Concrete treatment/flooring help for new garage

[Russenterprises]

I've been lurking here on Garage Journal for a while, reading everything I can find about flooring options. I think I've figured out what I want to do for my flooring, but want to get some input from other members to make sure I'm not making a mistake or overlooking other options.

Since this turned out to be such a long post, I thought I'd summarize at the top. Is there anything I can do to a 6 week old concrete foundation to protect it that won't require a lot of surface prep? I can't afford tiles at the moment, and I figure coatings are out since I don't want to mechanically prep or acid etch the floor (and don't want to pay someone else to do it right now.) I was planning to use a densifier and GhostShield 8510 but saw some other posts here that made me question whether that would be successful since I don't know for sure if a densifier or curing agent was used when the foundation was poured (details below). Is there an easy test I can do to determine if a densifier or curing agent was used?

And now the details...

I am building a new garage/shop building and I failed to plan for flooring.

The building is roughly 24x30 (exterior), I plan to use roughly half of it as a garage area for auto repair and the remainder for woodworking and other hobbies. The foundation was power troweled but otherwise untreated (as far as I know, details below.) There are stairs and a small half bath, so actual garage floor area will probably be around 650 sq feet.

Since I didn't consider flooring when I was budgeting, I don't have a lot of money to spend.

I first considered a DIY epoxy coating, but ruled that out when I found out how much prep work is required. Called a local company to get quotes on concrete coating and ruled that out when I got the pricing.

I like the idea of PVC tiles, but again, that's not in the budget right now.

I don't think I can use any type of floor coating without mechanical prep and/or acid etching, which I'd like to avoid. If anyone knows of a coating that can be applied to a new (poured about 6 weeks ago) power troweled slab feel free to point me in that direction.

So my plan as of this morning is to use Lithi-Tek 4500 densifier, then a week later put a single flood coat of GhostShield 8510. That way I can protect the concrete now and possibly add a tile floor in the future.

While I was researching the GoastShield, I came across this quote in another post on this forum: "If a densifier has already been used as part of the installation of a power troweled or other slab, I absolutely would do 8510 without a densifier." Which made me wonder...is it possible or likely that the concrete company used a densifier when they installed the foundation? I know they didn't do anything to the slab after they power troweled it the day it was poured. I did notice them spraying something on the concrete as they power troweled it, but at the time, I assumed it was just water. I also read another post that mentioned curing agents needing to be removed before application. Is there any type of test that I can do to see if a densifier/curing agent was used during installation, or do I need to try to find out from the company that installed the concrete?

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to provide as much information as possible.

Thanks,
Russ

 

[Shea]

Hello Russ. I suggest that you contact the contractor to get the information you need about a curing agent. That would be the easiest and most reliable solution.

You can do the water drop test as well. Place a few drops of water on the surface in multiple areas. If the concrete turns darker fairly quick and absorbs the water within a minute or so, then you most likely do not have a curing agent applied. Here is an example: https://allgaragefloors.com/garage-floor-sealer-test/

There are a couple of coatings that can be applied without prep, however, power troweled floors usually do not quality since they create such a smooth surface.

 

[Russenterprises]

Thanks for the quick response, Shea!

I did not deal directly with the concrete contractor, so I'll have to ask my builder to get in touch with them. The more I think about it, the more I think they didn't use any curing agent, while I do remember them spraying liquid onto the concrete as they troweled it, now that I think about it I'm pretty sure they were just using spray bottles, so I can't imagine they applied a significant amount of anything. But I'll see if I can confirm that.

I also did the water test this a little while ago, and water is definitely soaking in, but it does take a while. There are light and dark areas in the concrete, so I put 4 drops in an area, the lighter areas soaked in pretty quickly, the darker ones took a while. The first drop had completely soaked into the concrete in about 5 minutes or so, they had all soaked in within 15 minutes, see the attached photo.

Thanks,
Russ

 

[Shea]

Yes, it's safe to say that you don't have a cure and seal applied. The darker areas may be where the concrete was burnished a bit from the troweling process and has a slightly smoother finish. You should be good for a penetrating sealer.

 

[Garage Flooring]

I've been lurking here on Garage Journal for a while, reading everything I can find about flooring options. I think I've figured out what I want to do for my flooring, but want to get some input from other members to make sure I'm not making a mistake or overlooking other options.

Since this turned out to be such a long post, I thought I'd summarize at the top. Is there anything I can do to a 6 week old concrete foundation to protect it that won't require a lot of surface prep? I can't afford tiles at the moment, and I figure coatings are out since I don't want to mechanically prep or acid etch the floor (and don't want to pay someone else to do it right now.) I was planning to use a densifier and GhostShield 8510 but saw some other posts here that made me question whether that would be successful since I don't know for sure if a densifier or curing agent was used when the foundation was poured (details below). Is there an easy test I can do to determine if a densifier or curing agent was used?

And now the details...

I am building a new garage/shop building and I failed to plan for flooring.

The building is roughly 24x30 (exterior), I plan to use roughly half of it as a garage area for auto repair and the remainder for woodworking and other hobbies. The foundation was power troweled but otherwise untreated (as far as I know, details below.) There are stairs and a small half bath, so actual garage floor area will probably be around 650 sq feet.

Since I didn't consider flooring when I was budgeting, I don't have a lot of money to spend.

I first considered a DIY epoxy coating, but ruled that out when I found out how much prep work is required. Called a local company to get quotes on concrete coating and ruled that out when I got the pricing.

I like the idea of PVC tiles, but again, that's not in the budget right now.

I don't think I can use any type of floor coating without mechanical prep and/or acid etching, which I'd like to avoid. If anyone knows of a coating that can be applied to a new (poured about 6 weeks ago) power troweled slab feel free to point me in that direction.

So my plan as of this morning is to use Lithi-Tek 4500 densifier, then a week later put a single flood coat of GhostShield 8510. That way I can protect the concrete now and possibly add a tile floor in the future.

While I was researching the GoastShield, I came across this quote in another post on this forum: "If a densifier has already been used as part of the installation of a power troweled or other slab, I absolutely would do 8510 without a densifier." Which made me wonder...is it possible or likely that the concrete company used a densifier when they installed the foundation? I know they didn't do anything to the slab after they power troweled it the day it was poured. I did notice them spraying something on the concrete as they power troweled it, but at the time, I assumed it was just water. I also read another post that mentioned curing agents needing to be removed before application. Is there any type of test that I can do to see if a densifier/curing agent was used during installation, or do I need to try to find out from the company that installed the concrete?

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to provide as much information as possible.

Thanks,
Russ

Russ

Much prefer too much than too little. 8510 is a great choice, Make sure you dilute the 4500 a little extra because the concrete is pretty smooth. Protecting the concrete is an outstanding thing even under tile