In the middle of having a new garage built and the question has come up about SEALING the Floor after it is poured which is what my guy usually does.. BUT, he mentioned to me that if I am planning to PAINT my floor with any of the better known Garage Floor Paints ( spatter/speckle.. etc.. ) that I may want to hold off and NOT seal it because the Floor paint or any type of tiles, etc., may not adhere as well.

Open to discussion/thoughts on this and what products/Floor coverings has anyone used that they really like.. photos a PLUS :)

Thanks in advance

Mike

I've heard the same thing Mike, don't seal it if you plan on coating it with something else. And you definately don't want to seal it with anything for at least 6 months.

Also make certain they use a vapor barrier of some kind (plastic, or - preferrably, foam) under the slab to prevent moisture from wicking up from the ground.

Go here for answers to all your questions:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/

Regards,

Dan

I painted (Epoxy Coated) my garage floor two years ago. I let it cure 28 days, used the citrus etch supplied and still got hot tire lift. What I noticed is, when it lifts, the paint chips have a concrete coating on them. I can only assume either the concrete was still not cured enough or was not etched enough. Due to the paint chip lifting concrete with the chip, I do not think etching was the problem. Hae done more than myu share of concrete over the years. I kept this covered and wet for 10 days just to prevent this exact thing and still got it. I have seen commercial jobs done where they actually mechanically abraid the concrete with a special concrete floor sander. JMHO, before I went through the aggravation & expense of applying the epoxy, I would strongly consider having it mechanically prepped - new concrete or old. Once done with the flakes, it does look real nice though and in the areas where it didn't lift, spills wipe right up.

Keep the coments coming...Thanks.. I would not be doing the epoxy or whatever until the spring/warmer weather comes again, so it will have plenty of time to cure.

When I built my garage six years ago I had a guy do the slab for me. I wasn't totally satisfied with the smoothness of the floor so I rented a concrete polisher(not sure that's what it's called) and did the whole slab with the supplied stones after I let it cure for the recommended time. Once it was under roof I used the rustoleum brand floor epoxy. It was the middle of the summer so it was nice and hot, I followed the directions and I haven't had any problems of any kind, I don't know if I can contribute that to the prep and/or the sanding/smoothing I did first.

My cousin had his house built and use the exact same stuff in the garage and had tire lift.

The etching is very important... I wasnt told to use the etch, only to use the prep, then the paint.... Bad results. all I have now is a semi gray floor. I need to clean and etch and re cover the whole thing...

Personally, if I were about to have a garage floor poured, I would opt for a Terrazzo style. Nothing to peal, its concrete so theres no fear of damage (as floor coatings can be), and it can even be done in the checkerboard style.

http://www.concretedecor.net/Abstracts/CD402_Terrazzo.cfm

You absolutely should wait at least a month to let it cure, beileve it or not the concrete bleeds while curing even though you cannoth see it. I used to be in the business and still do plenty of sidejobs. Make sure you wait. By the way have you thought about staining the floor then sealing it, it would look unique for sure. I could almost guarantee you would be the only guy with that floor.

I just built a 24x24 garage i let the concrete cure for 45 days,then acid etched it then used behr products garage floor paint kit,i did it in tan with brown,white black speckels.So far so good,no hot tire peel u p,ive dripped laquer thinner on it,cleaned right up never dulled the finish.I had a friend do his new garage also and he loves it too.It took 2 kits to do my garage.

Click on the "Dream Garage" link.

I had a new construction house with fresh slab. I acid etched, then painted the floor White with a 2 part Epoxy Paint from Sherwin Williams. I Then masked off using 12"x12" pre cut adhesive squares and painted over in Black.

It's been 7 years, 3 cars, 3 Bike and a Street Rod build, and it still looks pretty Good.

I clean it once a year with Acetone and Scotch brite and it cleans right up.

Durable as can be.

It's a little dirty in the photos from the abuse I give it, but with some scrubbing, brightens up pretty (even after 7 years)


if I had your cash though, I'd tile it. ;)

Check out the Garage floor forum here (http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/index.php?)

Lots of good reading

I went with the Black and White vinyl tile Mike (picture of one half below). It looks very sharp, but is very "high" maintenance as it turns out. It is impossible to get the marks off the floor where the tires sit (I assume that is a result of the tires being hot when parked).

It is also a PITA when you need to jack the car up. It's necessary to have a big piece of aluminum or something under the hydraulic jack to distribute the weight. Same holds true for the regular floor jacks. Otherwise I believe the tiles would crack.

As mentioned, it is sharp looking, but if I had to do it again I would try something else. RACE DECK is the way to go if it wasn't so darn expensive.

http://www.pbase.com/don_lightfoot/image/59714525.jpg

I used the Rustoleum brand on a new non sealed floor, I bought a kit for a 2 car garage and followed the instructions. Good luck with your garage/floor Mike.

