My new epoxy garage floor project

[jsraaf]

I've decided to take the plunge & do epoxy on the garage floor. It's something I've wanted to do for quite a while. I am having a local pro do it, and I've seen 2 garages they've done & they do very nice work.

The recent couple of threads on extreme hot tire pick-up do have me a little nervous though. Since the main use of the space, outside of parking for our daily drivers, is detailing of those cars and so I won't be abusing it too much, I'm hoping it'll hold up pretty well.

Here is what they're planning to do - anybody see anything glaring that's missing?

• Diamond grind entire floor
• Break line to be saw cut under garage door
• All expansion joints/cracks/holes filled level (will use caulk on small joints, epoxy slurry on larger holes)
• Apply Epoxy Vapor Barrier Primer
• Apply Epoxy Base Coat (Sherwin-Williams Macropoxy)
• Apply Flakes To Rejection - using Torginal blend 321 - 1/8" flakes
• Apply 2 coats Rexthane clear non-yellowing urethane finish
• Anti-slip additive in final clear coat

Here's a pic of the blend I'll be using, except 1/8" flakes. I currently have white walls and will be painting a 12" Hardie skirt board some sort of gray to coordinate with the flakes.

They are planning to start on the work next week. I'll try to get some photos put of of the job when it's finished.

 

[jsraaf]

After 1.5 days of hand-grinding the ~700 sq ft floor, the primer coat went down today. Pretty wicked smell I must say.

 

[Dago52]

Looking good. Keep us posted.

 

[CamarosRus]

can you quote the (Sherwin-Williams) Vapor Barrier Product applied ?

I'm thinking AquaArmor ???

Is Rexthane a S/W product ???

Why not a Polyaspartic Clear Coat ? .......Cost ?????

 

[jsraaf]

can you quote the (Sherwin-Williams) Vapor Barrier Product applied ?

I'm thinking AquaArmor ???

Is Rexthane a S/W product ???

Why not a Polyaspartic Clear Coat ? .......Cost ?????

Actually the primer is a 1st coat of Macropoxy, which is what SW is now recommending. The 2nd coat gets flaked. Rexthane is also a SW product. The installer used the suite of SW products since they've had very good luck with them, and my understanding as well is that they are quality products & SW will stand behind them. I hope I never have to find out fore sure first hand!

 

[RedAggie03]

I'm interested in how this turns out. I have a SW close to me and was thinking about using their product and doing it myself.

 

[Motohead]

I just used the two pot exoxy called Durabuild 401 from Dulux in Australia - painted it in plain grey as I though the flakes etc would not reflect the light and make finding nuts washers etc difficult to fine let alone seeing what oil leaks came from my British cars.

It's really good stuff does not show tyre marks and is not destroyed by brake fluid - the worst IMHO you can place leave on a garage floor.

 

[jsraaf]

2nd coat of epoxy went down yesterday along with the flakes. Today the 1st coat of Rexthane went down. The flake colors are definitely more pronounced now that the poly is down. But I'm a little bit disappointed that there is as much of the gray epoxy base showing. I like the look now, and not unhappy with it, but just expected full coverage. Top coat w/anti slip should go down tomorrow.

Next week, after it cures for 5-6 days (I've been told to allow 3 but I'll play it safe) I'll be painting walls & skirt board. Got the tough decision of what to go with - leave it white, or go with a very pale gray on the walls. Will definitely go medium to dark gray on the skirt board.

 

[dcs Inc]

Sherwim Williams should stick with paint. They purchased a faultering overlay company and only have a couple of knowledgeable US reps. All the stores are rolling their eyes back at this move. NOBODY has the knowlegde needed to help their customers. Their total per store sales last year was less than what I make in a week.

