Garage floor coating suggestions?

I recently had a garage built, plus a workshop, and I want a really great floor.

I had liked the smooth, easy to sweep floors in the warehouse stores (like Home Depot or Lowe's) so I had the cement floor polished when it was put in. So far it's great because it's incredibly easy to sweep compared to the usual sandpapery floor. But I want to seal it or something and do it before winter comes.

Now I'm learning the kind of Home-Depot floor with its silicone sealant isn't very good for a garage because it requires a lot of maintenance and won't keep oil from soaking into the cement, etc.

I'm thinking of painting it with this Rustoleum epoxy stuff, but I thought before doing that (I imagine there's no turning back once the floor is epoxied) I would check in with my finicky friends at CPF and fish for any advice or ideas anybody has. And does anyone have any idea how long this stuff lasts in real life? Is there anything better that's not too expensive? Would I be better off having it professionally done?



Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

binky,

I have not used this product or know anyone who has. However, when I am looking at a product I look at several different sources. Be advised that you will want to read lots, to try and get a feel for things. For instance, I use Google Groups quite a bit. Be sure to check the date of when the item was posted, something from two years ago may not apply now. And realize that not everyone who makes a comment (good or bad) knows that they are talking about. So take as large a sampling as possible by reading as many entries as you can.

I also go to Epinions

Amazon (they some times have reviews for specific items by people who have bought the item))

Garden Web (look in their forums section, lots more than just gardening)

Hope this helps,
mike

How recently was the garage built? I know I've read in the past from a home-improvement book that concrete is still curing for months after being poured. It recommended waiting at least 1 year before trying to apply paint on the surface because it will just peel up from the small amount of curing going on under the surface. I know when using a conventional concrete floor paint (there is such a thing) you prep the floor with mild acid.

Thanks Mike,

I hadn't heard of Google Groups. I'll check that out. Epinions is pretty good from my experience. I've used some of that for mountain bike as I vaguely recall, but yes you're right that a lot of the comments need to be filtered through a reality check (some guys were racers, some newbies, some dishonest, etc).

Of course, this place is different. After over a year at CPF (including lurking, and at SFDB) I've learned that everything posted here is true! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif

Thanks again for the pointers...

BF Hammer -- Wow, a year is much longer than the Rustoleum box indicated (90 days) and the other product I saw was similar. But they did recommend taping a plastic tarp down over a section overnight to see if there was water formed beneath.

BTW, the floor was poured, um, I think just before Spring so it has been a bunch of months. (I have no sense of time; I have 3 kiddies under 5yrs so my life is a blur of reacting to current status.)

binky:

Go to www.griotsgarage.com

Expensive at $56.95 a gallon, but it has a reputation of being the best floor paint for a garage. It is specially formulated not to lift off the floor when driven on.

There is a four page direction manual included on this site with lots of information about how to test your floor for moisture, and how to clean the floor before applying paint.
They recommend a 90 day wait after the pour to paint.

Good information even if you decide not to buy their product.

I don't know beans about concrete sealers but I know they are a very good idea if you live where they put salt on the roads in the winter. The salty slush from the car seems to disintegrate the surface.

Yup, I live where the roads are salted in the winter time.

Thanks guys. I guess I've still got a lot more research to do.

preperation preperation preperation
preperation preperation preperation
preperation preperation preperation.

90% of this job will be preperation.

The two part epoxys are the best.

Wow. You misspelled "preparation" all 10 times.

Preperation is how we spell it up North Tex.

Your thinking of "Preparation H." It's a trade name. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

prep·a·ra·tion

The act or process of preparing.
The state of having been made ready beforehand; readiness.
A preliminary measure that serves to make ready for something. Often used in the plural: preparations for the wedding.
A substance, such as a medicine, prepared for a particular purpose.
Music.
The anticipation of a dissonant tone by means of its introduction as a consonant tone in the preceding chord.
The dissonant tone so anticipated.


No entry found for preperation /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Thanks Dan. Wow, tough crowd... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Yup, but lucky for me I'm starting with a clean floor. If I need to etch for whatever I choose then at least I can start at that stage.

The last time I dropped off my Honda for service, the dealer's new dropoff bay was a gorgeous, thick, bumpy, epoxy floor. I was both impressed (by the floor) and appalled (I must be paying way too much for service).