New Concrete Floor Finish

[groove grabber]

Yesterday I had a concrete floor poured in my garage by a gentleman who is highly respected in the area. I asked for a smooth finish and when I got home to see it today, it looks pretty good with the exception of a few spots that are white powder looking and still show float or power trowel marks. My question is what can I do to clean this up and smooth out this spot as well as around the edges where the trowel didnt get and is still a little rough looking. The price was good and I cant really complain but I would like to do something about it myself. I plan on Rustoleum Pro Epoxy for the floor and I want it to look good. Will these marks even show once the epoxy is applied?

 

[JB740i]

IMHO, the "good price" was good when you thought that it would be a good job.

 

[e-tek]

I`m no concrete expert, but my limited experience says the white stuff may be of concern. If it`s the same place as the rough trowel marks, it sounds as though it dried too fast there`and he couldnt trowel it enough to bring the cream up.
I`m sure someone else can say yay or nay to this and maybe what to do about it. I`m guessing not much....but whatever you are going to do, you have to leave it long enough for it to release all it`s moisture (1-6 months depending on humidity, etc) before sealing it with anything (except a water-based product).
Good luck on it.

 

[groove grabber]

If I remember right, it was the last place standing in water. What does that mean? I put a little sand paper to it and it seems to crumble off and gets fairly smooth. It is a little rougher than the rest though. It just looks like a big white powdery spot in the middle of the dark black polished concrete.

 

[groove grabber]

I just went and looked at it again and you can see where the power trowel kinda slung some of it around and onto the polished part. Could it be sheen water that he didnt let soak back in and he attempted to trowel it but then stopped. It has left a sort of finish like in the corners where the trowel couldnt get. Will this affect anything with me Rustoleum pro epoxying the floor here in about a month.

 

[Wardster]

Pictures would be good. Does it have curing compound on it? If not, did you keep it wet and covered?

-Wardster

 

[groove grabber]

here they are, cant see real good up close but....

 

[Wardster]

How was it cured? Have you tried hosing it off?

 

[groove grabber]

he just hosed it, I asked and he said it dont need covered or continually watered. So I dont know, he was the man with 46 yrs expereince who does ALOT of work in this area and was probably the most highly touted individual to do the job, plus he came in cheaper so...... No, it just looks like rough brushed concrete.

 

[Wardster]

Someone who has 46 yrs experience gave you bad advise. Concrete is supposed to cure, not dry. This is achieved by keeping the moisture in the concrete by using a curing compound or by simply keeping it wet (we use burlap covered with plastic that is kept wet with soaker hoses for 7 days). Skipping this critical step can ruin the surface and lead to future problems and that might be what you are seeing now.

What's the old saying......."the sweetness of a cheap price is soon forgotten, while the bitterness of poor quality can last a lifetime".

-Wardster

 

[groove grabber]

pour was sat morning, can I still do something about it or not

 

[Wardster]

Get it wet, cover it with plastic, close the overhead doors, and windows to keep the moisture from escaping (ie keep it wet) until Saturday. Then take the plastic off and clean it up with a stiff broom/water to get the dust/latence off it. You may see some shrinkage cracks in the areas that looked the worse, but you should be able to seal them to prevent damage to the surface.

-Wardster

 

[dawg]

I worked concrete for awhile and that my friend looks like it didnt properly cure.
it might be ok but the top layer is going to crumble after awhile.
always cover the floor with a minimum of plastic sheeting for a couple days.
I would have him come back and fix it.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Yes, get it wet NOW.

Problem with professionals like this. They say they know what to do and tell you what to do and not do, but remember, they do the job and leave........ they are not around to see the results of their crappy work, it looked great when they left, thats all they know. If they lived there, they would know what it ended up looking like, but...... he ain't there, so he don't care.

Charles

 

[groove grabber]

well I put what seemed like a ton of water on it, it seemed to absorb it really quick. I would wet it good, it would start to dry in like 10 min, so I would wet it again. This went on for about a hour. I then covered it with plastic and sealed everything up.

Whats my chances of it curing right?
Will epoxy ever hold up on it?

I appreciate everyones info, hopefully with your help, alot of money will be saved.

Whats next?

 

[Wardster]

I would go to one of the big box stores and pick up a few soaker hoses and leave them on beneath the plastic. Your chanes of curing it right were out the window when your contractor left on Saturday. The only thing you can do now is keep it from getting worse.

You will have to wait until the weekend to determine what to do next. I will make a couple of calls for suggestions from a few of our vendors an share them with you here.

-Wardster

 

[Kevin54]

Whats my chances of it curing right?

Your chanes of curing it right were out the window when your contractor left on Saturday

It will cure. Jusst give it a little time. It could just be a low spot, and if you have hard water and it rose to the top, it may just be a little calcium showing. But it will cure. Ever see them pour a seawall. They will drop forms into the water, fill them with concrete, the concrete displaces the water, it cures out, then they pull the forms off. I'd give it a little time without getting into a panic. For one, a panic mode will just raise the stress level. The concrete is already down, the low spot is there, and per chance if it doesn't cure (which it will), it doesn't matter whether it gets tore out today or tore out tomorrow. I've seen concrete work finished up in a torrential downpour and looks just fine and this was a few years ago. Quite a few years ago. If he is a reputable concrete guy with 46 years experience, I don't think he would jack you around.

 

[groove grabber]

Yea, I understand. It is what it is, there isnt a whole lot I can do about it.

