Epoxy-Coat Questions / New Project

[reb162]

I'm having a house built, which I will close on August 10th. House will have three car garage for which I have been scouring this website for ideas on finishing. I've struggled with the decision beteen VCT tile and Epoxy floor, but finally decided on Epoxy because I think for my intended use of daily drivers and medium mechanic duty, it will require less maintenance. I have now downselected all the epoxy choices to Epoxy-Coat for the 100% solids and value. The garage is ~951 sq ft so I'm planning on two (2) full Epoxy-coat coating/clear kits. I'm planning just the base gray color with the standard blue mix (white, blue and black flakes). Before pulling the trigger on the purchase next week, I wanted to ask some questions from those of you that have done epoxy-coat floors.

1. Will 2 kits be adequate? I know according to the claimed coverage, it should be, but what has experience on coverage been?

2.What is the best method for cutting the epoxy in along walls? I've read that the brush is a pain and slows things down. Can I just pour a bead along the wall for each section and squeegee up to the wall before spreading to the rest of the area? What are your thoughts?

3. The epoxy-coat site says it comes with enough flake for light coverage. I'm having a hard time telling from the pictures there what the scale is for light coverage. Could some of you post your epoxy coat pictures with flake and tell me if you just used the flake the kit came with or if you got extra flake and how much?

4. Living in Ohio, snow and wetness in the garage will occur. I'm considering using the anti-skid to help but I am fearful that it will provide too rough of a texture that will negate the ease of cleaning on the floor. For those that have used it, what kind of texture does it provide and how did you apply it...with the first coat, sprinkled in with the flake, mixed with top clear coat? What about those that did not use it...how many times did you break your a$$ on it?

5.For those that used the clear, how has it faired without a UV resistant coating on top? I may apply one later, but my immediate goal is to get the floor down quickly while moving into the house.

6.This may be a stupid question, but I plan on getting spiked shoes so I can walk in the epoxy first layer for application and chipping. I've heard that they come in handy for the clear application as well. Wouldn't the spikes make holes in the solid color epoxy first coat when applying the clear coat or is the first layer hard enough in 18 hours that they will not penetrate?

I plan to document this as I go along to help others so I'll start the pictures now. Two of the garage birth pictures are below.

 

[TheBanker]

I used epoxy-coat and everything worked out great. I am wondering about your square footage. You say 3 car garage but at 951 sq. feet?? Are you only doing part of the garage?

1. I dont remember what the kits cover. I wish I would have had more to keep it nice and thick. Don't count on the epoxy covering as much as it says do to waste in roller, bucket, ect.

2. Cut in using one of those small hot dog rollers with the long handle. Works great.

3. Flake coverage with what they give you will be very very very light.

4. I put the anti skip on top of the clear and only next to my wifes car. Yes its very slippery when wet if you dont. Anti skip on top of clear is kind of "sharp" but works great. I walk on it bare foot, no problem. Some put it before clear to make it more rounded bumps. I would not use it on whole floor, its harder to clean.

5. can't help with the UV, I have a dark garage.

6. Get the spikes. No, they do not cause any damage. Epoxy self levels to fill the little pin holes left with the spikes.

 

[reb162]

Yes,
The three car is ~951 sq ft and I plan to do the whole thing. The house floor plan is as below. The only difference between the floor plan and my garage is that I will have a front load versus side load which makes the garage slightly smaller than the drawing...I couldn't fit the side load on my lot.

Followup on question 6. I know the epoxy self levels when wet which is why the spike shoes are OK. My concern about the spike shoes is about wearing them on top of the cured first epoxy layer to spread the clear coat. With the first layer semi-cured after about 18 hours, I wouldn't think that it withstand the spikes and self level if you wore spikes on top of it thus leaving dimples or holes?

 

[reb162]

More questions keep popping into my head as I think...what will be the best way to divide the pour? In other words, with two full kits, how many different sections should I plan on? Thanks.

 

[TheBanker]

Yeah, don't worry about the spikes, i think the epoxy will be hardened before you walk on it with them. I think you wait like 24 hours before the clear???

 

[reb162]

Epoxy-coat says max recoat time for clear is 18 hours. By the way, I'm reading your thread on your epoxy-coat project. Nice floor and job well done. Hope mine turns out that well. How much extra flake did you buy over and beyond what you got with the kit?

 

[TheBanker]

I bought alot of flakes...I think it may have been 50 lbs. You can buy the flakes much cheaper from that Norkad company, I think on ebay? Divide into sections with the flakes too. I divided mine into 4 sections. I am about 500 sq ft I think.

 

[TheBanker]

ACtually to correct, I did only two batches but divided into 4 sections.

 

[Bonebiz]

Don't buy too much material. Looks like you have misread the drawing. The dimension for your three car is 19 x 31 or about 600 square feet total.

I have a three car too but a little deeper and mine was a little over 600. I had a garage company do mine to get the best result. The flaking covers the whole floor and looks like granite. They covered the whole first coat and the scraped and swept off what didn't stick then put on the clear. That has a UV screen in it and is guaranteed not to yellow. Its only slippery if oil or WD30 gets on it. I paid $2300. How much will you really save doing it yourself? For me the savings in time and hassle was worth the extra bucks.

