Epoxy garage floor treatments

BKColeman · Aug 11, 2002

While I wait for all of the photos from the Farm Show download, I thought I would ask a question.

Anyone have any experience with those epoxy kits they sell for garage floors? I have the Rustoleum brand, Epoxi-shield, in my garage now. It hasn't held up as well as I expected. But I did put it down in the middle of winter and it recommends it be warmer. It was warm enough the day I put it down, but then turned colder.

Anyway, I'm thinking about redoing it. Any have experience with any of the other brands? I know Valspar and Behr make similar products. I'm not sure if the one I have is bad, or it is just because it was too cold when I applied it.

Any opinions appreciated.

--Brad

banjobj · Aug 11, 2002

I am thinking of doing my basement floor. I will be watching this thread to "educate myself" /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

frank_f15 · Aug 11, 2002

we had epoxy floors put down in our new plant, GUARENNTED NOT TO LIFT. guess what you drop something heavy enough, on drag enough heavy stuff and it lifts. but they should be ok for a garage, i think any of the name brands should be ok. have u considered a good deck enamel paint? they hold up quite well and easy to reapply as it wears, not to mention not so costly. in my expereince it is best to make sure no matter what you put on, that the floor be as clean and oil and dirt free as possible.

gerard · Aug 11, 2002

I just bought some floor paint that's made for floors in hog sheds. Haven't put it down yet so can't attest to durability but it's supposed to be impervious to oils, acids, welding splatter, abrasion etc. $90 a gal so it's not cheap. Comes with a 10 year warranty. I figure if it's designed to hold up to constant urine/hog droppings, skid steer traffic etc it should be fine for a garage floor.

banjobj · Aug 11, 2002

Wow! $90.00 for a gallon, that is almost as expensive as liquid gold. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

gerard · Aug 11, 2002

I just hope it winds up being more durable!!!!! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

patrickg · Aug 11, 2002

banjobj, Epoxy and other moisture proof coatings are pretty iffy in basements and can have problems in garages as well. Even if the coating is super strong and impenetrable it can fail from moisture coming up from the underside. I recently hired a consulting engineer to do a subterranean soil investigation at my proposed building site. In his report, as well as in our on-site conversation, he cautioned against any basement (concrete) floor coating that would not easily pass water vapor. He expressly warned against epoxy, linoleum tile, and vapor proof glazed ceramic tile (anything that won't breathe). Seems that a small amount of moisture will wick through the floor irrespective of your best waterproofing efforts (I will follow his extensive waterproofing recommendations) and that water vapor needs to be allowed to get to the air and be carried away. He said epoxy will work for a bit then as moisture accumulates at the interface, small sections of the epoxy will blister and pop. Likewise an expensive tile or marble job can be ruined.

Bare concrete will let the moisture go away like when you are in low humidity and your sweat evaporates while your skin stays dry to the touch. There is a standard test for moisture coming through the slab (basement, garage, or whatever) It uses calcium chloride of some such hygroscopic chemical in a container exposed to the slab for a measured period of time. I think they then weigh the dessicant (CaCl powder or whatever) to see how much water was adsorbed). Less scientific but of some use is the test where you tape a heavy piece of plastic like visqueen to the floor, sealing the edges carefully and monitor for trapped moisture. This qualitative test is much less precise or useful but caould serve as a warning that further investigation is waranted.

It was counter intuitive to me but on reflection made sense when he recomended carpet. He said with the right pad and carpet there should be no problem as the water vapor will not be retained.

Hope this saves you from a needlessly expensive adventure or inconvenience. If you find out anything that disagrees with what I reported, please let me know as I don't need and can ill aford a major house building disaster. We can just aford to do it once so am trying to be a belt and suspenders kind of guy on this project.

Patrick

banjobj · Aug 11, 2002

Thanks I will follow your advice.

njrqs · Aug 11, 2002

We just had our garage floor done with a generic product we call "Seamless Flooring"

It is an epoxy colour base, onto which flakes or chips are thrown, so the end result is a flecked look. Once set, 2 more clear coats of epoxy are put over the lot.

Makes our garage look like another room of the house it is so good.

Waterproof and I had them cove the skirtings so I can hose out etc.

Very nice..........