My garage floor project has begun

[gti16vman]

Well, I have been reading on here quite a bit over the last month or so, thanks to those who have answered the many questions that I have had. I have now finally begun my garage floor. It will be a combination of epoxy and tile. The first part will be to epoxy the raised part of the floor, and then I will lay the tile down.

Here are the products that I will be using, Supercoat and Dynotile:

 

[gti16vman]

Tonite I moved all of the stuff off from the raised part of the garage floor and did the acid etching. Here are the before pictures with all of the stuff moved.

 

[gti16vman]

Finally, post acid etching. It is drying out now, will probably start the epoxying Thursday or Friday. Since it is such a small area that I am coating, ~125 sq ft, I am planning on splitting the epoxy in half or maybe 1/3 and 2/3, and doing two coats with it, and then the glaze coat on top. Figure the second coat will not take as much as the first, so 2/3 for the first and then 1/3 for the second might be a better bet.

 

[TrixR4Kids]

Can't wait to see the finished project, good luck.

 

[bmwpower]

Which glaze are you going with?

 

[gti16vman]

Just going to use the stuff that comes with the Supercoat kit. My thought is that this part will just be walked on, so I shouldn't need anything real heavy duty for it (at least nothing that has to protect against hot tires, chemicals, etc). If I ever decide to take up the tile, I will Supercoat the rest of the floor and look for something more heavy duty for that, where the cars will be parked.

 

[gti16vman]

Well, today's update. Used the degreaser/cleaner that came with the Supercoat kit to go after a couple of oil stains that didn't come completely out with the acid etch. So I scrubbed them pretty hard with the cleaner and then flooded the floor again and squeegeed it. The concrete feels like sandpaper all over it, really happy with the results. It is pretty well dry already too.

With any luck, I will lay the first coat tomorrow when I get home from work. And then if it dries fast enough, might even lay the second coat a few hours later. If not, the second will go on Friday when I get home, and I will spread the flakes in that coat, then the clear with anti slip aggregate would be on Saturday. Then I will just have to wait a couple of days before I can move the stuff onto it and lay the tile. Finally seeing it all fall into place.

 

[gti16vman]

1st coat done. Split the kit and used 3/5 of it tonite. Tomorrow will be the second coat and the flakes. The supercoat does not have much odor at all, I was surprised.

 

[TrixR4Kids]

Looking good Seth. How come you didn't paint the walls first?

 

[gti16vman]

Thanks. Still not sure I am going to do the walls. I more than likely will, probably white since it will be a pain to get behind the shelves in the back, but I really wanted to get the epoxy down before it got any colder.

 

[gti16vman]

Well, here is tonite's progress. Layed down the second coat with flakes, and had pretty much just enough to do it with the 2/5 that was left. I remember seeing a floor that had a lot of chips, and I really liked it. That is why I went the way that I did (thanks to JHChoppers for selling me the 5 bags of chips, I used them all) .

I know some may not like, but I like the look and it should give a good amount of traction at all times. Plus the flakes match the garage tile I am doing in the rest of the garage. I think it will look good when finished. Tomorrow will be the clear coat over the top and I should be able to lay tile in a couple of days once it is dry and I can move stuff back where it goes.

And just in case you were wondering, the plain gray line of epoxy that is on the lower part of the floor is for the gap between the tile and the edge of the concrete. Just made it a full roller width, but it should actually only need about 3/4" of coverage.

 

[loopout]

looks good...

I am about to put supercoat down in my garage. I have been grinding a 10x10 room off my garage that has fridge, freezer & water heater etc... GOing to do it first them move some heavy stuff in from the garage (40x30)while doing garage. grinding makes a huge dusty mess... but does a good job on floor. I am thinking about renting a shot blaster but its $400 a day but lot less messy & faster. Gotta hurry as its getting cooler finally here in tx.

 

[gti16vman]

Yeah, that was my hurry, the falling temps here. I finished the glaze coat just a little bit ago. Took the whole can because of the amount of flakes, I would guess. Plus it was hard to tell where it went on. Anyway, I am really happy with the results. The wife really likes it too, and we are considering painting the walls on Monday night before I move everything back. Thinking a light smoky gray or white for the side walls. Probably leave the back unpainted since so little of it is exposed.

 

[gti16vman]

Quick update. Floor is not ready for me to move the stuff back onto it, so the wife and I decided to paint that wall tonite. Went and got some satin latex paint. It is a very light gray color, hoping to hide some of the marks on the wall and give plenty of light reflection. Seems to be good so far, very pleased with the color. I will probably give it a second coat when I get home tomorrow and then move the workbench and stuff back into place assuming the floor appears ready.

Eventually I will get the whole garage painted this color, but this wall was first since I had the stuff out from in front of it now.

 

[jhchoppers]

Seth,

The floor looks great, I been looking for your post. It looks really good.

Joel

 

[gti16vman]

Thanks Joel, and thanks again for the chips. Used all 5 bags to get that look, and it is only about 150 sq ft.

Looking like it will be tomorrow before I can move my stuff up on the epoxied floor. Getting anxious to lay the tile down. I did at least finish the one side of the garage wall paint tonite.

