DIY or hire someone?

[COuntry_boy_88]

OKay i called up Wolverine coatings and was told to call Fred.Talked to him and he emailed me alot of information on the product and answered must of my questions to my satisfaction but I always like to get multiple quotes and refrences before any purchase. My garage is 21x21 and has 4 squares(pic included) Its only a year old and is already stained to high heaven from all the work I do in it. As you can see i keep two motorcycles in it as well as a car not pictured.

I also weld and use my chop saw on the floor. I keep the welding to the table but the there is no room for the chop saw.

I highly doubt i want someone like lowes to do the job for me and id really like to do it myself but i was quoted at $600 for 3.75 gallons of bondtite 1101 and 3.75 gallons of liqua tile 1184. but i know it will increase the value of the home when it gets sold but the old lady has a hard time stomaching that much. What would you do in my situation guys?

My brother in law is a general contractor and told me to go to sherman williams and see what they have to offer. anyone have any experience with them? Hes also building a shop 80x40 i believe and was thinking of coating a portion of it

As far as prep should i etch, pressure wash, rent a sander, or what?

oh and i tried calling alpha garage on the number listed in his sig but no one picked up. coulda been the same guy though im not sure

 

[AlphaGarage]

Sorry if I haven't returned a call, there were a couple of messages where there was a digital "hiccup" in the message center playback that prevented me from getting the call back number.

 

[COuntry_boy_88]

Sorry if I haven't returned a call, there were a couple of messages where there was a digital "hiccup" in the message center playback that prevented me from getting the call back number.

quite alright i didnt leave a message at the time. ment to call back later but lost the number i wrote down. Are you and fred one and the same or do you work directly for alpha?

 

[triplethreat]

Are you planning on moving anytime soon? If so they go the cheap route otherwise do it right and do it once. You weren't kidding about your floor its a mess If you do it yourself 600 is cheap compared to how much it would cost to pay someone. I was quoted a bit over 4000 to do a 28 x 32 garage floor. So I'm going with Wolverine. Just remember for any product to work good surface prep is a must. Good luck

 

[rinny_tin_tin]

OKay i called up Wolverine coatings and was told to call Fred.Talked to him and he emailed me alot of information on the product and answered must of my questions to my satisfaction but I always like to get multiple quotes and refrences before any purchase. My garage is 21x21 and has 4 squares(pic included) Its only a year old and is already stained to high heaven from all the work I do in it. As you can see i keep two motorcycles in it as well as a car not pictured.

I also weld and use my chop saw on the floor. I keep the welding to the table but the there is no room for the chop saw.

I highly doubt i want someone like lowes to do the job for me and id really like to do it myself but i was quoted at $600 for 3.75 gallons of bondtite 1101 and 3.75 gallons of liqua tile 1184. but i know it will increase the value of the home when it gets sold but the old lady has a hard time stomaching that much. What would you do in my situation guys?

My brother in law is a general contractor and told me to go to sherman williams and see what they have to offer. anyone have any experience with them? Hes also building a shop 80x40 i believe and was thinking of coating a portion of it

As far as prep should i etch, pressure wash, rent a sander, or what?

oh and i tried calling alpha garage on the number listed in his sig but no one picked up. coulda been the same guy though im not sure

"What would you do in my situation guys?"

Agree with the ole lady and put her *** to work in helping you *do it yourself* See how quickly $600 becomes a bargain

 

[AlphaGarage]

quite alright i didnt leave a message at the time. ment to call back later but lost the number i wrote down. Are you and fred one and the same or do you work directly for alpha?

That would be me, and I usually answer or respond to all calls, although I like rinny_tin_tin's straight forward attitude and may see if he's available to help field calls when it gets busy.

Your floor looks like it's also pretty straight forward. Use a good quality degreaser to lift as much of those spills as possible, grind or acid etch, coat away.

Filling those expansion joints is an option call, I'd say it runs about 50/50 fill/no fill. Either way after coating it's going to be a lot easier keeping that floor clean and with those bikes parked on a new floor they will look killer! Not that looks matter or anything like that...

Get together with your brother on a "Bro-Buy" and we'll get you two some discount.

 

[burger]

I spent about $300 last fall to put down epoxy from Epoxy Coat. The prep and installation was ridiculously easy. It had been made out to be such a hard job that I was expecting worse.

My advice is this -- pick whatever coating you feel best about, and do it yourself.

 

[thegarageguy]

If money is your main concern then do it yourself. If quality isn't high on your list then pick any epoxy that is cheapest. If you are going to spend any money, make sure the prep is right or else the best chemicals on earth will not make a difference. A concrete prep company would charge a minimum of $1500 for the day. Remember you'll get what you paid for in the end.

 

[COuntry_boy_88]

thanks all ya I decided to do it myself. Still trying to work over my brother and see if I can convince the mother to do it since when we get out of college she will most likely sell and the concrete looks horrible. Ill drop you another email Fred and determine a final price so i wont say so and so and then have to change my answer when the bill comes.
Hmm to fill the cracks or not im not sure. as of right now they have a few cracks in them so i think i will.
As far as prep what do yall recommend for my floor? pressure wash, then etch, then maybe sand? Can i move everything to one side and then wait another weekend and switch and do the other side?

 

[AlphaGarage]

It's tough to tell from the photos, but it looks like a a pressure wash with a degreasing agent might be enough cleaning. Use a good washer, 2,500+psi. Give that a try and then run the water test, if the water is absorbing into the concrete move onto the profiling. If not, use full strength degreasers or TSP in hot water.

