Recent content by pd59

You can seal expansion joints, you just have to use something flexible that allows the joint to move without damaging the seal, like a polyurethane caulk, a flexible epoxy, or even a fast curing polyurea (although this choice can be pricey). Regardless, you will enjoy the racedeck. Wish you...

Wow. This one raised from the dead, but I'll put an answer in. Epoxy is non-porous. Dew and condensation will sit on the surface, instead of soaking in to the pourous concrete floor, which gives an appearance of "sweating." If the moisture was coming from underneath, the epoxy would be failing...

Why do you not want to seal the joints? To answer your question, I've installed these before. Seem to work well. I would search out a pro if you are not one. A rep would be able to find you one locally. http://www.balcousa.com/Expansion-Joint-Systems.cfm

+1. If you can feel the slab shifting when a car drives over the crack, you have bigger problems than just a shrinkage crack, and that needs to be addressed first, because that crack is going to show through any epoxy you put down with that much movement. Either the foundation is bad or you have...

If it makes you feel better about your floor, go for it, but I think you'd be better off using epoxy for the base coat. As long as you topcoat with urethane, you will have the uv and chem. resistance no matter what is underneath it. Seems like a lot of extra cost for not much gain.

I can safely say the problem is not enough hardener. Sounds like at least the one section will need to come up. A couple of times in the past, I have had a new guy on my crew mixing and forget to add hardener in a batch altogether. We used flat drywall scrapers to scrape up all the bad epoxy...

This right here.

Replied. Sorry for the delay!

I agree with all of the above advice, but I would like to add that when I go over old epoxy, I usually like to mop the floor with some denatured alcohol after sanding to make sure the floor is really clean before re-coating. And really make sure there are no other failed areas on the floor.

Just wanted to say that is a great looking floor you have there. Nice job!

You can definetly use this in your garage, they use this stuff on parking decks, and it lasts. I have seen decks that last 10 years or more on their 1st coat. But I have also fixed decks that were only down 6 months because the previous contractor failed to properly prep the surface. Yes, you...

I wasn't trying to talk down to you, and i'm sorry if it came off that way. I was just trying to say the guess you made in your OP was a good one. I wish you good luck on your pour and your floor, and if you have any more questions, i'd be happy to answer them!

This is why I always recommend 100% solids epoxy. Hot tire lift won't be a problem. I've installed plenty of epoxy in heavy diesel shops to prove it. Getting a kit with a clear primer epoxy as a first coat helps as well.

You answered your own question in the OP. The part I bolded is why you would put a vapor barrier under the footing. Might as well do it seeing as vapor barrier is cheap anyway, especially if you plan on coating the slab.

If I just assumed that all of the concrete that i've laid floors on were properly installed and cured, then I would have screwed up a lot of floors by now, and lost tons of money. Point being, one cannot just assume everything was done right by the previous guy, or you're opening youself up to...