Painting prep for a Concrete Garage floor

[JWE]

Tom

I have a garage that is 24 X 22 with a floor constructed of prestressed concrete panels topped with two inches of concrete. Underneath the garage is another garage with the same dimensions where I keep my tractor and lawn/garden equipment.

About three or four years after construction, I started to get hairline cracks developing caused from the prestressed panels expanding and contracting. This allowed water to seep through and drip into my lower garage. It was especially bad in the winter when slush mixed with road salt dripped through the cracks (very corrosive). I tried every crack sealer known to man but nothing worked.

Last year I discovered a product called Sani-Tred that is used to seal floors that need to be water tight. I applied Sani-Tred to my floor and it seems to have corrected my problem. I park my cars on the floor and it still looks like the day I put it down. There are dark spots where the tires rest but the surface is not damaged.

The product is rubber based so it is non-toxic (no fumes). It is applied with a roller and is the consistency of thick paint. The overall appearance is like the example that you showed. Most of the work is in the prep of the existing floor. My floor was 22 years old and had oil spots, bad spawling (sp), old sealer and who knows what contaminating the floor. I used everything from cleaners, power washers and torches to prep the floor. If I had to do over again I would have rented a shot blaster as mentioned above.

The coating is expensive but it does a permanent job of sealing the floor. It is very durable and easy to clean. It does not seem to be very slippery when wet but if you have snow on your shows it is extremely slippery.

Sani-Tred

John

 

[briansanders]

Actually it is epoxy , not My garage , just a pic I found of what I want My floor to look like .

Southern Illinois Epoxy source

Try this link Advice for concrete

Do you have pictures after the renovation? Very interesting to see a photo of the epoxy floor.

 

[BigBlue1]

I think the potential for sealer on your floor needs to be confirmed before doing anything. You can spray/splash water on the floor and see what it does. If it turns dark it should be good. That means the water is soaking into the concrete. If it is sealed the concrete won't change color when wet. If it was sealed you will have significant prep work to get it capable of bonding with the epoxy. I had a portion of my pole barn done with epoxy and this was discussed by the installed. Fortunately my floor was brand new and I knew it was not sealed.

I think there is a big difference between the do-it-yourself kits and the stuff the pros use. I've seen both and the pro stuff is just much more durable and I think it looks better. That said, it isn't indestructible. The kid ran his truck up on metal ramps on my epoxy floor and it scratched some off when they skidded. At least it is repairable if you can find the right material. My installer sold me some when I needed to patch. Paint would be far less durable. Any place I've seen a painted floor with vehicles the tires have made a mess of it.

If you really want it done look for a good installer and pay the price for it to be done right. You'll be far happier over time with a quality job than a budget one that gives you continual problems.

Here are a couple pics:

Rob