Leveling floor before polyurea finishing

[lml999]

I got a quote from a local company, Next Level Concrete Coatings (New England) which seems to do a lot of polyurea floors.

Sales person seemed to know what he was talking about, has been with the company ten years, wasn't pushy, and gave me a reasonable quote for our 21x22' garage. Floor is reasonably smooth, no significant cracks, 26 years old, etc.

I asked him about leveling prior to coating. We get some minor water pooling towards the back of the garage, and I'd really prefer not to immortalize that.

He said that his company doesn't do leveling, and that the polyurea prep takes a roughly even amount off the existing concrete.

Should I just live with it, or should i do some sort of formal leveling prior to the coating? I think the pooling is 1/4" or less, in two ares of roughly 1x2'

If I do level, do I just put a thin coat in the low area, or do I do a larger part of the floor? What's the recommended approach/product...

The *last* thing I want to do is to put down a leveling patch and then have it come loose after the polyurea is down...

Thanks!

 

[Shea]

Something that is important to consider before attempting to level an area is that the water you displace by leveling those areas is going to go somewhere else. Where would that be? Is it going to seek another low spot nearby and create the same problem in a different area or ...?

With a total of roughly 4 square feet, I would recommend using a 100% solids epoxy sand slurry. Legacy Industrial has such a kit, but there are others out there. The medium size would be more than enough. Prep the area by acid etching or grinding first. Add a bit less sand than the instructions state to get better flow and edge troweling. Once adhered and cured, the surface will be stronger than the concrete.

Point out what you have done and why to the coating contractor. He should be able to grind it flush with the rest of the floor when they prep the surface.

 

[ducatithunder]

With a total of roughly 4 square feet, I would recommend using a 100% solids epoxy sand slurry. Legacy Industrial has such a kit, but there are others out there. The medium size would be more than enough. Prep the area by acid etching or grinding first. Add a bit less sand than the instructions state to get better flow and edge troweling. Once adhered and cured, the surface will be stronger than the concrete.

Not to highjack ... Shea would this system work well for fixing smaller shrinkage cracks in a concrete driveway, using fine sand with the same color as the concrete, pushing it into the cracks, then broom finish the top to blend it? Cracks are roughly 1/32 wide.

 

[lml999]

Not to highjack ... [but here's a peripherally related question I wanted to post to another member...]

Not to hijack????

Thanks Shea, I appreciate the response. I understand your comment about the water having someplace to go. Right now if *her* car is wet, the water migrates to behind *my* car. If my car is wet, it pools behind my car. The low spot is sufficiently minor that I'm not sure the juice is worth the squeeze on this, and maybe the pre application grinding will help equalize the levels a bit... And maybe the topcoat finishing will provide some additional leveling. I don't think it will take much to mitigate the pooling. But that's a couple of "maybes..."

I'm not sure that I want to apply something prior to the refinishing. I'd hate for the company to show up and ask "what have you done here?"

I was thinking about RaceDeck tiles, which would make this (or at least part of it) moot. I also think that the water will run a bit more easily with polyurea on the floor, versus porous concrete. ICBW.

 

[ducatithunder]

Not to hijack???? ... [but here's a peripherally related question I wanted to post to another member...]

Cute ... Way to be an ***.

Point taken, I'll create a new thread next time for a simple question. GLWY unlevel floor.

 

[lml999]

Cute ... Way to be an ***.

Point taken, I'll create a new thread next time for a simple question. GLWY unlevel floor.

Thank you. I've taken "being an *** to an artform."

And I will be watching for that thread...you describe a common problem!

 

[Shea]

Not to hijack????

I'm not sure that I want to apply something prior to the refinishing. I'd hate for the company to show up and ask "what have you done here?"

I was thinking about RaceDeck tiles, which would make this (or at least part of it) moot. I also think that the water will run a bit more easily with polyurea on the floor, versus porous concrete. ICBW.

No, this type of repair and filling of low spots is common for floor coating contractors. They should not have any problem grinding right over the patch and making it flush with the rest of the floor.

Water will run better on the polyurea if you are opting for no color flakes. However, once you add flakes, especially full flakes, it creates obstacles and texture that creates resistance and encourages water to stay put.

 

[Shea]

Not to highjack ... Shea would this system work well for fixing smaller shrinkage cracks in a concrete driveway, using fine sand with the same color as the concrete, pushing it into the cracks, then broom finish the top to blend it? Cracks are roughly 1/32 wide.

No, a sand slurry like the one described is not the best choice for that. Plus, you can't broom finish epoxy to blend in. The repair will be fairly obvious. A better solution, if you want to use sand that is similar in color to the driveway, is to use a 100% polyurea filler. Fine sand is used to fill the cracks flush to the top. The polyurea is then poured onto the sand. As the sand settles a little, you then add more to it and brush it flat. You have to work fairly quickly because this type of polyurea sets up fast. Here is an example of such a repair product. Keep in mind that the repairs will still stand out, they just won't be as obvious and will look a little bit more natural.

 

[lml999]

Thank you Shea, you are a gem.