Water pooling and floor slippery after having it coated :(

[wantonsoup]

So we chose a company to coat the garage floor (polyaspartic/polyurea) and now it's an ice rink when the snow melts off the car, or your shoes are slightly damp, or whatever. Their website said that they level the concrete prior to coating so that water doesn't pool, but it's pooling like crazy and I've got to squeegee the water out the door after each rain or snow.

So I'm wondering if anyone knows if there's any reasonable solution to this at this point? Is there a decent nonslip coating I can apply to the floor (hopefully clear) that would last a long time and keep us from falling? Is there any way to level out the floor at all, after it's been coated? Or are we now bound for a lifetime of stepping in big puddles?

 

[Shea]

A coated floor such as yours causes water to bead up and gather together as water naturally does when introduced to such a surface. If you have a lot of snow melt then you can get a small collection of water pools on the floor. Is this what you have or is it actual low spots in the floor?

If you have actual low spots I would recommend contacting the company that did your floor to work out a solution if they indeed say that they would level your floor. I would ask them if they would be willing to apply a thinner clear top coat of the polyurea/polyaspartic product that they used along with an anti-slip agent such as Shark Grip or etc. to make you happy.

Another solution is to use a containment mat for the winter time or if you don't have too much snow melt, use something like the Drymate garage floor mat to collect small amounts of water. Here's an article about garage snow mats that might help. That way the rest of your floor stays dry and doesn't turn into an ice rink.

 

[wantonsoup]

It's some substantial pooling of standing water - I'd say a few gallons and it's inconveniently right outside the doors so we have to jump over them and carry the kids and all that. Really annoying and we're pretty upset after paying so much for this as anyone could understand.

Is there any way to fill in these low spots with a top coat at all? I thought of the top coat with anti-slip but he refuses to do anything whatsoever to resolve these issues so I'd be hiring another company to do it. I assume that's probably the best solution for the slippery quality of the floor but doesn't solve the standing water.

Is my only option really using a mat? I'm not thrilled with that but if that's my only option I'll definitely go for it since we can't live like this for the rest of our lives.

Thank you so much for your reply.

 

[Shea]

Depending on how deep the low spots are you may be able to fill them with a clear polyurea, but it may take multiple coats depending on the depth. You will have to discuss this with the flooring contractor. The final coat can be saved for the entire floor in order to apply the anti-slip if you like. Keep in mind that the water that has collected there will be dispersed elsewhere on the floor unless it slopes toward a drain or the door.

 

[wantonsoup]

That is great news - thank you. I think that will solve my problem. I don't mind some water on the floor (especially if it has some non-slip grit to it), the issue is that it's slippery when wet and the large puddles of standing water.

I guess my next step is to have a company out and get a quote just to do exactly as you mentioned, fill the low spots with a coat or two of polyurea, then do a thin topcoat of the whole floor with the anti-slip additive. That would make me happy and solve my two main problems with the floor.

 

[bazzateer]

If the original company said they'd level you floor and they haven't, then they should be footing the bill for this.

 

[wantonsoup]

If the original company said they'd level you floor and they haven't, then they should be footing the bill for this.

Darn tootin'. But he won't, such is the way of contractors unfortunately. I fear we are likely headed to court but in the meantime I need to get this taken care of. I have a huge pallet of slat wall and cabinets sitting by my front door that I can't install until this is done!

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

A topcoat of poly could be added with a non-skid additive.
The mats are a good solution for the water.

Link: http://legacyindustrial.net/cart/garage-containment-mat-p-300.html

 

[CreteCoater]

Leveling the floor and a product being self leveling are two different things. How was the contract worded?

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

 

[wantonsoup]

It's worded that the highs and lows of the concrete floor are removed by grinding so that water will not pool, prior to coating. This wasn't done.

 

[CreteCoater]

Then the contractor is an idiot lol

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

 

[wantonsoup]

Evidently, that is the case! And I'm the victim of his idiocy.

 

[wantonsoup]

I just poured about a gallon or so of water into the main spot I've noticed puddling and that about fills it to the top, and it's about 1/3" (300 mils) deep. There are probably six or so spots like this that I really want filled. So we're not talking about a crazy unreasonable amount of top coat required.

I looked into the Shark Grip - that looks absolutely ideal for what I want. Thanks for the tip.

 

[drinkmoresake]

+1 for the Shark Grip. I added this to the final clear coat when I did my floor and could not be happier with the results. You can't slip on my floor even if you try! Only downside is the anti-slip makes the floor "hold" dirt a little bit more. Still worth it though.

 

[rugerlady]

If you use a polyurea product, make sure you apply multiple thin coats. Thicker coats can cloud.

 

[wantonsoup]

If you use a polyurea product, make sure you apply multiple thin coats. Thicker coats can cloud.

