Slippery Floor - Advice for a Damsel in Distress (Garage Dog added too ;)

Hello everyone! I have been given the assignment at my job to find a solution to our slippery epoxy floors. Due to my skepticism of the contractor, I would like y'alls expert opinions before any action is taken.

I work in a laboratory environment. We had a linoleum-like floor ripped up 2 years ago and replaced with an epoxy floor (over concrete) because all of our labs were updated. Unfortunately, the floor process was a disaster. As a bystander, I could see that things did not go very well. The concrete subfloor was uneven, so our current floors are uneven. The floor chipped in many areas and had to be patched (and patches are uneven). And because the floor was done over a several day period, the flakes are of different densities and depths. The top coat also. It really doesn't look good at all. After reading many, many posts here, I question the experience of our floor guys.

Onto the current problem: Our floors are very slippery, even if not wet. When wet, they can be a safety hazard.

I recently talked with the contractor who did our floors. He said he originally finished the floors without anti-slip. But then whoever was in charge of the floors on our end decided they wanted an anti-slip, so a new top coating was applied with anti-slip. He did not remember what kind of anti-slip was in the top coat.

There are some areas of the floor that are great and not slick. Pretty epoxy, good anti-slip. But most areas are not and were not even after the supposed anti-slip was applied. They are shiny (now scratched) and slippery. In fact, several of us lab techs have slipped on the floor because the floors are so slick. The contractor claims the anti-slip must have worn down in the 2 years since he has been, and that is why they are slick. But I can tell you that they were slick in areas from the beginning. There are only 10 of us with moderate traffic, so I don't think only 2 years of anti-slip is a good long-term solution.


The contractor has 3 solutions:

1. "abrade" the floors and add a new clear top coat mixed with anti-slip. Apply to only the areas that are slick.

2. abrade the floors and apply an "aggregate" to the floors. Then apply a clear top coat without anti-slip. Apply to only the areas that are slick.

3. abrade the floors, apply a new colored top coat mixed with anti-slip (original solution). Apply to entire floor.

Upon hearing our whole floors would need to be re-coated, I asked why. He said the colors wouldn't match. I asked about a clear top coat, and he had to think and said, "Well...yeah...that can be done.", like he has never done it before.

I tried to get as many specific answers about floor materials and processes, but it was difficult.

Do his solutions seem like a good option for us? After reading everything here, I think Shark Grip would suit us best. I don't know if he uses it, and he didn't seem extremely knowledgeable when I talked with him first. What do you all think?

Below are some photos, and then a present at the end for all of your time and thoughts. (The present being my beeeeeeeeeeautiful, wonderful, "Garage Dog", Bella, who really is more like a "Flower-Bed Diggin' Can't-Have-Enough-Cookies Fool Dog")



Slick floor spots; little to no more new shine remaining








And since everyone loves seeing a hot mess every now and then, some photos showing the poor quality (IMO) of the floors













And as promised, my beautiful dog Bella.



Any thoughts or alternative solutions are GREATLY appreciated!!

http://www.shotblastersinc.com/services-diamond-grinding.cfm

Diamond grind it relatively flat, then reapply an epoxy floor with grit added.

Hello Superwoman22, welcome to GJ. Please pay no attention to "geologist's" suggestion. You do not need to diamond grind it.

1. a slippery floor can easily be re top coated, simply by sanding with 36 grit, solvent wipe then apply a polyurethane top coat with a proper non slip

2. "orions belt" and "mountains and valleys" is caused by the contractor doing a poor job of patching in flaws or rebroadcasting bald areas where the chip didnt stick. Simply put, poor application.

3. "Epoxy Surprise" is just **** getting on the floor while sealing. This is the toughest thing to avoid since we work in uncontrolled environments. A good contractor would keep flaws to a minimum and touch up major flaws correctly.

4. "Speed Bumps" are typically caused by an applicator not spreading the material properly. If a puddle or pooled area remains, then chips broadcasted upon it, this is exactly what your left with. Again, poor application.

5. I see the lighter chip floor is ultra smooth and the brown chip is textured....this shows lack of consistency....poor application again.

6. The pics show alot of scratching...it could be there isn't a polyurethane top coat. A good poly would not only prevent excessive scratching but prevent your floor from ambering and keep your floor looking new much longer.

7. Bella is a cutie...miss my dogs

Thank you guys very much for your suggestions.
Garage Guy- yes we have tons of scratches! The floor is completely matte in many areas with no shine at all while other areas are super shiny. Unfortunately, many matte areas do not clean well so our floors are starting to look dirty in areas. The flaws pictured above are only a small amount of the number we have on our floors. It's terrible!

As soon as I send him our dimensions, I'll find out specifically his solution and exactly what he will do. I will question whether we had a poly top coat in the first place and will insist on one now. And if he tells me something very different than what's mentioned here, I will come back here with my concerns first before going back to the contractor.


One more question though - would the floor mesh okay if only the slippery areas are re-topcoated? Or would it be best to have the entire floor re-topcoated? I know my supervisor will want to keep costs down as much as possible, but the slippery-ness definitely needs to be addressed soon.

