Finally starting floor project

[iceman536]

Doing an epoxy garage floor, approximately 500 sq ft, with full broadcast flakes.

Today: Grinding completed
Tomorrow: Patching and filling in expansion joints
Tuesday: Epoxy time

I'll post some before, during, and (hopefully completion) photos.

Edit: Waiting for flakes, hopefully patch on Thursday. In the meantime some before photos of the entire garage. Boy I forgot what a dump it was.

 

[zill]

Ice,

I think you have 1 and 2 in the wrong order

 

[iceman536]

Ice,

I think you have 1 and 2 in the wrong order

You do????

 

[jake26]

Today is Tuesday. How is the epoxy going Iceman? Are we going to see photos tomorrow?

 

[iceman536]

Today is Tuesday. How is the epoxy going Iceman? Are we going to see photos tomorrow?

No.

Doing full broadcast to rejection flakes and they are on order. Hopefully back to work on it Thurs.

 

[Dominico]

Good luck ice

 

[iceman536]

Good luck ice

Thanks, I will need it! But I will post my photos and results so others may learn (hopefully the right way to do it).

 

[Big Boi]

I know how you feel Iceman... Im still in the middle of my project... Perfection takes time!

 

[TheBanker]

Just waiting to see those pics. Good luck, make sure you have enough flakes for the full broadcast.

 

[iceman536]

80 lbs for 500 sq ft. Was told 1-1.2 per 100 sq ft so 50-60 lbs should be enough. I should be in good shape. I will divy them up @ 20 lbs per quadrant to be sure.

 

[AlphaGarage]

80 lbs should do the trick. A full broadcast and a light broadcast are pretty easy to nail - it's those in between densities that can be tricky.

Be sure to really scrape off any flakes that aren't flat before you clear coat.

 

[iceman536]

My biggest concern is running out of chips.

 

[AlphaGarage]

My biggest concern is running out of chips.

We spec 0.15 lbs for a broadcast to rejection, to date we haven't had one DIY project with full broadcast at that ratio complain that they ran out of flakes, for your 500 ft2 I would have recommended 75 lbs, so with 80 lbs you should be fine.

Personally I like the look of full flake coverage, and since we've just lowered the pricing on our flakes I hope to see a few more full broadcast projects coming up. We get a lot of calls from people who want help with picking color combinations, a good friend of mine does a lot of interior design work for studios, photographers, etc, and I'm hoping to get her to put together some fresh contemporary color combos to make those choices a bit easier.

Even with a broadcast to rejection keep in mind that while it's easy to toss down another hand full of flakes, it's impossible to pick up flakes if you put them down too heavy. Also, do practice a bit beforehand.

 

[TheBanker]

My biggest concern is running out of chips.

I think if you break them up into sets like you said, you will be fine. I didn't do that and it caused a problem for me. Just one of those things I forgot to do. I do like the way a full broadcast looks, can't wait to see it. And like Fred said, scrape before you clear.

 

[iceman536]

I've seen 1.0 - 1.2 recommended and even up to 1.6.

My plan is to divide it up 20 lbs per quadrant, cover "heavy enough" until I cover the quadrant. Hopefully I have some left to fill in any light areas.

If I am short my problem is I will be "90% to rejection", which is preferable to 100% to rejection on 90%, and no flake on 10% of the floor. That would be a disaster.

When I get thru the first 20 lbs I should know if 80 will be enough. I will be careful not to bunch up flake by the walls, especially since I will put up a border so I don't need to cover to the very edge.

I hope my thought process here is valid.

 

[iceman536]

I think if you break them up into sets like you said, you will be fine. I didn't do that and it caused a problem for me. Just one of those things I forgot to do. I do like the way a full broadcast looks, can't wait to see it. And like Fred said, scrape before you clear.

I will scrape the &%$# out of the floor to get a nice flat surface to put the clear on.

One other piece of advice I received on the flakes: don't be in a major hurry to throw them. Allowing the floor to set a bit will keep the flakes from sinking so much, resulting in heavier coverage. Now how long is too long is the issue I need to consider! A clock / timer will be essential.

BTW, anyone have advice on doing my concrete steps? They are very soft and I am sure will soak up the epoxy like a sponge.

 

[TheBanker]

I wouldn't worry about that timing thing, you are going to have enough to think about. Just pay attention to the broadcast, work carefully. I almost want to redo mine but its staying for now. Its hard to see where its thrown thicker until they sink, then you can see the lighter areas. Take it slow, one small section at a time. You will be fine I'm sure. You have about 25 lbs more chips than I did, same size garage.