It's unfortunate they started this way. They should have started with infrastructure first. I have several stores in Indiana and Ohio I use for zylene and supplies and it's kinda sad to see these guys behind the desk trying to answer questions on applications. I've even helped them on occassion with questions. The biggest bust was when they asked me to "give" them some photos for thier brochures. sure...... I had an installer in northern Ohio do a slab for them so they could have "something" to put on their advertizing stuff. It went belly up in a year. (It was an overlay) Its still on one of their brochures. Kinda sad. They will figure it soon and give up. Do they have a clear epoxy yet? I know their stuff is relabeled from another supplier I wont mention.
Hey SW.... stick with what you know. love and kisses

 

[CamarosRus]

dcs.inc

Was the faultering overlay company you refer to GENERAL POLYMERS.

Are you negative against the actual product or more so about the lack of knowledgeable customer support

ANY opinion on CROWN Coatings out of the Chicago area.

Cant recall your prefered go to brand and vapor moisture prevention product which I still
very much need.

Thanks for the education

 

[dcs Inc]

CamerosRus, SW put the cart in front of the horse. I'm sure they will figure out that the guys selling these new products will sooner of later need to know what they are selling.

Not familiar with Crown Coatings. Is that Crown Polymers?

I tend to favor the products I teach..... keeps the powers that be happy.
As far as vapor emissions, depends what kind of numbers you are getting from testings.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

dcs.inc

Was the faultering overlay company you refer to GENERAL POLYMERS.

Are you negative against the actual product or more so about the lack of knowledgeable customer support

ANY opinion on CROWN Coatings out of the Chicago area.

Cant recall your prefered go to brand and vapor moisture prevention product which I still
very much need.

Thanks for the education

Aqua-Fin is one that works.

 

[dcs Inc]

That's nice scotty. Thought there were a few others that worked also. Does that happen to be the brand you sell? What are the specs on it?

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

No relation or interest. Have used it with good results on a few jobs.
Here is the site link for those that are interested.

http://www.aquafin.net/en/index.html

I didn't mean this was the only one that works. Silly.

 

[dcs Inc]

CamarosRus, The reason I asked your test results was to suggest the correct vapor barrier. How do you know you need one? gene

 

[dmeadow]

2nd coat of epoxy went down yesterday along with the flakes. Today the 1st coat of Rexthane went down. The flake colors are definitely more pronounced now that the poly is down. But I'm a little bit disappointed that there is as much of the gray epoxy base showing. I like the look now, and not unhappy with it, but just expected full coverage. Top coat w/anti slip should go down tomorrow.

Next week, after it cures for 5-6 days (I've been told to allow 3 but I'll play it safe) I'll be painting walls & skirt board. Got the tough decision of what to go with - leave it white, or go with a very pale gray on the walls. Will definitely go medium to dark gray on the skirt board.

That looks great! What was your per square foot cost on that? I'm trying to decide between professionally installed epoxy floor or diy or a professionally installed porcelain tile.

 

[jsraaf]

Thanks! The cost is a little under $5/sq ft.

 

[jsraaf]

Final pics of the finished project. It'll never look this good again.

Repainted the (nearly) white walls with a very pale gray, and the skirt board a darker gray. Also repainted the service door to match the walls. All in all I"m happy with how it turned out, though a small part of me wishes I'd chosen a different color palette. Oh well...maybe next time.

I'm also changing the CFLs from soft white to daylight. Last summer I added about 6 additional fixtures in the ceiling, connecting them to the existing 3 fixtures that spanned across the back of the garage at each stall with a Leviton surface mount cable track. I also added Y sockets so I have 2 bulbs at each fixture, effectively doubling my lighting. This was pretty easy to install, just a bit of labor getting everything laid out & pulling wire & connecting everything. It's ultrabright in there, perfect for my auto detailing.

Next things are repainting the window trim & casing, enclosing the god awful electrical service panel I was left with, and getting rubber or vinyl stair treads to go over the existing Trex treads. They've stained pretty badly and can get a little slick, so hopefully the rubber ones with a grip strip will be serviceable.