Thanks - appreciate the advice! I'm going to bet that the original contractor won't return to do this work so I'll be looking for a reputable polyurea dealer in the Denver area ASAP if anyone knows of one I should speak with,

 

[rugerlady]

The original contractor SHOULD help you out. If he doesn't we can give him a public shaming here! Good luck and I will PM you if I have someone near you to help.

 

[sandyda]

Find a good paralegal (not an expensive attorney) to start writing letters. Send him copies of letters to Codes Enforcement about safety hazards. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, but you've got to ramp up the volume to get your problem moved to the top of his (likely) pile of complaints.

He may end up reimbursing you with a truck or a boat or something equally painful.

 

[wantonsoup]

There's no reasoning with this guy. It'll be settled in court for sure.

 

[Axxlrod]

I had polyurea put down on my garage floor as well. There is some low spots where water from the cars on rainy days pools on the floor, but its not near the door so I just wait until it dries and then buff off the area to make it glossy again. However, I live in San Diego so rainy days aren't all that often.

Here's the part that might interest you...

When my contractor called me and said my floor was completely finished, within a day I found several spots where the topcoat was too thin and the flakes were sticking up though it. These flakes were sharp like little razor blades. Sine I have kids and we walk in the garage barefoot often, this wasn't acceptable. So I had him send his crew back to apply more topcoat to make it thicker. I made him send his crew back 3 times to do this. His guys said my floor was the smoothest and thickest one they've ever done due to all the extra topcoat. It looks great, but it sure is slippery when wet.

My point is that additional coats of poly top coat can be applied late on and it looks great and adheres perfectly.

 

[wantonsoup]

Axxlrod - thanks for the anecdote - much appreciated. I wish my installer cared so much about customer satisfaction.

Another company came out and had samples of the finished feel and look of their floors, and the flakes were very rough and prominent, creating quite a non-slip surface. But he said they go over the floor in every direction over and over with scrapers so it's not sharp, just rough. Sounds like you knowingly went into the extra coats wanting a thicker more slippery surface versus a nonslip feel. I'm the opposite. I don't expect my kids to ever be barefoot on the surface, always in shoes and we get snow and rain a LOT. So I want safety first and foremost.

The guy has stopped responding altogether so I'll be hiring another company and going to court, fingers crossed.

 

[thegarageguy]

the term "self leveling" can be greatly abused and misunderstood. A thin coat of epoxy cannot fill bellies on your slab. Pouring it and letting it self level can only fill so much as well. Epoxy self levels itself but does not level your floor.

To level a floor, it must be re-poured with self leveling concrete using pins to get the correct level. In a garage though, you need a pitch for water to drain out. Self leveling would make you loose your pitch.

Your best bet is to ask the Company who installed your floor to come back, re-sand and reseal using a non slip textured top coat.

 

[wantonsoup]

Allow me to clear up any misconception - the floor is graded just fine. Nothing's really moved that I can tell at all, no heaving or anything like that. There are cracks in all of the control joints as in every other home in Colorado.

The contractor advertises that when grinding the floor smooth, they remove the highs and lows so water won't pool. I have some pooling spots in my floor as I'm sure most/all garage floors do. I don't expect the contractor to grade or pitch my floor, I just don't want pooling areas where the snow melt and rainwater is collecting and creating puddles.

That's the long and short of it.

I actually got him on the phone yesterday and he was so incredibly rude to me and said I'm completely nuts and the only unreasonable customer he's ever had. Meanwhile it took me a hundred emails and phone calls over 2 months to even get him to LOOK at my floor, and he was here for about 3 minutes before huffing off and driving away. Bottom line is I gave him until Monday the 23rd to decide what he's going to do (fix these two issues or not) or I'm going to hire someone else and we're going to court.

 

[CreteCoater]

Good luck.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

It sounds like a communication gap or break-down.
He likely didn't check to see how out of level your floor was before he promised no pooling water.

 

[ajgiii]

A suggestion: If the low spots are close to the exterior, especially the garage door, you might consider cutting some grooves in the floor from the low spot to the edge of the the slab at the exterior. This should drain the water.

If you can make a test cut in the floor in an inconspicuous place, check to see if the epoxy chips and flakes at the edge of the cut. If it does, you should score through the epoxy where you make the cuts (parallel cuts a bit wider than the saw blade). Make a small jig or use spacers to vary the depth of the cuts...deeper to the exterior. 1/8 to 1/4" depth per foot of length. If you've a longer run, start at 1/8"/foot to see if it drains ok.

I used a masonry blade on my 7" circular saw to make cuts in my garage floor. The cuts ended up looking like a birds foot in order to get the low spot to drain, but it fixed my problem.

b/r