor to anyone in my area.

[Xander Wildeisen]

I can not speak from experience, but it would seem to me. If you put a coating on a floor that you will be doing welding, plasma cutting, grinding or other work that involves heat,sparks,flames or melted metals. There is no way it will hold up. If It is to make the space nice for display, great. But remember the sign "slippery when wet"

[mike6024]

 

You can rent a concrete surface grinder/polisher then apply a sealer. Not sure what it would all add up to, except a lot of work. I have seen this done to a very old concrete floor where an old store was being remodeled into a new one. The old store had used those commercial glue-down linoleum 1ft by 1ft tiles, but the new store needed a more modern look.

[captndan]

All things considered in the OP I would get a specialist contractor that gives a warrantee.

[46 woodie]

The other thing you can use is a product called "Race Deck", those tile type pieces that lock together. I do think that they are rather expensive though. Anyone ever use them?

[Restorer32]

In another life I worked in a boiler factory. The concrete floor was constantly spalling out due to the excessive weight of boilers being moved around on steel casters. A company came in and applied a coating of an epoxy type product which held up better than the original concrete, at least for the 2 years I was there.

[Friartuck]

The Garage Journal has an entire category dedicated to flooring on their Discussion Forum: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=20

 

I seem to recall Epoxy-Coat being the favorite on the above forum due to uniform color and not a clear coat system: http://www.epoxy-coat.com/

 

IMHO, don't be lured by lower price at the Box Store

 

[John_S_in_Penna]

With a shiny floor surface, any imperfections

or unevenness in the surface will be much more noticeable.

To solve that, would the contractor first put down

some sort of "skim coat" of self-leveling epoxy?

 

I've seen large expanses of epoxy-coated concrete floor

in an industrial plant.  It looks great in that indoor location!

But I think Ply33's textured idea (Posting #10) 

sounds good to give more slip resistance on a 

wet garage floor.

Edited November 19, 2016 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[D Yaros]

On 11/16/2016 at 4:24 PM, hullinger said:

I'll share my prospective on epoxy floors.  Once they are on they look great and clean up really easy.  Oil, grease, dirt all wipes away with a little cleaning spray.  The down side is that the floor becomes very slippery when wet.  It's like walking on ice.  Also, when I bring a car into the garage that is wet, the wet tires leaves dirt trails on the floor that need to be wiped up each time.  Every few months I need to scrub the floor and hose it out to clean it up those dirt trails.  After scrubbing it always shines like new again.  I know it doesn't sound like a big deal but it becomes one more household routine maintenance item that needs to be done.  Would I epoxy the garage floor again?  Sure would but I would also want to find a product that doesn't get so slick when wet.

 

Chris 

Having epoxied my garage floor, I second everything said by Hullinger!

[hullinger]

While at Home Depot this evening I spied this garage floor cover.   But at $1,200 to cover a standard 2 car garage, it certainly not cheap!

 

 

 

Edited November 20, 2016 by hullinger (see edit history)

[Jeff Perkins / Mn]

I had my shop floor (800 sq/ft)  epoxy coated by a professional who specialized in hospital floors. He ground about 1/4" off my floor and then used a four part process that took a week to apply, waiting one day between coats. Ten years later it still looks like new, easy to clean and maintain. Cost was $3.00 sq/ft and worth every penny. 

[Jeff Perkins / Mn]

I recently had my storage condo done in the same fashion as I posted above, price is still the same!!