I used a rustolium kit on my garage 6 years ago and it is still doing great. the floor was only 3 months old when it was aplied. I've never had any tire lift. I've used it hard like a shop floor dragging equipment around on it and spilling all types of automotive fluids on it with very little visable wear. Just don't go past your garage doors and expose it to outside sunlight. It will fade. Have fun with your new garage!

Tom

It depends on how much work you will be doing in it, or will it be for show with some work being done in it.

If you will be changing motors, exhaust work, using a welder and torches, stuff like that, I wouldn't put anything on the floor, a coated floor can get slippery, where the bare concrete will give you better footing and should be a lot safer.

I used 7/16'' osb (aspinite) 4'x8' sheets on the inside walls.

Any run of the mill primer and latex paint on it will hold without peeling. I also went the same route in my homemade paint booth and that gets sprayed down with a hose and I haven't had any problems with it.

Wall board looks nicer, but you are limited to what you can hang on the wall, with the osb you can make a steel plate for some things like hose reels and use a bunch of screws to secure it to osb, where you can't find a stud.

Figure on hanging up a lot of stuff on your walls, along with shelving, otherwise you will probably run out of workspace.

If you run a floor jack handle into osb it won't punch a hole in it.

No doubt the painted wallboard is really nice, it just depends.

Rob

Thanks everyone.. seriously.. Great info. Great Links!! More is welcome.. esp. on products..

Tire lift? Hot tires? .. Oh.. you mean if you drive the car :D

I even abuse me!!:p

Sorry I'm getting away from your initial question on a floor sealer, but you haven't built it yet, so one more thing here, then I'll be quiet.

]In this picture there is an overhead hose reel. http://www.1969supersport.com/grg001.jpg
This is an inexpensive hose reel, but used a lot.

They are pretty heavy to mount in the overhead, and about the best you can do is catch about two studs under the osb, but with a long skinny metal plate screwed to the osb, then the reel is bolted to that plate it works good.

I had an air operated motorcycle lift under it for a couple of years, also used a air ratchet for parting out motorcycles, the hose reel was used a lot on a daily basis, and its still on the money.

I think the plate I used was 1/16'' thick.

Rob

Just finished up a 30 x 50 3 bay garage..Used the Behrs also...seems to be tough so far..no lift off as yet...overhead air hose is great idea, but i also ran 3/4 pvc sch 40 pipe around back and side walls..tees in ever 10 feet with quick connect... i wanted plenty of air access for sanding , grinding ,whatever.. That way i use a short 8 foot hose for less tripping and it getting under foot.. also ran pvc and electrical receptacles about 48 inches up walls, too lazy to bend down if i don't have to.:noway:

This has been posted several times. A search should turn up a lot of good opinions. I have heard U-Coat-Is a nice product. Have also heard good things about the garage coating system sold at Home Depot too actually.

I used Rustoleum 2 Part Epoxy on my floor, 2 1/2 yrs ago. I topcoated with a clear and the clear has yellowed where its exposed to sunlight. I have scratched it - my fault- doing something REAL stupid - but other than that its been great. Whatever product you go with, make sure that it is NOT water based, it will not be durable. Check the forum mentioned at Garage Journal for lots of different products & how to do it right. Proper preparation is key.

I did mine in ceramic...


http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2719&page=4

david

I did mine in ceramic...


http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2719&page=4

david


Photo links there do not open without being registered :( can you post here?

Thanks again...

I can't post a pic here.:(
check your PM's

david

We have a Garage store in Omaha that has some very nice floor products, very pricey but awesome coverings. I have seen the out of the box Home Depot speckle product and their speckle product and there is no difference. The Garage store product is absolutely awesome, it is very pricey but is worth the price IMO. Chuck

You fellows with epoxy coated floors; aside from hot tire lift, how does the coating hold up to a floor jack being dragged across it?

David, with your tiled floor - due to the grout lines the edges of the tiles are a little exposed. Seems the edges would be prone to chipping from running a floor jack around on it. I suppose if the tiles are laid with full coverage thin set they might hold up to the point loads from a floor jack but I'd be a little worried....

Dan

Dan,
only problem, so far, is where my son ran our engine hoist over the edge of the ceramic by the garage door.
he did chip a couple of tiles.
I have two 4 post lifts and put plywood under the legs.

david

Hey Mike :
Consider this idea........
I did not do it but a friend of mine did. When the poured the floor he had the concrete " Tinted "...... Any color of the rainbow.
I do not believe it will peal or lift. DAA !
Blue car--Blue floor
Red car--Red floor
Just thinking out loud.. Bob:thumbsup:

When I get ready, I will probably go the VCT tile route with black and white with a red border. VCT tile is fairly inexpensive and fairly easy to do yourself. Pretty easy to repair also. Don Lightfoot had a picture.
Only thing about VCT tile is to NOT get the peel and stick. Take the time to get a quality VCT tile and spread your own adhesive, let it dry to non sticky (dry), and then set the tiles...they stick instantly. roll over with a 100+lb roller. You can do 3/4 of the garage at one time and then the other 1/4 (leading to a door). I think it would be very durable as long as there wasn't any really heavy banging going on. VCT is Vinyl Composition Tile used in commercial applications.

