Epoxy Floor Question

[Philly]

We hired an epoxy flooring specialist to do our garage floor. They came out, used a diamond grinder to scarify the floor, applied the epoxy, and broadcast the chips. All seemed to go well until I checked on the floor again at night. I could see what appear the be grinder markings showing through the epoxy. And the surface is lumpy and looks rough. I had expected it to look almost as smooth as glass based on some posts in this forum.

I called the contractor and at first he tried to say it was the epoxy self leveling. Yesterday we talked and he said the reality is that they ground too deep and didn't apply enough epoxy to cover it. I had asked that question when they finished grinding and was told yes, the epoxy would cover it.

Now they want to come out and sand off the chips and sand down the epoxy. They will then apply another coat of epoxy and broadcast the chips once again. Does this sound right?

 

[thegarageguy]

What it seems to me is that they rolled on the epoxy too thin or not thick enough to cover or hide the imperfections of your slab. By your accounts, it seems that the contractor used a hand grinder. If a company doesn't have a walk behind concrete prepping machine, that should be a sign that he may be new or inexperienced.

Sometimes this happens when a contractor tries to save on materials or cuts corners to make up for the discount or price that he had to beat. More often than not these haggled, heavily discounted flooring systems come with a catch that you may not be aware of.

If the contractor is man enough to admit a mistake and redo, then thats good. The only thing that worries me is that you say they will completely remove the system and start over. If the floor isn't failing, then you just sand enough to knock off the shine, usually 36 grit, then solvent wipe and recoat and rebroadcast. If he wants to do what you say, then he's clueless.

Of course, we are only hearing one side to this story. It could be that you agreed to a thin film, rolled on system and the contractor pointed out that it may not cover all the imperfections but you had your budget and you agreed to it. Now, after its done, the imperfections are more obvious than you thought and you don't want to pay the contractor for what you agreed to have.

Again we don't know because we are only hearing one side of the story and we all know there are 3 sides to every story. Put up some pics so we can see what you are talking about and invite him to this forum so we can here all sides.

 

[Philly]

Garageguy, you know your stuff! The contractor fessed up that they had ground too deeply. They did use a walk behind, just overused it. Then, they spread the epoxy too thinly. They came out today and sanded off the chips and the shine of the original epoxy coat. Then, they applied a new layer of epoxy and new chips. So far it looks good. Tomorrow they will apply the clear coat. Thanks for your info. You were right on the mark.