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Can this floor be epoxied?

HarleyArley

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Mar 17, 2010
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179
Location
Morrow, OH
I've been working long and hard to turn my garage into a pleasant place to hang out and to work on projects. Its now neat and organized. The one thing I have not yet addressed is the floor. The concrete was probably poured in the early 70's and it had a rough life.

The pictures show what I am working with

The problems:

1) It has a major crack down the middle from the door opening to the back wall which is about 1/2 inch wide and vertically misaligned by about 3/8 inch at the door end and closes down to a level hairline at the rear wall. I've watched it over the last several years and it does not seem to be growing or moving at all..

2) It has a couple spots along this crack which have spalled out or have a loose piece down in the crack.

3) It has several smaller cracks which branch of of the major center crack. They are less than a 1/4 inch wide and level across them.

4) There are several areas where the concrete is permanenetly stained with oil that has soaked down into the concrete. The floor had been pressure washed and repeatedly cleaned with a concrete cleaner just prior to taking the pictures. From the appearance and the residue I scraped up off the surface of the floor I'd say used motor oil spiled in these areas years ago and was left without ever being cleaned up. Water doesn't bead on these spots and will soak in somewhat, but it takes longer than in the unstained parts. I don't think it can be made any cleaner.

My plan/expectations

I am not shooting for perfection on this. i'm just tired of looking at the stains and digging dirt and the occasional dropped screw out of the crack.

I do not intend to slab jack or grind the floor to level it at the crack in the door opening. Figure I'll simply try to "ramp" the repair in the big crack from one height to the other.

Right now I am leaning toward the epoxy-coat product in their standard grey color with a heavy application of their three color grey chip mix.
I have already purchased backer rod to place inthe big crack and a couple different concrete crack repair products which I've yet to apply, as I am not sure of their compatabilty with the epoxy products.

Looking at the pics and from the description, do you guys that have done this on less than pristine floors think this is do-able and likely to result in decent outcome?
 

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LegacyIndustrial

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Jun 7, 2010
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deerfield, IL
The answer is YES. We have the best fillers for all the cracking issues. Unlike Sika and many other products readily available at THD or Lowes, our product will BOND the slab. Very important distinction. Where you have voids wider than an inch, we have an epoxy patch that will never come out. Lastly, we just did a project with a man in NJ, he had oil stains from his 57 Chevy. He purchased one of our diamond grinding wheels, ground just the very top surface and found the oil never really penetrated very far.

As far as the coatings go, we package for the PRO installer, so you won't find any gloves, buckets or mixers here. Try one of the other vendor's if you want a coating kit containing everything you need.

Links to the aforementioned solutions here:
http://legacyindustrial.net/cart/crack-sealant-gel-style-p-16.html
http://legacyindustrial.net/cart/epoxy-concrete-patch-1-gal-hd110-p-6.html
http://legacyindustrial.net/cart/grinding-cup-segmented-4-x-1-row-p-190.html
 
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HarleyArley

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Mar 17, 2010
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179
Location
Morrow, OH
Thanks for the info. I'll check out the link and do some more research. The SIKA stuff is what I purchased for the big crack. Maybe not the best thing for the job.

Probably not going to try this until spring, unless the products you are suggesting are suitable for use at low temps.
 
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HarleyArley

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Mar 17, 2010
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Morrow, OH
Thanks for the link Fred... that had to be a real challenge to coat!

I guess my floor isn't as bad as I thought.

What epoxy primer does Wolverine recommend?
 

AlphaGarage

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Apr 16, 2008
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Every Garage, AnyTown, USA
Thanks for the link Fred... that had to be a real challenge to coat!

I guess my floor isn't as bad as I thought.

What epoxy primer does Wolverine recommend?

BondTite 1101, it's a 100% solids epoxy, it penetrates concrete and chemically bonds, even used to prime steel and other metals. We spec 5 mils for concrete, so a gallon is good for about 290 ft2.
 

LegacyIndustrial

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deerfield, IL
Thanks for the info. I'll check out the link and do some more research. The SIKA stuff is what I purchased for the big crack. Maybe not the best thing for the job.

Probably not going to try this until spring, unless the products you are suggesting are suitable for use at low temps.


We have low temp repair patch and our Gel crack filler will cure into the high 30's.

You could make the repairs and coat in the Spring.
 
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HarleyArley

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Morrow, OH
Thanks Scott! I took a look at your products and the tech info on the website and was wondering if I could do just that. Might even be able to do the coating if we got a week or two of mild weather during the winter, which is not unheard of in Cinci.
 
