The time has seeming come to get my garage in order and this is simply a loose guide for anyone considering applying a floor coating to their garage. I would call this a culmination of lessons learned and then guidance on what I would do if I could go back and not repeat the same mistakes. So I have an approximate 24'x24' garage (576sq ft) and after having been distracted for more years than I care to discuss, the decision was made that I really did need to get the place in order. In other threads you will see that my garage has gone from housing my former Corvette, welders, and lawn mower to presently storing miscelanous items and most importantly my daily drivers. My wife and I both appreciate parking in the garage and I do not perform metal work in my attached garage anymore. My hand tools and woodworking equipment have found a new home in my basement due to it being climate controlled, and do not anticipate that changing until I either build an addition on the back of my current garage or we purchase a new house with shop and move.
So this is what I am starting with. As you can see we have the typically central Virginia red mud stains, a few cracks, and drywall I hadn't got around to finishing. Nothing terrible but bad enough for me take action.
Now here is my first lessons learned of this situation. Prior to deciding what coating you will be applying and what preparation measures to take, thoroughly clean your floor. Due to the condition of the floor I was convinced I had unsealed concrete with a rough finish. The stains, the way water would soak into the concrete around the cars, and how gritty it felt when walked on.
I chose to start with degreasing. I picked up some NorthStart brand Industrial Degreaser and scrubbed... And scrubbed... Wetting the floor, squeegee out after scrubbing, and rewetting the floor... Over and over and over again. And it improved as many of the oil marks disappeared but it really showed how abused the concrete was. I found bright colored paint stains that neither my wife or I knew where there. I am talking about bright white and even red stains that only appeared after scrubbing the life out of the concrete. The other thing that was of a huge concern was how the high traffic areas would soak in water but the perimeter and low traffic areas beaded water up. The texture got smooth and thats when I saw the pattern... Power troweled. The pad had been power troweled and sealed based on what I had found, so this meant I had to do an entirely different preparation for the coating than planned.
But as you can see the surface is much cleaner, much more defined, although it does show how stained some areas really are. After cleaning the floor as best as I could by hand I made the decision to pull the base boards up and I am very glad I did. Which leads me to my second lessons learned. When going through all the work of cleaning a space out, I would consider it best practice to do all those things the would otherwise be a hinderance later. And sealing the base board to floor area is one of those things. It also showed that I had some minor ant problems and I will seal this area prior to putting my baseboard back up (after the coating is applied).
So this is what I am starting with. As you can see we have the typically central Virginia red mud stains, a few cracks, and drywall I hadn't got around to finishing. Nothing terrible but bad enough for me take action.
Now here is my first lessons learned of this situation. Prior to deciding what coating you will be applying and what preparation measures to take, thoroughly clean your floor. Due to the condition of the floor I was convinced I had unsealed concrete with a rough finish. The stains, the way water would soak into the concrete around the cars, and how gritty it felt when walked on.
I chose to start with degreasing. I picked up some NorthStart brand Industrial Degreaser and scrubbed... And scrubbed... Wetting the floor, squeegee out after scrubbing, and rewetting the floor... Over and over and over again. And it improved as many of the oil marks disappeared but it really showed how abused the concrete was. I found bright colored paint stains that neither my wife or I knew where there. I am talking about bright white and even red stains that only appeared after scrubbing the life out of the concrete. The other thing that was of a huge concern was how the high traffic areas would soak in water but the perimeter and low traffic areas beaded water up. The texture got smooth and thats when I saw the pattern... Power troweled. The pad had been power troweled and sealed based on what I had found, so this meant I had to do an entirely different preparation for the coating than planned.
But as you can see the surface is much cleaner, much more defined, although it does show how stained some areas really are. After cleaning the floor as best as I could by hand I made the decision to pull the base boards up and I am very glad I did. Which leads me to my second lessons learned. When going through all the work of cleaning a space out, I would consider it best practice to do all those things the would otherwise be a hinderance later. And sealing the base board to floor area is one of those things. It also showed that I had some minor ant problems and I will seal this area prior to putting my baseboard back up (after the coating is applied).
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