Garage floor: Sealer or epoxy?

[yomax4]

Epoxy works ok with a heavily broomed finnish. It sticks pretty good to it. It will get slippery when wet. I have used both and I like the sealer applied in 3 coats. It will take some solvents and really does seal and is affordable. Plus you can re-apply when needed. The epoxy is a nice looking sealer but the price is prohibitve and does not like welding or cutting.

 

[kude]

Most everyone is leaning towards the coating. As a contractor I advise people against putting coatings on concrete especially basement and garage floors or foundation walls. Once that is done the first time it's a lifetime of maintaining it. concrete will last many lifetimes with nothing on it at all, except good quality sealers.

I see people who are selling their house, paint the entire basement concrete work, walls and floor even though the raw concrete was in perfect condition. So it looks good for the first few years, but is guaranteed to need redoing over and over from now on.

I had to do mine because it was previously done several times before. The basement floor and walls are holding up well after 8 years, but the garage floor will need to have something done to it again soon.

The surface of concrete is a dynamic environment that is unstable and it's impossible to guarantee any material will adhere to it permanently.
Of course there is enough anecdotal evidence that certain materials in certain applications will perform well and meet expectations.

JB

How do feel about sealing and polishing floors?

 

[JB4310]

How do feel about sealing and polishing floors?

I'm all for sealing, if for nothing else just to keep the dust down. Works well also for interior exposed masonry walls, especially old brick walls. I've done a few including my own 75 year old house's interior exposed brick work and it made a huge difference, keeping the area cleaner.

I have no experience with polishing concrete floors, I see at the big box stores they do some process to the floors that leaves them looking like they are polished.

JB

 

[Boeing]

Ray mentioned putting paint chips "in your floor" to reduce slippage.
I am having the floor of my garage/shop poured first Sept. I had PLANNED on doing a shiny epoxy floor but don't want to bust my butt when wet.
WHERE/WHEN does one add these paint chips? in the concrete when poured? or after 30 days of curing into the epoxy....or the sealer?
More info Ray.
Thanks,
Rob....retiring soon
PS, I have used "oil base" deck paint on garage floors. looked good; slick.
I have used Home Depot garage floor paint, dull finish, not too slick.

 

[JB4310]

I can only comment on the sealer, if you are pouring new concrete add the curing/ sealing compound before the concrete sets. usually during the finishing process. Spend a little extra time on the finish, a trowel machine will leave a very smooth/ tight finish, but shouldn't be as slippery as some of the coatings mentioned.

Some of you guys have very nice looking garage floors, if you are having picnics in there that's one thing but I see no reason to coat a good quality, finished concrete floor that's used to park a car on and store a lawn mower.

JB.

 

[Brian_Stephens]

I've had epoxy on my sugar shack floor for 6 years.. Dragging thinks around, hot ashes, syrup, honey, Hot water dropped equipment and it's still holding up.. Mold (we had some hives get wet one winter didn't find them for 2 years) comes off pretty easily...

The floor was sealed before we put down the epoxy... It wasn't the cheap stuff (and it wasn't the expensive stuff either) about 65 a gallon.. We got it cheap (about half that) because it had been mixed a really ugly grey...

 

[sweep]

If your going to do it don't chinch....the cheap paint/epoxystuff will not hold up at all and in 6 months will look like ****. The bad part is that the "good stuff" will cost over $70 a gallon. I can't advise on the sealer as I never tried any.

I put epoxy on my floors and 5-6 years later still look like new and the stuff is tough.

 

[sweep]

Ray mentioned putting paint chips "in your floor" to reduce slippage.
I am having the floor of my garage/shop poured first Sept. I had PLANNED on doing a shiny epoxy floor but don't want to bust my butt when wet.
WHERE/WHEN does one add these paint chips? in the concrete when poured? or after 30 days of curing into the epoxy....or the sealer?
More info Ray.
Thanks,
Rob....retiring soon
PS, I have used "oil base" deck paint on garage floors. looked good; slick.
I have used Home Depot garage floor paint, dull finish, not too slick.

The paint chips I sprinkled in as my brother rolled on the epoxy-I followed right behind him. Let it dry for a day and then put on two coats of clear.

 

[ray66v]

Ray mentioned putting paint chips "in your floor" to reduce slippage.
I am having the floor of my garage/shop poured first Sept. I had PLANNED on doing a shiny epoxy floor but don't want to bust my butt when wet.
WHERE/WHEN does one add these paint chips?

The paint chips are tossed into the wet epoxy shortly after it is applied. This is how you get the speckled look. Generally there are three or four different colors used a premixed bag of chips, but you can buy just about any single color or combination you want. >SEE epoxy coat web site.

Epoxy Paint Chips & Flakes - Epoxy-Coat.com

They do help reduce slippage. I would still also add anti friction sand along with the chips, if you want to be sure no one will ever slip. NOTE: Slippage only occurs when the floor is wet.

 

[Boeing]

"into the wet epoxy as it is being applied" Is that also how the anti-slip SAND is applied? Just hand toss on top of the wet paint?
Thanks, Not wanting to bust my butt.