Thank you again

Ever hear of the saying "if you keep doing the same things over and over, you'll keep getting the same results"? Time to find a new contractor.......

I think the garage guy and superwoman should meet maybe we could have super garage babies? Anyway that was a hack job on that floor,I think I could of done better and I'm just a menards kit guy. The speed bump and mountain and valley you will have to live with unless you want to totally take it down and have a concrete top coat.
The small holes can be patched then another coat of epoxy with non slip. No more clear coat,that's why it's so slick.

Good luck and don't break you neck on that floor!

Yea I keep reading about these supposed contractors. Then my friend had Pros do his epoxy. Which is complete **** after this summer. Then this. What a mess. The only person that keeps showing good floors is GarageGuy. But he is expensive, and most likely worth it. Do it once, do it right.

Just for these reasons, tile will always be the way for me.

I agree, time to change that contractor. I bet he uses BS material as well. All of that is poor application.

A product called "Shark Skin" eliminates a lot of the slippery situation. On my finished and slippery shop floor I placed a couple of shovel fulls of fine sand, let it lay around for a week scratching the gloss finish, then swept it up. Worked pretty well

How about waxing the floor?
We clean and wax the floor at work once a year. Between then we will dry dust daily and mop as needed.
We do not have problems with it being slippery (unless its wet) and it looks good through the year. We get about 10,000 people come through a year

Bob

slickgt1 said:

The only person that keeps showing good floors is GarageGuy. But he is expensive

Click to expand...

Thanks...I think..

Expensive is a relative term. Expensive compared to what? Compared to doing it yourself...no doubt.....compared to redoing it over and over again or dealing with the aggravation....maybe not.

Unfortunately some contractors will do anything to meet or beat a price, but usually that comes at a cost....usually they are cutting corners to get there.

This is the main reason why I'm on this board, to help educate the consumer. There are many ways to skin a cat in this biz. Having a clue of what you are buying and letting the contractor know you are an informed consumer will help lessen the likeliness that you'd get screwed. Making sure the contractor isn't skipping steps or skimping on product is very important. Make sure your contractor has the system all spelled out on paper helps as well. This way you can compare apples to apples. Make sure to find out what products he or she is proposing on using. Research that Company or Companies. Watch over the contractor and make sure he or she is actually using what they have proposed. Finally, see some of their actual work..not in pictures but get out there and see a floor they have done years ago and see how it's performing.

Some of this may seem excessive but you need to remember that we as seamless flooring contractors are basically manufacturing on-site and it's real easy to skip steps and cut corners....it may not be apparent once done, but will it perform as advertised?

You guys are awesome - thank you so much. You are correct, the contractor is terrible. Were he doing the floors in my home, he would have been gone long ago. I would have never accepted such a sloppy job.

Since I don't have the jurisdiction to decide our contractor, I will suggest to my boss we get quotes from others. I don't know if she even can make that call. That way, we have some leverage against ours if he trys to rip us off. I know originally the floors were very expensive. I don't know the exact number but they were a lot of money.

We have waxed the floors. No help.

Too bad you're not in our area Garage Guy. You could fix the issue easily for us.

I will probably be back soon as I have more information. Again, thank you so much.

Update (10/8):

We've had 2 people come in to quote our floors.

The first man was great. He was knowledgdable and seemed to genuinely care. He suggested a top urethane coat with some aluminum oxide mixed in, and maybe even some smooth grit added in.

He showed my boss and I am alum oxide sample, and we were impressed. The alum oxide alone was the minimum OSHA required COF. The amount of grip was exactly what we needed. Being in a laboratory environment, it's important to have grip under our feet because there's no telling what could end up on the floor. (The most egregious is powder. Makes us slip all over.)


The second man was not as good. He was nice but wasn't exactly as knowledgeable. The original supplier of the floor recommended this man.

He suggested we put down a coat of epoxy, add a very thick coat of flakes on top, then add a very thin top coat of urethane. He said the grip would come from the flakes. He would not recommend aluminum oxide in any way, shape, or form because, he said, it would be extremely difficult to clean and would ruin our mop heads.



Due to the poor installition or our first floors, we have areas of thick flakes. They do provide some grip, however, not enough for our environment IMO. At my own home, I may consider thick flakes, however, in this working environment, I would think our best bet would be to add some grip. I don't believe the first man uses Sherwin Williams products, otherwise, I would have him add some Shark Grit.


For those of you who have grit or alum oxide in your top coats, what is cleaning like? I've searched and can see how it does ruin mop heads and is a pain to clean, but is is possible to clean it? Have you found products that will clean up dirt easily? We mostly experience dirt, powders of sorts, and an occassional bit of solvent on the floor. Nothing like oil or car fluids.

Thanks

Also want to add man #1 would sand floor with 80 grit paper and use a solvent wipe (denatured alcohol, I believe) before applying top coat. He also said he would fill in all the holes left by the original floor people.

sounds like #1 should be the go to guy, he is telling you the same thing thegarageguy told you.

Jim