fiber in concrete then epoxy

[gcan]

No more lurking - I am finally having my garage floor poured tomorrow, . The contractor has the site ready with the plastic and wire down waiting for the pour. Well today he asked me if it was okay to add fiber to the concrete. He asked because I told him I plan on putting epoxy on the finished floor and he has not used epoxy. He said the fiber in the mix can leave it a little fuzzy on the surface. I know the fiber will make it stronger but did not know about the potential for fuzz.

Is this an issue or something I should be concerned with?

Thanks in advance
Greg

 

[bmwpower]

You can try to burn off the fibers. I didn't have any luck. Some were removed, but a majority of them remained.

I was only able to remove them after I laid down a first coat of epoxy. I had to go around with an orbital and buzz them off. The epoxy makes them stand up, making it easier to buzz them off.

You'll need to lay down another coat of epoxy, but you should be doing that anyway.

 

[Donzi4me]

I've got fiber and wire in my slab. My concrete guy power troweled my slab smooth as glass. No fiber is showing thru. But the surface is very slick when wet. I don't plan on epoxy, because I like the smooth finish and don't want to "ruff it up" to get the epoxy to stick. I may do an acid stain and then seal it later. I would go with the fiber for the added strength. Plus like others have said, the thickness of the epoxy will cover the fuzz.

 

[tim67580]

My garage 2 Bay detached, was only a couple months old when I moved in. The previous owner had the floor poured with fiber. Why I have no clue, as it is your typical 2 car garage which he built mainly for storage.

I thought nothing of it at the time. I used a shirwin williams 2 part epoxy (forget the exact type) And put 2 coats of epoxy on.

The fiber is noticeable, it gives a little texture, and in spots it stands up. However I have gotten a few scrapes/cuts while working on it and It can be uncomfortable at times. I try to lay down large pieces of cardboard when working if at all possible anyway (Jeeps can get messy) so its not a huge deal. Would I prefer not to get the occasional scrape, cut, or poke from my garage floor you bet. Is it a big enough deal for me the change? No.

Take this for what its worth. -Tim

PS. what are the advantages of adding fiber to the slab?

 

[FL_Javelin]

My contractor talked me into fiber but when the truck arrived, he grab a handfull of the pour and noticed there was none in it. Now I'm glad the mistake was made. My friend had fiber in his slab and as mentioned, little fibers stick up everywhere. After seeing that I wondered how that would have affected my epoxy job.

One sorta unrelated tip;
Always look at the cement truck ticket from the driver to verify quanity and type even if you have a subcontractor. Not that I didnt trust him but then again, I trust no one.

 

[Randall Edge]

I have gotten a few scrapes/cuts while working on it and It can be uncomfortable at times.

I just finished mine and now I wish I had burned off the exposed glass. It looks really good when you squeege the epoxy on, but as soon as you hit it with a roller the glass stands up.
By the time I had all the tape removed from the baseboards I was bleeding from half a dozen places. Perhaps I will sand it and add a second coat this summer.

 

[bmwpower]

I just finished mine and now I wish I had burned off the exposed glass. It looks really good when you squeege the epoxy on, but as soon as you hit it with a roller the glass stands up.
By the time I had all the tape removed from the baseboards I was bleeding from half a dozen places. Perhaps I will sand it and add a second coat this summer.

I didn't even think about the "bleeding" aspect of this problem. Good thing I buzzed then off when I did.

Yep, buzz them off and add a nice second coat. Problem solved.

 

[1320stang]

I'm told that a propane weedburner torch will take them off. My house, garage, driveway and porch all are fibercrete. I've been here 8 years, traffic has taken off most of the threads, but my weedburner took off in spots where I hadn't had much traffic just fine.

 

[volvo]

Anyone ever use the stainless steel little pins as a cement additive ?? Saw at a home show years ago, guy had a 2"x3"x1' cement sample in a 20 ton auto press. You could get the cement sample to bend, but not crack or brake . His response was that it was way stronger than plastic and could be floated down for a normal surface, BUT I am sure there was a price to pay...H

 

[bmwpower]

Anyone ever use the stainless steel little pins as a cement additive ?? Saw at a home show years ago, guy had a 2"x3"x1' cement sample in a 20 ton auto press. You could get the cement sample to bend, but not crack or brake . His response was that it was way stronger than plastic and could be floated down for a normal surface, BUT I am sure there was a price to pay...H

Holy ****, that sounds cool. Anyone else know if this stuff exists today?