 

[gti16vman]

Well, a little disappointed with the Supercoat right now. Has been a week yesterday that I applied the Glaze coat and it is not fully cured. Pushing the corner of a screwdriver in it makes a dent (was told by them that it should be rock hard and not dent when doing this). Had 2 fans oscillating on it continuously for the last couple of days and that doesn't seem to have helped. Temps have been 50's at night, and 70's during the day for the most part. Got up to almost 80 today. I have talked to them twice in the last week, and will call again tomorrow to let them know it still is not fully cured. They agreed last Thursday that it should have been pretty close or fully cured by then.

From what I can tell, it was not something I did that, and it sounded like they agreed with me. I walked on both coats after they had dried (over 18hrs), and didn't seem to have any problems with it coming up. Then layed the glaze on pretty thick, which is why I thought it might have taken longer to dry.

As soon as I get this straightened out, I will move the stuff off the main garage floor, and get the tile layed down. I did at least get the other wall painted this weekend.

 

[bmwpower]

If you laid the glaze on thick, it will take much longer to cure. I waited for mine to cure for 2 weeks before bringing stuff in.

When you say you tested it with a screwdriver, how hard did you push it into the coating? It should dent some, depending on how hard you push...splitting hairs, I know, but just want to be sure you're not trying to gouge it.

 

[gti16vman]

Well, from speaking with them, they said that I shouldn't be able to dent it when pushing the corner of a screwdriver. It might be that I am pushing too hard. It has definitely hardened some because I can no longer make an indention with my fingernail.

Since I had never done this before, it might just be a rookie mistake saying it hadn't fully cured. Although the guy at CASS said that even with me laying it on thick, it probably should not have taken as long as it has to cure. I will call tomorrow and verify the pressure I am using is not too much, and see what they think about it now.

Regardless of anything else, I am very happy with how the floor turned out, it is exactly what I wanted and it looks great to me. And they have been very easy to get ahold of and ask any questions that I had.

 

[jhchoppers]

If you laid the glaze on thick, it will take much longer to cure. I waited for mine to cure for 2 weeks before bringing stuff in.

BMW is right, with the glaze over the floor, both the base a clear will take longer to cure. The base will continue to omit VOCs for about 2 weeks but is hard after 1 week. This omition of VOCs will increase the harding time for Clear. (simulare rules for painting cars...)

The fans will not help much now, you need warm air to bake out VOCs. It will cure up, it might take a little longer than you planned.

 

[gti16vman]

Well, I guess I was just confused when talking with the guy from Supercoat. Basically I was under the impression that it should be hard enough after 4-5 days to move the heavy stuff back on it. Well, regardless of all of that, I talked to another guy today and he said I should be good moving the stuff tonite after explaining it all to him. Very happy with their customer service, been very easy to get ahold of and talk to someone.

I finished the second coat of paint on the other wall and then started laying some of the tile. I think I will finish the tile tomorrow when I get home from work, and my garage will be completed for now.

 

[gti16vman]

Well, didn't go as fast as I thought it would. I would guess I am about halfway done at this point. I like the pattern, worked out well for the floorspace that I have, but the tiles definitely show the dust (black shows more than the blue). Depending on some other obligations, I might be able to finish tomorrow night.

 

[Gotwake]

Seth-
Floor looks great! What type of tile are you using?

 

[gti16vman]

Thanks, it is the $1/sq ft Dynotile from http://www.floortilecloseout.com/

 

[jhchoppers]

Seth,

Its looking good. Dark colors will show the dirt, you'll just have to keep it cleaner... LOL

Joel

 

[gti16vman]

Its looking good. Dark colors will show the dirt, you'll just have to keep it cleaner... LOL

Definitely true there. Already have some dusty footprints on it, mainly visible on the black tiles. Hoping that when the floor is complete there will be less chance of feet getting dirty before walking on it. The only other place to walk in the garage will be on the epoxy part of the floor. Then again, I saw tire marks on the black tiles as I pulled out of the garage this morning. I am sure that will be where it comes from the most, tires and walking into the garage from the driveway.

 

[Hammerdown]

Down side- Black shows the most dirt and needs to be cleaned more often than other colors.

Up side- That black and blue pattern looks SWEET!

I like the non traditional "checkerboard" look you have created.
Post pics of the completed project when you're done.
Good luck!

 

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

Thanks for posting these pics. Gives me another option for my garage. White is out of stock . But orange is still available. Which works for my Home Depot/Tony Stewart motif...

 

[gti16vman]

Well, here are a couple of quick pictures after finishing tonight. Not the greatest because of light, I will try to get some tomorrow when I get home that will be brighter and easier to see. The edges bow up the tile a little bit, but it seems like some weight straightens them out just fine. It looks like it is the way the male edges are designed (just the male edges), they need to settle in a little bit before they are snug. Overall, I am very happy with both the Supercoat and Dynotile. Both had great customer service, and the product seems to be pretty nice.

The colors were actually picked just based on what was left in stock and I liked them. Probably would have preferred silver and blue, but I am quite happy with this. Just so happens to match the present my wife got me, viewable on the wall in the first picture. I have 96 spare tiles and some spare edge pieces if they are ever needed.