Need flooring advice!

[landmarke]

Ok, I originally came on this site, with hopes and dreams of going all the way with either a 100% solid epoxy floor or, shelling out for a racedeck floor. But with a baby on the way (9 weeks), reality has set it, and I've got a laundry list of other things to finish/pay for around the house before our child arrives. I also realized that my garage is used as a space to park the cars, and store my stuff. A few weekend projects on the workbench and maybe an oil change on the car here and there. My main reason for the flooring is to keep the dust down, and make sweeping/cleaning easier.

That said, I'm now looking into painting/sealing the garage floor. What are my options for this? Can flakes be added to a garage floor paint, not just an epoxy? Or am I better off with a basic solid color. Also, is this considered a sealer, or just a paint? What should I be looking into?

And lastly, does this type of application get slippery when when, should I consider a aggregate for traction?

 

[thegarageguy]

My best advice to you is to read up and learn as much as you can about garage flooring. This forum is a good start but you may also want to check out http://www.concretenetwork.com/.

Sometimes these type of applications should be left to professionals, IMO, but if you are dead set on DIY, then educate yourself well. You may also want to try youtube and see vids on different application methods.

Good Luck!

 

[Jaguar Fan]

Ok, I originally came on this site, with hopes and dreams of going all the way with either a 100% solid epoxy floor or, shelling out for a racedeck floor. But with a baby on the way (9 weeks), reality has set it, and I've got a laundry list of other things to finish/pay for around the house before our child arrives. I also realized that my garage is used as a space to park the cars, and store my stuff. A few weekend projects on the workbench and maybe an oil change on the car here and there. My main reason for the flooring is to keep the dust down, and make sweeping/cleaning easier.

That said, I'm now looking into painting/sealing the garage floor. What are my options for this? Can flakes be added to a garage floor paint, not just an epoxy? Or am I better off with a basic solid color. Also, is this considered a sealer, or just a paint? What should I be looking into?

And lastly, does this type of application get slippery when when, should I consider a aggregate for traction?

How many square feet is your garage? Do you have a budget you'd like to stay within?

congratulations on the baby!

 

[landmarke]

I have a two car garage, roughly 430 sq ft. My budget is roughly $800. More importantly, my time is spoken for, two jobs, and a list of to-dos with a baby on the way. I have read these forums for a few months, and understand the importance in prep work. I don't have the money/time to rent a diamond grinder. And since paint is cheaper than the epoxy kits, I have chosen to keep it simple. But since my slab was poured in 2007 and is fairly clean, I am hoping to get away with a acid etch, and power washing.

My plan of attack:
Sweep/Vac floor
Acid etch/scrub, then power wash clean, let dry.
From here I am looking into some sort of dry-lock primer (2 coats), then 1 or two coats of a garage floor paint of some sort.

Is this considered a sealer? Or do I need to look into a sealer in addition to the prime/paint?

Can you add flakes to a garage paint, or does it have to be a epoxy application?

Thirdly, Do I want/need to add a layer of clearcoat after applying a paint?


I realize that this method is not of the highest quality, and will probably need me to re-apply paint every few years. As my garage is not used for heavy tooling, or heavily used at all, I am fine with this. Just looking to clean up the space and keep dust down.

Any info on my selected method appreciated!

 

[Griot's Garage]

Congrats on the baby! My wife and I are expecting our first this week, so I know exactly where you are coming from.

As long as your concrete hasn't been sealed (which it doesn't sound like it has), our epoxy paint would be perfect for you. It only needs acid etching and pressure washing as prep work. For 430 square feet you will only need 4 gallons to cover, which would run you about $250. It is extremely durable, so I wouldn't forsee you needing to reapply anytime soon.

Read through the application instructions here.


Let me know if you have any questions.
-Derek

 

[AlphaGarage]

Sounds like you're going to be pretty busy here pretty soon.

If you want a solution that's both cost effective and extremely easy, consider Wolverine's AcryliSeal 3501.

Application is about as simple as it gets, pressure wash floor, pour on AcryliSeal, then go find some pickle flavored ice cream for the wife.

A 5 gallon kit will coat the floor 3 times, although 2 coats will be more than sufficient, use the remainder on sidewalks, patio, driveway...

We have a couple of protective coating contractors who think this stuff is fantastic and spec it for all sorts of projects.

Here's a bit more info...

Nanopolymer Acrylic Sealer - Wolverine Coatings was the first company in the world to commercialize this new type of Acrylic technology. To date we are still not aware of any other company that offers this type of new novel technology. It is slightly more expensive than the standard waterbased products but give a HUGE performance increase. This product will give better darkening than the standard water based acrylic sealers but not quite as much darkening as the solvent based. The chemical resistance is awesome... much better than either the waterbased or solvent based acrylic and is even resistant to chemicals including organic solvents like MEK, Xylene, Toluene, etc. You care about this because you are going to spill things like gasoline which is similar. This product is less than 3 years old and we have not heard of a failure to date. So, the durability is much better than either of the typical solvent based or water based acrylics.



Last year WCC sent me a bucket of 3501. The DHL guy was having a bad day so he just dropped the pail by our delivery door, the shock left a tiny crack in the pail. An hour or two later we noiced that a small amount of the AcryliSeal had leaked out and trickled down slope. No we don't spend a lot of time keeping that area clean, in fact it's downright dirty. Despite the fact that the substrate was filthy, and the sealer wasn't back rolled or even brushed on, and there fairly heavy foot traffic, to this day there's a small trail of glossy sealer that we haven't been able to simply brush off or easily remove. This stuff sticks.

 

[landmarke]

Can't really find much info on the Wolverine 3501. Are there any threads with pics of a application of this product? Is it offered in colors, etc. I don't see it on the Wolverine site.

 

[Jaguar Fan]

Hi landmarke,

I think you have plenty of budget to do a nice epoxy. I did one on my mom's new (6 month old) 2 car garage using the same prep technique you plan to use, and it is working out quite well.

It fits within your budget quite easily. Check out some details (including the cost) in the following link:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16957




Here's a pic:

 

[Jaguar Fan]

One more thing regardless of the route you take. After etching & power washing, it needs to dry, of course. In the Las Vegas desert (8 % humidity), the ICI guy recommended waiting at least 3 days after the final rinse. My guess is where you are you'd need to let it dry at least a week and maybe as much as two. Also, you might want to ask the vendor you choose about the time of day to apply it -- I was told to apply in the late afternoon.