After years... a new home

[wrigh003]

Tomorrow afternoon we're closing on a brand new home with a nice 2-car garage. Being a sometime gearhead tinkerer kinda guy, I want to protect/ nice-up the new floor before we move all our stuff in.

Was leaning toward the Rustoleum Epoxyshield Pro kit, but am also considering a couple of the one-part (polyurea?) coatings/ sealers. Hot-tire lift is my main concern. I'm not a big fabricator or anything, just want something to keep the floor from absorbing project car oil leaks, etc., and I know now's the time if I'm ever gonna do anything. Getting everything de-Tetris-ed to coat the floor just won't ever get done.

Great luck from anyone here yet? Bonus points for stuff I can get in my hot little hands in a couple days. Trying to use about a week of lag time between closing and moving to get this done, so it can be cured (if needed) before the high-traffic times start.

 

[JoeMcGov]

Prep is everything. That said..............have you read through this? LOTSA the information you need.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=20

 

[wrigh003]

Thanks Joe- I haven't participated on this board in a while, guess the flooring sticky might be new since last I looked. Man- analysis paralysis. I'm gonna have to read fast and move fast.

 

[rburke65]

Congratulations on the new home n good luck on the floor choice

 

[kd3pc]

+1 for prep, and even more important on a new pour. As rushed as you want it to be, get with a few of the folks that sell here and do it right, once.

A week may not be optimum, depending on how old the pour is and what grinding/etching it may need. You don't want to rush this.

 

[frank001]

This is my experience with the Rustoleum epoxy:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=284998&highlight=frank001

 

[Armorpoxy]

Hi
Lots of good options mentioned on many strings on GJ.

A couple of popular items that are very good sellers to this group is our SPGX one part Polyurea and Ghostshield System penetrating sealer.

Several active vendors here including us carry epoxy systems that most likely are more expensive than anything at a home center, but also would give superior performance.

 

[Garage Flooring]

Sooo many customer posts about the polyurea. Have a look https://www.garageflooringllc.com/category/garage-floor-coatings/polyurea-coating-projects-reviews/

Legacy, Armorpoxy, Us, so many great options.

 

[wrigh003]

Went with a polyurea coating from one of the sponsor vendors here. Hopefully everything goes as planned and I can get this done before the move. I've got the time, but there may be a late night or two mixed in somewhere.

I'll post results and/or a process thread once I get going.

 

[Garage Flooring]

Went with a polyurea coating from one of the sponsor vendors here. Hopefully everything goes as planned and I can get this done before the move. I've got the time, but there may be a late night or two mixed in somewhere.

I'll post results and/or a process thread once I get going.

Whoever you used, give them a call once you have all the product in hand and before you do the install. Great support from the vendors here

 

[Nitesco]

Went with a polyurea coating from one of the sponsor vendors here. Hopefully everything goes as planned and I can get this done before the move. I've got the time, but there may be a late night or two mixed in somewhere.

I'll post results and/or a process thread once I get going.

Which one did you use? How did it come out?

 

[wrigh003]

Well - the big moving day was yesterday. We had way, way more stuff coming from the old house than I thought, so my plan to just wedge everything into the unused spaces in the house, do up the garage floor real quick, let it cure, and then move whatever back in... didn't work out. Current status is that I've got the floor mostly ready: caulked a couple of cracks that would have been visually annoying, scraped those back level, etched floor, hosed out real good, ran the dehumidifer a few days, set out some ant baits... I really, really hate fire ants. Don't ask me what they are after in a new house.

I've got all my materials, weather seems to be holding out nice. If I can get the time this weekend I may start in. Or I may do what the mover suggested and split the project in half, do one side, cure, then do the other, cure, then put down the clearcoat over top. That just means I'd need to blend all my paint (ahem, coating) together, then seal half back up. Bit wary of that in case the unused part starts setting up in the can, but per the directions it should be OK.

Edited for a laugh: I've been a member here so long at this point that my little avatar guy over there looks nothing like me now. Oh to have hair like that again...

 

[rburke65]

So....what product did you decide?

 

[Anchorless]

Also interested in the product. Same situation as you. Closing on a new house; have to balance time between moving in and prepping the floor before applying.... something.

Oh, and just finding the spare time to do it all.

 

[James-W]

Also interested in the product. Same situation as you. Closing on a new house; have to balance time between moving in and prepping the floor before applying.... something.

Oh, and just finding the spare time to do it all.

Welcome to the forum. I trust you will find it a worthwhile place to spend a lot of free time.

 

[wrigh003]

So- quick update. I went with ArmorPoxy's polyurea product. I had no issues getting it down, and it worked out really well for what I needed, which was flexibility in application. I racked all my tint and color coat together in a big bucket so it'd all be the same color, which made it so I could go in sections on the floor. Wound up being important because the "stuff" that wound up in the garage was more than anticipated during the move; basically at this point I've moved a bunch of junk back and forth side to side a couple times, trying to get everything covered. Put down the last/ gloss/ top coat with texture on one side tonight, will move stuff over and give other side it's last coat tomorrow.