 

[iceman536]

Floor looks awesome but I needed more flake! Probably due to using 1/8" flake vs. 1/4". though I figured I would get 4X the flake ... whatever!

Picked a hot, humid day to do this and damn it was a lot harder than I thought. As far as the job goes a couple minor mishaps. When I poured the epoxy around the perimeter I did not do a good job at spreading it evenly (damn bucket is heavy). So I ended up in the "front right quadrant" with a noticeably thicker coating.

As advised I waited to throw the flake so there would be less sinking / better coverage. And waited. And waited. The thick area just looked too wet for throwing the flakes. I eventually did the other 3/4 but waited on the final area. I thought I was good, because I divided up my flakes by 1/4 and used 3/4 flakes in the first 3/4 of the floor.

Problem is the 4th area, being thicker, had more sinking. Topping it off the other areas exhibited some additional sinking much after the fact, and even though I had gone back and covered some thin areas.

Result - the floor looks awesome but alas some areas are a little less than the desired full broadcast. My epoxy supplier has a solution for me, and I will call him tomorrow after scraping.

Look at the pics, what do you think?

Added: The full broadcast sure hides many of the faults in the floor.

 

[Ruddy]

Shoot, your cars will be parking on a "granite" slab nice than your wife(assumption) has in her kitchen!

 

[iceman536]

The kitchen started this whole thing.

I rebuilt our pantry.
Decided I needed a workbench.
Built workbench.
Wife said we should paint back wall of garage before putting bench there. Agreed.
Decided to paint ceiling, was going to get some overhead storage (never did).
Figured while I am at it paint drywalled garage wall.
OK, other wall is studs only. Insulated, drywalled, painted that wall.
Got Gladiator cabinets/tracks to get stuff off floor.
Garage looks great, floor looks like hell (see pic in first post).
Have to do something about floor.
Sweat *** off, apply epoxy on 06/18.

It all comes together, and started from the kitchen. And yes we need new counters.

 

[TheBanker]

Hey it looks great! Sounds like your story is very similar to mine. It is very hard work especially if you are working alone. Let us know what the solution that the supplier has. I am very interested in that. BTW the floor looks great! I cant see any lighter areas.

 

[Dominico]

Your floor looks good ice! My floor is getting done today. Forecast is for a HOT weekend. I had about the same chain of events occur as you. Once you get the ceiling, walls and cabinets done then guess what...the floor looks like hell. Know you do the floor and the next thing you know your wife wants to start moving into your space! Ha...Ha

 

[iceman536]

I see you're in Michigan too. It is supposed to be even hotter today. Good luck with that! I was drenched with sweat, it was an exhausting day. Today I will scrape, though using the 1/8 chip I don't think I will accumulate much from this process. Then I will call my supplier for his "trick" on fixing the thin spots. I might just have to live with them, it is one of those things - I notice it but others don't. With the full broadcast I can put my clear coat down whenever I want, there is no 24 hour window. Due to my back killing me, hot/muggy weather, and tickets to the Tigers game tonight I think it is very likely I wait until tomorrow to put down the clear. Just for fun I'll repost a before and after picture. Your floor couldn't possibly look as bad as mine did, could it??

Are you doing the floor or having it done? Alone or with helper? How many sq ft? Color? Flakes?

I'm leaning towards using aluminum oxide in the clear to make it non-slip. Since I hate the idea of making a rough surface I am going to tape off a "walking to door" path and only put it there. This way you'll have a rough surface to walk from the cars to the house, but 80% of the floor will be smooth. And actually I might try a "slippery" test first to see how slick it really will be. But you know in Michigan the garage floor can get pretty wet and nasty in the winter.

Enough rambling, but there is so much to consider when doing a floor.

For those interested my flake is Stonewash code B-708 (if that is a standard code I don't know). It is 50% stone, 25% antique white, 10% moody blue, 10% stormy blue, 5% dark blue.

 

[iceman536]

Done.

Well, almost. Going to put aluminum oxide around the "walking from car to house areas". I will tape off a U-shaped area, put a thin coat of clear, and throw the ao. Hoping I get the best of both worlds - a smooth easy to clean floor with slip resistance in the critical areas. Will do that Thursday.

 

[Bad Idea]

Looks great!

 

[Motown 454]

That looks great you did a nice job.

 

[51rider]

I think the floor looks great
I can't see any obvious 'sparse' patches, it looks good & even to me.