Herbie, I've heard about the VCT but I have to wonder how it will stand up to the point loads from floor jacks and jack stands.

It's just kind of a hassle to have to use plywood under everything, but that may be the nature of the beast.

Dan

Mike, been there done that! I looked into painting and read that some had problems with paint lifting. Others tried glue down tiles. I bought the plastic tiles from Floorjunkies. I did the black/white pattern on 1200 sq ft and put them down in a few hours. Looks awsome and I've managed to spill and drip all kinds of stuff on it with no problems. The only issue I'm just now resolving is the black tiles will lift alittle with direct sun beating on them. I had a metal shop bend up some 16 ga metal Z bar to anchor to the floor to hold them down (this weekend project). Once they cool down they lay flat again. The tiles cost about $2.00/sq ft and if we move the floor comes with me. It was a major issue empting out the garage to do it and I didn't want to deal with painting every few years to keep it looking good. I'll post some pics first of next week. If you do the glue down you still have to do an excellent prep job. My prep was to sweep the floor.

Mikey,, I have used the paint and the floor tiles,, I think IF I ever build another I will use the interlocking tiles that allow drainage and air to circulate under the floor,, in the lift bay,, I just sealed it and forgot about it,,, the paint nor the tiles will resist tire marks where the interlocking tiles will, and you can replace one or twenty when ever a spot gets ugly,,, hope all is well with you,,, Nick

Herbie, I've heard about the VCT but I have to wonder how it will stand up to the point loads from floor jacks and jack stands.

It's just kind of a hassle to have to use plywood under everything, but that may be the nature of the beast.

Dan


WE RUN A POWER JACK(SKID)
OVER THEM EVERYDAY..
OURS ARE WAXED OVER..
SO, IF YOU GET PAINT/ETC ON IT. YOU STRIP THE WAX.. AND REDO..
TILES HOLD UP WELL..
i'D PUT PLYWOOD UNDER JACKSTANDS,THO..

Mike,
As I said on the phone the U-Coat it product works great. It's not cheap but after 3 years mine still looks brand new. It's also very easy to clean up when you spill oil and other fluids on it. If you do choose it, make sure you get the sand stuff so it's not like ice when wet. See pic below.
http://i449.photobucket.com/albums/qq220/PickSS/MapleGrove92008016.jpg

Mike,
As I said on the phone the U-Coat it product works great. It's not cheap but after 3 years mine still looks brand new. It's also very easy to clean up when you spill oil and other fluids on it. If you do choose it, make sure you get the sand stuff so it's not like ice when wet. See pic below.
http://i449.photobucket.com/albums/qq220/PickSS/MapleGrove92008016.jpg


Sean.. Can I count on you to come over and help :disco:

Thanks... everyone!!

First, I didn't take the time to read all of the replies, so sorry if this is repetitive. I'm gonna say that I'm an expert on this b/c in my past I sold commercial coating services (epoxy and urethane) for everything from clean rooms, food production areas, car dealerships, and manufacturing areas.

First, your guy is correct, before any coating is applied to concrete it is bead blasted to remove any contaminants and to prep the surface. If you're doing this yourself you can also etch the concrete with a muratic acid sollution. Just make sure that you rinse rinse rinse as to keep the acid from delaminating your new coating. You could also nuetralize the acid just to be safe.

Also a couple of hints... You can buy epoxy coatings from places like granger and save some money over the highly advertised "garage coatings". Buy rustoleum brand, we produced our own, but sometimes in a pinch we'd actually buy rustoleum brand so I know it works well. If you choose to use flake, broadcast it to rejection or it won't be even. Then make sure that you you use several coats of clear over it or it will hold dirt. It's been 5 years but I think the clear we used was 2300??

When you're actually doing the coating, use a really thick roller, like 3/4" knap. Wear those plastic yard aerator shoes, you know the ones with the nails on the bottom. Tape those to a pair of old boots, this will allow you to walk over the epoxy as your working it.

Hope this helps, if anyone has any questions send me a PM.

I have spilled paint on my garage floor.It was there when I bought the house.Did you ever notice that spilled paint sticks really well.I have parked on it with every one of my cars and all brands of tires and not once has it ever lifted.In fact one car had to sit parked on it for close to six months.Not even a tire mark.I tried razor blades,paint scrapers,you get the idea.It scrapes,but leaves the mark.I wish I knew what kind of paint it was,I would paint that every where.