Overall- following the directions, pretty painless, pretty easy. If you can paint a wall, you can do this. Only two little things. One: Wish I'd been able to tailor better to size of my garage. a 20x20 space didn't need two gallons, but now I've got an extra half-gallon of grey knocking around. Might throw it down in the shed when I build that later this winter, so all is not lost, but a half gallon option would be cool. Two: man, this stuff *smells*. I'm getting a little grief from my family on the chemical-refinery smell from the garage. In the end, it'll be worth it, but short-term? Set up a fan and open a window if you can.

Ingredients for a 20x20 garage: two gallons of color coat armorpoxy, one gallon of clear, one packet of texturizer for the clear, 4# total of Rustoleum generic color chips (2# each of glacier blend and gray blend), couple tubes of home-center high-stretch/ high-adhesion concrete crack filler, one scraper with reversible razor and blunt blade, one pump sprayer, one gallon of rustoleum concrete etch and clean, one old dehumidifer from previous house basement, one electric blower and a broom.

All in, I think I'm into this project for $600ish, and results are looking pretty good. There are a couple places where I wish my chip-hurling technique was better (heavy in three specific spots, a bit light in a few others), but aside from that, I think I'll be happy with this as we go along, and I think it was definitely worth the $$$. Pictures to follow, maybe after I get everything a littttttle less **** looking out there.

 

[Anchorless]

Welcome to the forum. I trust you will find it a worthwhile place to spend a lot of free time.

Too much time. I go from one product to the next to the next and then back around again. Think I rule something out and then I don't. Not to mention my wants are bigger than my pocketbook.

 

[wrigh003]

Too much time. I go from one product to the next to the next and then back around again. Think I rule something out and then I don't. Not to mention my wants are bigger than my pocketbook.

It does get easy to have that old "champagne taste/ beer budget" problem around here. Slow and steady - no need to do it all in one go. Unless you just won the lottery, in which case... rock on. I like seeing the threads where people evidently did something like that - nice for inspiration.

Even this fairly simple/ pedestrian flooring project comes for me after years of thinking about it and deciding that it'd be better to just do it from the jump at the new house instead of pouring that $$$ into the old, not to mention having to move 15yrs worth of junk out of the way, find a good home for it, etc.

I am SO looking forward to having a good place to work on stuff, and a secure place to put my tools and things. Was out there last night in my sock feet feeling the difference between the floor section with the chips stuck to it (clear not down yet) and the section with the chips stuck to it and then glued down with the next layer of clear. It's glorious.

 

[Anchorless]

I'm in the same place as you. New house, nothing in it, now's the time.

Good luck!

 

[wrigh003]

I'm in the same place as you. New house, nothing in it, now's the time.

Good luck!

I just (15 minutes ago) rolled out the last of my topcoat for the floor. Topcoat is hard to see, especially by the dim light of one bulb and a garge door opener light, but I think I got it all.

I won't miss this smell, but I'm happy with the floor turnout. Not saying I'll have glamour shots immediately, but hopefully I can get something like a decent picture over the next few days.

 

[silverpanther]

Rustoleum is a pretty good brand my only problem with that is some experienced some flaking after a few months but thankfully mine didn't have the same problem. Maybe it's because of the proper installation fo it. What Is iss is I really cleaned the floor first with some acids.

 

[wrigh003]

Minor tragedy, glad I have some leftover color coat.

Guess whose wife thought he was done with the floor and drove her van straight in onto the wet final coat on her side of the garage? If you guessed me, you win a hearty congratulations.

I'm not thrilled at her, but after the initial shock wore off, it's probably no big deal. I've got enough leftover to redo that part, and I can probably go big enough/ wide enough/ with jagged enough edges to not just paint two plain lines on there, thus blending the edges and rebroadcasting chips where there's wet product again. After that I might decide it's worth it to put another clearcoat on top, or I might not. We'll see.

Never a dull moment. Let me be a lesson to you- don't assume others know what you're up to! Put down a traffic cone, stretch out some tape, put a lawnchair in front of the garage, disable the opener... or just make sure you remind your wife.

https://imgur.com/a/4Rn9SRv

 

[argulator]

I'm not thrilled at her

You're pretty charitable .

***** though after all that work.

 

[wrigh003]

You're pretty charitable .

***** though after all that work.

Yeah - I definitely sat in silence, squatted down with my head in my hands for a few minutes, and then I think I went and got a beer. I don't think I yelled even once, which I was surprised by too. In the end, she beat herself up over it way worse than I would ever do, and besides - done is done, and no point sweating it, especially when it's (theoretically) a pretty easy fix.

I haven't got back to it yet (been distracted by some old-house projects that are in advance of sale), but will probably do so either tonight or tomorrow- update/ repair pics to follow. I'm as curious as anyone as to whether I can get an effective blend job done on the chip broadcasting and stuff - so we'll just see. Thinking positive - this is all just cosmetics, and cosmetics I can likely fix up OK.

 

[wrigh003]

Crisis management results. Overall? Turned out to be no real big deal. There's a little textural difference where the chips aren't locked down by the clear top layer, but not much, and it's pretty well invisible. Still curing/ drying, but it's walkable now, and I don't see the seams of the fix unless I'm looking hard for them, so... success?

https://imgur.com/a/Zo0nBFL

I'll quit bumping my saga of woe now, and my next trick will be a clean garage with the junk managed. Moving on to better projects now.

 

[Armorpoxy]

Glad the result cane out ok!