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rugerlady

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Michigan
Sorry, been away from my email for a couple days. This floor can be epoxied. Call me at the office and we can go over specifics. Thanks!
 

thegarageguy

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Oct 24, 2007
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1,489
Location
NJ
Yes, that floor can be epoxied but the patchwork will most likely ghost through. When I run across floors like this, I would recommend urethane concrete system with full chip broadcast and polyaspartic top coat. Finish system would be 3/16 inch thick. Try to hide all that patchwork with a 1/64 to 1/32 paper thin coat.

From the pics, your floor looks very porous. You should check for moisture before moving ahead with any system.

Good luck
 
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HarleyArley

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Location
Morrow, OH
Christine - glad to hear you are confident your product can do the job. I like the concept of a kit with the right tools and materials provided in a single package.

GGuy - a moisture test is definitely in the plan. Not sure I can actually do it now with temps at home below freezing. Seems like any moisture is "solid" right now. However, I will tape down a piece of plastic for a few days and see what happens.

As to ghosting, you may be right, but its not really an issue to me. I've seen some of the floors done over patches here on the board and the various product websites and noticed what you are referring to. To some it may be unacceptable, but it doesn't turn me off. It still looks worlds better than what I look at every day as it is.

I've already received a lot of great input, and more would certainly be appreciated. It looks like I need to do some more thinking about how best to tackle this and do some comparison shopping.
 

LegacyIndustrial

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Christine - glad to hear you are confident your product can do the job. I like the concept of a kit with the right tools and materials provided in a single package.

GGuy - a moisture test is definitely in the plan. Not sure I can actually do it now with temps at home below freezing. Seems like any moisture is "solid" right now. However, I will tape down a piece of plastic for a few days and see what happens.

As to ghosting, you may be right, but its not really an issue to me. I've seen some of the floors done over patches here on the board and the various product websites and noticed what you are referring to. To some it may be unacceptable, but it doesn't turn me off. It still looks worlds better than what I look at every day as it is.

I've already received a lot of great input, and more would certainly be appreciated. It looks like I need to do some more thinking about how best to tackle this and do some comparison shopping.

Harley:
I think it's appropriate to note that the more time you put into the prep, the better it will come out. It may not end-up like a glass pond but it will certainly be a respectable floor that will wow your friends.

Our repair products are compatible with any vendor's coating so don't feel pigeon holed into one vendor or another.

Good luck and feel free to call me if you have any questions.
-Scott
 

Snake87

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Jan 17, 2010
Messages
32
Suscribed as my floor is just as bad as the op's.

Same. I thought guys like us were out of luck. This made my day.

Thank you HarleyArley for asking the question. I'll be watching this closely.
 
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HarleyArley

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Mar 17, 2010
Messages
179
Location
Morrow, OH
Scott - thanks for pointing that out. You read my mind as my next post was going to ask about the compatability of these various products.

George and Snake - glad to hear you guys are benefitting from the discussion. I suspected other folks might be like me and not so sure it was practical to take on an old abused floor. Glad to know that was the case.

As for me, I may do some crack repair soon and will certainly post updates as I go, but the actually epoxying of the floor will likely have to wait il spring. If you can get yours done sooner, share some pics and prove it can be done!
 

Snake87

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Jan 17, 2010
Messages
32
Scott - thanks for pointing that out. You read my mind as my next post was going to ask about the compatability of these various products.

George and Snake - glad to hear you guys are benefitting from the discussion. I suspected other folks might be like me and not so sure it was practical to take on an old abused floor. Glad to know that was the case.

As for me, I may do some crack repair soon and will certainly post updates as I go, but the actually epoxying of the floor will likely have to wait il spring. If you can get yours done sooner, share some pics and prove it can be done!

I'm in Chicago, so I'll be right there with you waiting for the weather. But I should probably start the repair process after the new year.
 

LegacyIndustrial

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deerfield, IL
Men, I am glad to help.
Also...
We have a running promotion, submit some photos of our products in action and you will receive a free embroidered golf shirt, our token of appreciation.
 

v7guy

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Jun 7, 2009
Messages
557
Location
Hudson valley, NY
I personally had good success with wolverine coatings. all the errors I have in the floor are because of not patching the small issues I had.
I've drug a 200+ lbs bench across it and dropped welding berries on it after rolling an engine stand with metal casters while hauling a full small block on it with no issues. I couldn't ask for more.
 
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