Can you post some pics of the entire garage once the sheeting is down? It would be good to see the entire project.

 

[jake26]

Floor looks great! Keep us updated on the walking paths. I am from Wisconsin and would have the same issue if your floors are slick after the "wet test"

 

[Vortexan]

Wow! That is a great job! Beautiful!

 

[iceman536]

You guys are all great, thanks for the kudos. I did the "path" last night and it looks rough (rough in a good sense, that was the point). I taped off the path and the edges didn't leak at all. So I have a slip-resistant path in a U-shape, about 15 mils higher than the rest of the floor. It will probably make mopping / squeegying more difficult, but there should be no slip and falls!

I will post more photos soon, and once I move all my stuff back in I will take shots of the completed garage. If you saw my before photos you know my garage was a dump. Funny how it didn't bother me for 10 years but now I look back and realize how ugly, dirty, and unorganized it was. Man it was bad!

Today's project - add 2 more outlets in the back wall. That will give me 3 on the back wall, 2 on the left, 1 on the right, and 1 in the front. Much better than having only 3 which is where I started. Hopefully running wire from the basement will go smoothly. And HOPEFULLY I can find all my tools/supplies to do the job. I have stuff everywhere - table saw in living room, snow blower in dining room, cabinets in driveway covered with a tarp ........... and on and on.

Tomorrow I will begin moving some stuff in just to get it out of the house / driveway but I will let the paths cure another couple days before I put everything in its proper place.

Oh, dang I forgot, I didn't order the diamond plate floor moldings yet!

 

[graffix000]

The floor looks great!

 

[mrstang69]

I'm going to start my floor soon. New to this but what do you mean by "scraping the floor" for the flakes? What do you use for scraping?

By the way the floor does look Great!

 

[iceman536]

I'm going to start my floor soon. New to this but what do you mean by "scraping the floor" for the flakes? What do you use for scraping?

By the way the floor does look Great!

You want to get rid of any flakes that are "standing up". I took a drywall taping knife and duct taped it to a pole and ran it over the floor. You'll quickly see that you have many high spots from the flake, but they scrape off easily.

There's a YouTube video where the guy uses a floor sander to do this! Too long on one spot and you're in trouble. I guess you could sand but that creates too much dust you then have to clean up. My neighbor is probably tired of me leaf blowing dust out my garage and onto his car.

I don't believe you need to do this unless you do a full broadcast to rejection flake application.

 

[iceman536]

Here's a picture of the aluminum oxide path I did to the steps into my house. Hard to see in the photo, follow the lines I added.

 

[jake26]

Ice, what was the final cost for your floor?

 

[iceman536]

Ice, what was the final cost for your floor?

Too much. I'd have to add it up but a full broadcast is probably the most expensive way to go. Counting the 80 lb of flake ($240), the diamond grinder rental ($200), and supplies (rollers, spiked shoes etc) I'm guessing $1k.

 

[iceman536]

Update: Waiting for delivery of my diamond plate floor molding. Once installed I can put all my stuff in its official spot. I bought the molding on eBay almost 2 weeks ago, and the seller won't tell me anything about the delivery. It is a nightmare, and is holding me up quite a bit. Unfortunately I have to follow eBay's ridiculous policies before I can claim a "no ship" refund. Today is the last day I was supposed to receive it by, but eBay gives him another 3 days to ship. Then he gets 7 days to respond to my claim.

I will post some final photos when I get this part done but unfortunately for me that could be another 2 weeks or more. My only recourse is to give this guy negative feedback, which is nothing compared to the inconvenience he has caused me. Worst eBay experience for me ever, by far.

 

[red]

Tried Googling your color, no luck. Where did you buy the Stone Wash B-708? Thanks!

 

[iceman536]

Tried Googling your color, no luck. Where did you buy the Stone Wash B-708? Thanks!

Torginol

They sell it, and the company I bought it from bought it from them. I have about 8 lbs. of flake that I swept up (didn't sink in or stick to the epoxy) - how much do you need?

 

[red]

Thanks Iceman!
Love your floor! More importantly my CFO was very impressed. Probably going to need 80lbs.

Have almost 700sq that needs to be grinded down to level out. Mason screw up ordered a "hot" load because of the 6mm Plastic vapor barrier and the concrete truck showed up two hours late. Was no longer cold and floor didn't level out. Not bad enough to justify tearing out but not good enough to make me happy. If this 100+ heat breaks I'll finish emptying out the garage. Thanks for the Info! -Ed