Profiling can be chemical or mechanical. What you want is a surface that feels like about 80 grit sand paper. Most of the time a chemical etch will do, muriatic acid is frequently used, but it's nasty stuff so read all directions and precautions. There are safer and less toxic chemical alternatives. A mechanical grind or shot blasting usually gets good results, just let the rental house know what you need to do so they get you the correct equipment.

Yes, you can do the floor in sections.

 

[WolverineCoatings]

I think I already see some Wolverine in that garage. Is one of those poles an Ugly Stick?

 

[COuntry_boy_88]

I think I already see some Wolverine in that garage. Is one of those poles an Ugly Stick?

where?


and yes i have a couple of ugly sticks. all my catfish rods are ugly sticks

 

[WolverineCoatings]

where?

The adhesive between the fiberglass and aluminum parts (on your fishing pole) is BondTite 1112

 

[Dave88LX]

Honestly that floor doesn't look THAT bad compared to what I had to start with, regarding spots and stains.

If I were you, I would fill in the cracks. I just so happen to have a gallon of IntegraFlex left over from my project that I could let go very cheap.

I also have 2 gallons of NEW stuff. I need to get rid of it. You should buy it so that you can use it around the area where the floor meets the vertical cinder block, and have a nice smooth transition.

 

[COuntry_boy_88]

The adhesive between the fiberglass and aluminum parts (on your fishing pole) is BondTite 1112

really? damn learn something new everyday

Im sorry Fred my brother stopped by sherman williams yesterday and picked up some of their floor epoxy when he found out he could get it for $48 a kit.

i will have my own garage one day. Hopefully it will last until the house is sold in a few years.


Dave im worried about if i fill in the cracks the floor will expand some and cause the filler to push up and mess up the paint. I was wondering what i could do about the cinder sides though. But i dont understand you have 1 gallon of filler and 2 gallons of paint?


I got some acid to etch the floor and see how it turns out. if it doesnt work ill be renting a sander and getting to it with that

 

[jnyost]

How did he get it for $48 a kit?

 

[WolverineCoatings]

Im sorry Fred my brother stopped by sherman williams yesterday and picked up some of their floor epoxy when he found out he could get it for $48 a kit.

Fred, don't send Guido over to rough him up unless he quits buying poles from Shakespeare... lol.. Then... all bets are off!

How did he get it for $48 a kit?

$48 a kit for ArmorSeal isn't that good of a deal. The ArmorSeal 1000 HS (High Solids Version) is still only 65% solids. So, if you compare that to a coating that is 100% solids it would be like paying about $74 per gallon since it will take 35% more material to get the same thickness on the floor.

 

[Dave88LX]

I bought two 2-gallon kits. They are a 2-part filler that needs to be mixed. I used 1/2 gallon parts a/b out of 1 kit, leaving 1 gallon left over (1/2 gal A and 1/2 gal B).

I also have a full unused unopened kit, 1 gal A, 1 gal B. Hope that makes sense.

I believe that the IntegraFlex stays flexible, which is the purpose of it, and can absorb expansion in the cracks, but you should double-check that with Fred or Wolverine Coatings.

I just want to get rid of it, hate to see it go to waste.

In my garage, I went around the whole outside and put down a "contoured" line of IntegraFlex, and made it seamless going up the cinder block.

In hindsight, I should have used more BondTite when I put my first coat down on the cinder block, oh well.

I know I didn't do the greatest job broadcasting the flake evenly.

 

[Rando]

good job looks great

 

[COuntry_boy_88]

How did he get it for $48 a kit?

brother in law is a contractor and we went under his direct buy account. Ive spent close to 700 in paint and supplies since december on the inside of the house and i still have 2 bedrooms and an upstairs room to paint so the garage is going on the cheap side for now i guess.
shakespear sale at the fair grounds is coming up here shortly so you better believe ill be grabbing some rods!

 

[COuntry_boy_88]

I bought two 2-gallon kits. They are a 2-part filler that needs to be mixed. I used 1/2 gallon parts a/b out of 1 kit, leaving 1 gallon left over (1/2 gal A and 1/2 gal B).

I also have a full unused unopened kit, 1 gal A, 1 gal B. Hope that makes sense.

I believe that the IntegraFlex stays flexible, which is the purpose of it, and can absorb expansion in the cracks, but you should double-check that with Fred or Wolverine Coatings.

I just want to get rid of it, hate to see it go to waste.

In my garage, I went around the whole outside and put down a "contoured" line of IntegraFlex, and made it seamless going up the cinder block.

In hindsight, I should have used more BondTite when I put my first coat down on the cinder block, oh well.

I know I didn't do the greatest job broadcasting the flake evenly.


that looks really good man. i wouldnt need the floor paint but if that caulk is made for joints id grab it from ya.just have to do some research or let one of these guys chime in.

I dont understand alot of this flooring jargon though. i read up somemore in other threads and it talks about the sherman being only 65% also and the wolverine being 100% what does that even mean?
part of its water and will evaperate?the heck if i know.

 

[Milzo]

$48 a kit for ArmorSeal isn't that good of a deal. The ArmorSeal 1000 HS (High Solids Version) is still only 65% solids. So, if you compare that to a coating that is 100% solids it would be like paying about $74 per gallon since it will take 35% more material to get the same thickness on the floor.

He got the KIT so its not Armorseal its Shield Crete. Shield Crete is only 46% solids. I personally wouldn't use this product. I would go with the Armorseal at a minimum. I was quoted $67/gallon on armorseal and that is with a discount through my company who builds 15k houses a year with SW paint.