Filling Expansion Joints in Garage Floor - Future Epoxy

[RegularJoe]

Hello all. I'm new here and look forward to taking advantage of all the expertise. I've lurked for awhile and have already learned a lot.

I just purchased a home that's about ten years old and the expansion joints in the garage floor look terrible due to age,neglect and some floor movement over the years. I thought I'd clean them up with a chisel, vacuum them out and then fill them with something to keep the crud out, make them look better and make the floor easier to clean. I'm not sure what I'll do with the floor long term but may want to epoxy it so would like to use something that would be compatible with the epoxy down the road. I've looked at Sikaflex but am not sure it would be okay for future epoxy.

Is there something I can put in now that would work well for a few months (or longer) and then be suitable for epoxy coating?

 

[benwah]

I'm prefer using a 100% solids surfacing epoxy with fumed silica mixed in. Tnemec series 215 works great, there are also others out there. You would just mildly abrade the surface before topcoating.

 

[Shea]

SikaFlex is a great sealant for cracks and works well for filling joints, but it's too soft to use if you want to epoxy over it. 100% solids epoxy works well as Benwah stated, as well as some polyurea and polyurethane fillers. After they cure they can be ground down smooth to create a seamless joint if that is the look you want.

The key however is to make sure they have an elongation rate close to 50% or more. Just check the technical data sheets. Because contraction joints can move, you need a product that will move with it or it can cause the coating above it to crack. You can read more about why and how here.

 

[RegularJoe]

Thank you Shea. That's exactly the information I was looking for. Sikaflex is out and I'll be using the right product.

Would it be okay to mostly fill the joints now and finish filling them and grind at a later date when I do the epoxy? The slab has moved over the years and the joints are really ugly so I'd like to clean up the look in the short-term. It could be awhile before I do the epoxy.