Correcting low spots before epoxy coating?

[SteveL]

I have a unique situation where I have a 2 1/2 car area that was coated with Benjamin Moore 2 part epoxy about 5 years ago and a single car area that is uncoated butting up to the other. Getting ready to coat the whole space and want to fix some low areas in the older section that collects water. The area in question is about 6' x 10' near the overhead door.

How would you go about correcting the low area and dealing with the fact that 2/3 of the space has epoxy on it already? One thought was to rent a floor grinder/sander and remove the old finish and work the area around the door a little more so that the water would drain instead of pool. I've heard that a leveling compound would correct the low spots but would not hold up over time driving over it every day. Your thoughts?

Other issue is what to use to fill the crack between old and new floor? I used a diamond blade to create a straight gap of about 1/4" the entire length but want to fill it before coating. The guys that poured the new floor just let the concrete **** up against the old rough edge and it craked almost immediatly.

 

[CobraRob]

Probabilly need to rent a diomond grinder and grind the whole floor then apply a self leveling coumpond. Go from there... Im sure people will respond.

 

[SteveL]

You sure about the self leveling compound? My understanding is that it would not hold up to the abuse. It will only be about 1/4" thick at it tickest point. Anyone know for sure?

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

You sure about the self leveling compound? My understanding is that it would not hold up to the abuse. It will only be about 1/4" thick at it tickest point. Anyone know for sure?

Epoxy resurfacer would be better. It lives in a 1/4" world.
http://legacyindustrial.net/cart/epoxy-concrete-resurfacer-hd110r-p-57.html

 

[SteveL]

How "self leveling" is it? Reason I ask is that the area that this will be used is right in the main walk path of the garage and I want it to be "perfect" as in look like the original concrete. Your site shows that it's applied with a steel trowel which indicates that it will likely have some tell tale signs of a patch. Am I wrong considering I've never done any troweling?

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

How "self leveling" is it? Reason I ask is that the area that this will be used is right in the main walk path of the garage and I want it to be "perfect" as in look like the original concrete. Your site shows that it's applied with a steel trowel which indicates that it will likely have some tell tale signs of a patch. Am I wrong considering I've never done any troweling?

It is not self-leveling. You are trying to cover a 1/4".
If you back off on the filler, it will flow better than full filler.

Full filler will give you the consistency of peanut butter.

We do have another resurfacer that is more forgiving. HD-501, is a slurry and is probably a little easier for a first timer to trowel out.
It will also be smoother once cured as the aggregate is much finer.
http://legacyindustrial.net/cart/food-grade-floor-resurfacer-hd501r-p-60.html

No matter what you use, unless you over-coat the entire floor with the resurfacer, it will show the work you have done, to some degree.

Crack filler link:http://legacyindustrial.net/cart/crack-sealant-gel-style-p-16.html

 

[rugerlady]

We have fiber additives for our epoxy that we use. You can mix it in as thin or thick as you want.

 

[SteveL]

Since the area in question is about 2'-3' from the overhead door, am I better off just renting a diamond grinder and spending a little extra time along the door so that everything will drain properly instead of trying to fill the low area? I should probably grind off the old epoxy finish anyway so maybe an extra hour or so of work would end up with a better result???