New concrete floor. Cure and Seal Problem

[classj]

Hello. I am finishing up our 32x40 garage and the contractor poured the floor 6 weeks ago. It was a 4000 psi pour. The mix has fiberglass it in. Nothing else special as far as I know.

They power troweled it smooth, cut the control lines, then sprayed it down with a cure and seal product. Temperatures were in the 60’s the following day with high humidity. The structure was complete before the floor was poured minus the doors. So it was not exposed to sun/etc.

I was told to ignore the puddles/ponding of the sealer and it would dry clear and uniform. The floor has been tarped for about a month so the drywall and paint could be done.

Attached are photos of what I am seeing 6 weeks after pour. The contractor knows we are not happy and understands we need to do something. They are waiting for it to improve/cure but I feel that ship has sailed.

Has anyone seen this before? Any suggestions on how to remedy? Polish and seal? Give up and grind and coat with epoxy/polysparatic finish?

I have epoxy on other garages and was “ok” with a sealed floor. We discussed that it would be a reasonably uniform smooth surface.

It just stinks to have poured money and time into a brand new building and see the floor like this.

Thanks in advance for any help

 

[Rusted Nut]

Looks like efflorescence that was trapped on the surface during to having the floor tarped. Try a light pressure wash or use a diluted acid based concrete cleaner and it should clean off.

 

[classj]

Thanks. It was there before the tarp was placed but that could have slowed curing. It appears that the white can be burnished off. The overall appearance is just really mottled.

 

[ConCretin]

I agree with Rusted Nut. Efflorescence is soluable salts that get carried to the surface by moisture and dry. It's exacerbated by cooler temps, high slumps, water added to the surface during finishing and calcium chloride, which is often added to concrete in cold weather. It's usually just a dry powder that comes off pretty easily through normal use. Your situation is a little more complicated by the sealer that was sprayed on the slab and is now trapping the salts.

Removal depends on the product he used. I'd check the literature on the product or try a power washer. It should be a relatively easy fix or you could wait until the sealer and the efflorescence wear away.

 

[classj]

Thanks! I found out this morning the sealer is a water based surface sealer called AQUA-CURE VOX.

Seems like it can be removed which I might have to do to clean this up.

 

[Two Pump Chump]

I am not a concrete professional but sealing it before it has cured seems counter productive. The sealer should trap the efflorescence. Is this a common practice ?

 

[ConCretin]

I am not a concrete professional but sealing it before it has cured seems counter productive. The sealer should trap the efflorescence. Is this a common practice ?

Not really. Efflorescence doesn't occur on every slab and every slab isn't cured with this type of product. Efflorescence results from certain conditions that are mostly controllable but apparently weren't in this case. Many slabs aren't cured at all, some are moist cured, some are cured with a straight curing compound and some like the OP's get a cure and seal product. It's a combination of factors that lead to problems.

 

[classj]

We were unfortunately sidelined by this. The pour details were discussed long in advance with the GC but the day of the pour we were hit with a decision to make on the curing process.

The GC suggested the cure and seal so the control joints could be cut, slab sealed, and sheet rock to happen sooner after pour.

We fully expected a slightly darker appearance. This just looks bad.

The plan right now is to clean it well and potentially strip the sealer. Then see where we sit.

 

[dcg9381]

We fully expected a slightly darker appearance. This just looks bad.

What will the final finish be on this concrete? Looks like a garage... It's pretty easy to "darken" concrete with water based stain, I've even done a garage floor in white. I get it if you're going to leave it as-is, I prefer to "spill proof" my concrete with polyurea.

 

[classj]

What will the final finish be on this concrete? Looks like a garage... It's pretty easy to "darken" concrete with water based stain, I've even done a garage floor in white. I get it if you're going to leave it as-is, I prefer to "spill proof" my concrete with polyurea.

It’s a “fancy” garage that is fully finished with a loft. It will have a two post lift and be a work space as well.

Epoxy or Polyurea is an option. On my house garage I used the corotech V430 epoxy It has held up reasonably well but is extremely slippery.

On the old house I used a two component Ben Moore waterborne epoxy which was a duller less slippery finish.

The original thought was to decide the final finish in the spring after the concrete cured a few months.

The entire garage is new and perfect at this point and the floor looks like trash.

I guess we are trying to decide if there is a path to remove the sealer and make this floor look better, or give up and paint it.

 

[Just_Steve]

Get the contractor to pay for a poly coating.

 

[Two Pump Chump]

the day of the pour we were hit with a decision to make on the curing process.
The GC suggested the cure and seal so the control joints could be cut, slab sealed, and sheet rock to happen sooner after pour.

Just contractors doing what contractors do. Everything he did was a corner cut detrimental to contract agreement and to his benefit. No sympathy for the GC at all, none what so ever. This is why on State highway work, where public money is involved and there are mandatory cost audits, there were virtually no changes allowed, and so attempting would instantly invoke a stop work with resultant delays at contractors cost.

 

[tncatadjuster]

I have some experience with Euclid products over the last 40 years, this is poor application I think. There is a possibility that it can be corrected by buffing it out with a swing machine, I have done it before, not easy but doable. Did they backroll with a napped roller?

 

[CoRestore]

We handle these in Basements in Colorado. We grind the floor first to remove the efflorescence then apply a sealer. Power washing doesnt always work.

 

[Armorpoxy]

Efflorescence can usually be removed with a floor buffer and 3M type pad. Then we would recommend a low voc epoxy or sealer, both of which we carry.

 

[classj]

Thanks guys. We ended up stripping the floor with a sealer remover and cleaning it well. Then we used Insl-x garage guard which went down great. We have had success with this product and a similar one from Muralo in the past and I tend to like the finished appearance better than the 100% solids materials I have used.

We will see how it lasts this time around. I could not warm up to diamond grinding a 60 day old perfectly flat floor.

If it fails a few years from now, I only wasted $1400 and a few days of my labor and at that point we can grind and figure out a path forward.

With a few touchups I hope to have cars in here by next week.