 

[reb162]

Good catch Bonebiz...I was not using my noggin and added the square footage of the two different dimensions above in the drawing when really I just need the second one which is the entire three car garage. That means a may be able to get away with 1.5 kits instead of 2. However, I'm thinking I may want to epoxy the concrete ledge that goes around the garage which may take up more of the epoxy and cause me to get 2 kits anyway...I can always just put it on thicker.

Anyone here epoxy their concrete ledges? How much of a PITA is that and any tips? Should I just pour the batch along the wall and try to cut the ledge in real quick with brush or use smaller roller?

Also, Found out from my builder today that they do not seal the concrete, but they do use a "cure and seal" when finishing to help prevent water loss during the cure. He said I should not have to grind since its not a normal sealer and that usually an etch will work OK with it. Any thoughts...I really don't want to grind....nor do I have the time with moving into the house.

 

[yucholian]

I advise you AGAINST letting the builder use the cure and seal.
I made that mistake before and it doesn't leave a nice finish as you'd expect. Mine had lots of bubbles and uneven application. Also, the epoxy nor tiles adhere properly. It's intended to benefit the builder only and not you.

 

[AlphaGarage]

Anyone here epoxy their concrete ledges? How much of a PITA is that and any tips? Should I just pour the batch along the wall and try to cut the ledge in real quick with brush or use smaller roller?

By "ledges" do you mean a perimeter stem wall? If they're not too tall, say 10" or lower, you can usually just cut them in with a chip brush, I imagine a small roller would also work.

If they're much taller then you may need to take a few extra steps, at least that's the case with LiquaTile 1184, that's because it's pretty dense/heavy and can slide down the wall. There are ways to mitigate that, but then it may not be an issue with your epoxy.

There's also the "chime" to consider. That's the intersection of the wall and the floor. Depending on how it was constructed, and whether or not you can expect settling, you might want to run a bead of flexible caulking there. That way should there be shifting or separation between the two planes the flex epoxy can absorb some of the displacement and prevent a crack from appearing in the epoxy coatings.

Also - not big on the cure & seal idea, especially if you want to use a chem etch instead of grinding. Not sure it would impact the etching action, but I wouldn't take the chance. Plenty of concrete floors cure every day w/o that additive, and they turn out fine.

 

[jaggudada]

4. Living in Ohio, snow and wetness in the garage will occur. I'm considering using the anti-skid to help but I am fearful that it will provide too rough of a texture that will negate the ease of cleaning on the floor. For those that have used it, what kind of texture does it provide and how did you apply it...with the first coat, sprinkled in with the flake, mixed with top clear coat? What about those that did not use it...how many times did you break your a$$ on it?

What's the word on this? one of the reasons I will be doing this to make sure it is easy to clean.

 

[AlphaGarage]

There are dozens of anti-slip additives. The most common for residential DIY applications is the polymer grit. The grains are smaller than table salt, opaque white, and have rounded edges. Being opaque they are visible, more so on a darker background, if you have any flakes the grit tends to blend in and isn't too noticeable.

It does add texture, so if you squeegee to clean the floor it will take an extra swipe or two, doesn't effect mop or broom use use too much though. I use those blue paper shop towels without any problem.

We spec our SuperGrip be used at 0.5 pounds for every 300 - 400 ft2, if you have a garage with lots of oil and grease being spilled, then use a heavier density. It should be added to the clear coat as it's mixed. Other products may require other methods - so check first.

 

[craigaho]

Re: "Cure and Seal"

My builder used a "cure and seal" as well, and the bare concrete looked great. But I wanted to epoxy...

Like reb162, I wasn't big on the idea of grinding so yesterday I tried the etch that came with the kit (Epoxymaster). There was some "fizz", but overall I would say the effect was minmal. No scientific analysis, it just didn't work for me.

So this morning I went and picked up a grinder. It's pretty idiot-proof, though not at all exciting. At the rate I'm going, my 22'x22' will take 8 hours.

@reb162: Give the etch a try, I think the worst thing that'll happen is that it won't work, and you end up grinding. But that's the alternative anyway, so really no risk to you. Also, I think in one of the Flooring threads someone recommended a "broom finish" as opposed to a fine finish.

And if I could borrow your thread....anyone have advice on what to use to grind out the corners?

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

The etch is muriatic acid. You can buy it at the corner hardware store. Your goal is to etch to between an 80 and 100 grit sandpaper type texture. There should be dilution instructions on the bottle.

 

[AlphaGarage]

Re: "Cure and Seal"


And if I could borrow your thread....anyone have advice on what to use to grind out the corners?

A 4.5 inch angle grinder gets in there pretty good, after that a palm sander or just a simple block sander to get that last little bit. If there's no previous coating or sealer the acid etch was probably enough for those small spots.

80 - 100 grit is ideal, but if it's not quite that rough a good primer shouldn't have any problems adhering anyway. In another thread I posted a few cases where there had not been any prep, or even cleaning, and the primer coating stuck so well that concrete stuck to it when it was chiseled off. Not that we recommend forgoing cleaning and proper prep, but there is some latitude. In particular a walled corner isn't going to have much traffic, so you can adjust accordingly.

 

[rugerlady]

reb162, call me at the office or PM me. We have alot of different size non-skid, I can help you with the flake coverage and anything else you need.

 

[craigaho]

A 4.5 inch angle grinder gets in there pretty good, after that a palm sander or just a simple block sander to get that last little bit. If there's no previous coating or sealer the acid etch was probably enough for those small spots.

Thanks Alpha!


Craig.