Epoxy on 50 year old floor?

[ben1989]

Hi Guys,

I've been following this forum for a few weeks now as I think about fixing up my garage. From many of the beautiful garages on this site, I've realized that I would absolutely love to do an epoxy coating. I've read many articles and posts on repairing cracks, pitting and other basic problems; but am having trouble discerning whether I will be able to get my 50+ (assuming age as thats when house was built) year old garage floor in shape for a coating.

Attached are a few quick pictures (I can certainly get more if needed) of problem areas, I would very much appreciate any opinions on the level of difficulty of the repair.

Thanks,
Ben

 

[James-W]

Welcome to the site, I am sure you will get the answers you are looking for. After looking at the pictures, just offhand I would say you have a great deal of prep work to do before you can even consider putting down an epoxy floor. But, if you can do the work yourself you will be able to save a bundle of money and still end up with a great looking garage floor.

 

[tncatadjuster]

A professional should be able to do it for you.
If you do it yourself, be prepared to do a lot of work.
There are quite a few things involved in making that slab
turn into the floor that someone would sell.

Aim high and hope for the best.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

As my friend from Elvis-town mentioned, you are talking pre-filling, grinding and you would need to squeegee-coat a layer of SL over the floor prior to applying your epoxy.

It's a big job to make it look smooth and glossy due to all the imperfections. If not pre-filled they will telegraph through the coatings.

 

[ben1989]

Thank you all for the reply's, I expected that a large amount of work would be required.

I am happy to put in the hard work and don't mind spending my summer working on it, but figured I would get a few informed opinions on the plausibility of achieving good results with even the hardest of work given the current state of the slab.

Ben

 

[JimVonBaden]

From what I have seen here, and other places, you are never going to be happy using epoxy on that floor. Even grinding it down will not produce a surface the looks good once covered. Think auto body. The rougher the start, the more work, and less likely a good look will be achieved.

In my opinion, your best bet is porcelain tile. It will cover the rough spots and last much longer! There are plenty of great examples of working garages with tile floors that hold up in all weather and circumstances great!

Jim

 

[frantylouis]

Right now I agree with your terms and as I know very well Epoxy coatings are incomparable in durability, long lasting for about 15 to 25 years depending on the type of the coating and its installation.

 

[ben1989]

I could be wrong, but to me the above two posts seem to be be some sort of spam? They are vaguely related to the forum section but neither seems to have anything to do with my post?