 

[Junkman]

I have fiber in my floor and it was power troweled to a smooth finish. I sealed it the same day with a clear sealer, and all the fibers disappeared. Nothing is standing up on my concrete, and no rough spots either. Oil spills wipe up with a rag and leave no residue. Easy to sweep and doesn't wear off very easily. It was also a lot cheaper than going with epoxy. It is a garage, not a show room for me, so I like the look of grey concrete. If I wanted a show room, I would put down tiles and carpet runners...

 

[Old Moparz]

I've got fiber and wire in my slab. My concrete guy power troweled my slab smooth as glass. No fiber is showing thru. But the surface is very slick when wet. I don't plan on epoxy, because I like the smooth finish and don't want to "ruff it up" to get the epoxy to stick. I may do an acid stain and then seal it later. I would go with the fiber for the added strength. Plus like others have said, the thickness of the epoxy will cover the fuzz.

Same here, nothing stands or sticks up, & it's smooth as glass & slippery when it's wet. It's not wet too often & it really depends on the shoes I have on, so I'm not concerned. The guy who did my floor used a power trowel & did an excellent job. I have only had one hairline crack in it, & it hasn't grown & was done in 1998.

I have fiber in my floor and it was power troweled to a smooth finish. I sealed it the same day with a clear sealer, and all the fibers disappeared. Nothing is standing up on my concrete, and no rough spots either. Oil spills wipe up with a rag and leave no residue. Easy to sweep and doesn't wear off very easily. It was also a lot cheaper than going with epoxy. It is a garage, not a show room for me, so I like the look of grey concrete. If I wanted a show room, I would put down tiles and carpet runners...

Just remembered there's a sealer on mine as well, it was applied as it was floated. I thought about a concrete paint or something, but I'd hate to have to reapply it every few years & also don't mind the raw concrete look. Rolling things around on a smooth surface is awesome. My basement floor is like a minefield compared to the garage.

 

[Ramblur]

Well.... First,you go get you a big bag of those diposable razors....

yep, hairy concrete here too. I did the Prcision Epoxy floor system and no
hair at all when done. But its a really thick deal. (Coating ends up being
about .120" thick)

 

[VvvJRvvV]

I have fiber in my concrete as well. The floor was power troweled and I have no exposed fiber at all.

 

[gcan]

The concrete was poured yesterday. They had a power trowel but with the cold weather they had to hand trowel becasue it was setting up so slow. They actualy did their last pass at 7:30pm.
The floor is not as smooth as it would have been with the power trowell but I have to say they worked very long and hard to get the pour done.
I have spots of fiber sticking up so may try the burning before I epoxy.
I'll update when I get to that point.

 

[bmwpower]

The concrete was poured yesterday. They had a power trowel but with the cold weather they had to hand trowel becasue it was setting up so slow. They actualy did their last pass at 7:30pm.
The floor is not as smooth as it would have been with the power trowell but I have to say they worked very long and hard to get the pour done.
I have spots of fiber sticking up so may try the burning before I epoxy.
I'll update when I get to that point.

Similar problems here, but mine set up too fast due to added calcium. It was quite cold out so the mason wanted it to set up faster...less chance of issues if things froze up before slab hardened.

No worries. You can still get rid of the fibers.

 

[carguy123]

The UV will cause the fibers to break very quickly. Also walking on it will get rid of many.

I poured my concrete and sealed it a week later and the fibers were basically gone by then.

They will really, really help keep those small surface cracks from appearing.

 

[ron in sc]

I was only able to remove them after I laid down a first coat of epoxy. I had to go around with an orbital and buzz them off. The epoxy makes them stand up, making it easier to buzz them off.

How many coats of epoxy total did you apply?

What grit of sandpaper did you use?

How long did you let it cure before you sanded?

The guys at Sherwin Williams gave me a couple of gallons of Armorseal to test. I did a very small area in a closet and it went on fine but when it hardened it was full of those fuzzies and looked really bad.

 

[bmwpower]

How many coats of epoxy total did you apply?

What grit of sandpaper did you use?

How long did you let it cure before you sanded?

The guys at Sherwin Williams gave me a couple of gallons of Armorseal to test. I did a very small area in a closet and it went on fine but when it hardened it was full of those fuzzies and looked really bad.

I think I did 3 or 4 coats in total, but only one coat before I buzzed the fibers off. Remember, I had a couple problems with lousy rollers which required me to recoat AGAIN beyond the normal 2 coats.

MAKE SURE IT'S NOT COMING FROM YOUR ROLLER.

Put down the first coat, buzz them off, then recoat as normal. I believe I used 80-100 grit to buzz them off.