I live in a small town where everyone knows everyone else. This gentleman is very well liked and has poured half the concrete in town. He wouldnt do this on purpose and if I were to contact him, I'm sure he would do everything he could do to make me happy. I really dont want to contact him about it so I'm gonna go along with all you "concrete guys" on here and take your advice.

I'll try and keep it wet, covered and hope for the best.


Also this spot is the spot of the very first pour of the very first truck at 6:30 sat morning. Could that have something to do with it?

 

[Wardster]

If he is a reputable concrete guy with 46 years experience, I don't think he would jack you around.

He did just that when he told him that common curing practices were not relevant in the case of his garage floor. Will the concrete cure? Sure it will. But, will it reach it's design strength, have the service life it was intended to have, and look as good as it does now in a year or two? Keeping the concrete moist after it is finished is the most important step in the process and it was neglected here.

I agree that there is no reason to panic now that he has the concrete wet and covered. However, I would give the contractor a call and ask him about the chalking and I would let him know that it is now being properly cured. I will be interesting to read his responses if the questions get asked and the answers gets posted.

-Wardster

 

[JOHNMAN]

So when I have a new slab poured, I should keep it WET for 7 days?

How wet is wet enough? Some mention soaker hoses. How do you keep the soaker hose from leaving marks in the newly poured floor?

 

[Wardster]

So when I have a new slab poured, I should keep it WET for 7 days?

How wet is wet enough? Some mention soaker hoses. How do you keep the soaker hose from leaving marks in the newly poured floor?

If you choose to water cure the concrete, then the suggested duration is seven days. However, you do not need to cover it with anything if you spray a membrane-forming curing compound on it. I would suggest a water cure if you intend to use an expoxy paint/sealer simply because it will not require you to prep the floor (ie remove the curing compound).

Typically, we will install wet burlap over the concrete after it has set up enough to put the final finish on it. Then we cover it with plastic and run water on it for seven days. If its available, we may use a product called burlene, which is basically burlap with a plastic face. Since the concrete is already hardened, the soaker hoses will not harm it since they are just being used to keep the surface wet.

How wet is wet enough? Remember that the ultimate goal is to keep moisture in the concrete to allow the curing process to occur. This process accomplishes two goals; the first is to not allow the moisture to escape to fast, which can cause shrinkage cracks (this is what I think we may see with this slab); the second has everything to do with developing the concrete's strength. Concrete develops most of its strength in the first seven days and it is critical to keep the concrete moist during the entire duration. This creates the best environment for the chemical reaction to occur between the water, cement and aggregates, which ultimately becomes concrete that has reached its design strength.

Hopefully this helps some.

-Wardster

 

[Kevin54]

Then we cover it with plastic and run water on it for seven days.

It all depends on what type of water you have too. If you ran mine for 7 days, it would be pure orange from iron. If you have a lot of calcium in your water it will leaver a white residue. Also in town, 7 days of running water even slowly will add to a water usage bill considerably. But I am assuming keeping it moist for seven days and not continual running of water.

 

[Wardster]

It all depends on what type of water you have too. If you ran mine for 7 days, it would be pure orange from iron. If you have a lot of calcium in your water it will leaver a white residue. Also in town, 7 days of running water even slowly will add to a water usage bill considerably. But I am assuming keeping it moist for seven days and not continual running of water.

We try to use the cleaneast water possible and it is run continuous for 7 days. This water comes from the city/county system directly, trucked in via tanks, or pumped directly from a river or lake. It all depends on where we are at the time and what is readily available. As you mentioned, this is all about keeping the concrete wet which does not require the hose to be turned wide open since the plastic will keep the water trapped.

With respect to cost, the water used properly curing the concrete is cheap insurance.

-Wardster

 

[PurdueSD]

I understand the concrete water soaked curing concept. But jeez, some of the people on here act like it is the only way concrete was ever done. Anyone stop to think about garage floors that were done 25 years ago. I never even heard of water curing untill a couple of years ago. Growing up in and around the construction field I have seen alot of old floors that look 10X better than new ones (water cured or not). I am not disagreeing that water curing is better than not, but come on guys its not the end all be all.

Honestly i think your going to be ok. The sun isnt beating down on your crete thankfully due to the fact your building is covering it. Hopefully you got it poored on a fairly mild day. Just watch it and clean it up in a week or so. If it is still chaulking, then youve got issues to take up with your concrete guy. It almost seems to me like the slump wasnt right on the concrete when it was poured but well see.

 

[Bevis]

I understand the concrete water soaked curing concept. But jeez, some of the people on here act like it is the only way concrete was ever done. Anyone stop to think about garage floors that were done 25 years ago. I never even heard of water curing untill a couple of years ago. Growing up in and around the construction field I have seen alot of old floors that look 10X better than new ones (water cured or not). I am not disagreeing that water curing is better than not, but come on guys its not the end all be all.

Honestly i think your going to be ok. The sun isnt beating down on your crete thankfully due to the fact your building is covering it. Hopefully you got it poored on a fairly mild day. Just watch it and clean it up in a week or so. If it is still chaulking, then youve got issues to take up with your concrete guy. It almost seems to me like the slump wasnt right on the concrete when it was poured but well see.

Thank you...that was well put. As you said..I've worked with concrete for a while (for my uncle), and I never heard of water cured until I read it here. I've not heard or seen any problems with any of the floors, driveways, boatramps, seawalls that we poured.
I poured a some sections of my floor last month, and the first truck the slump wasn't right at first, but that was quickly fixed. After it started curing, I noticed white splotches in the area that I hand trowled. I hosed it off several times over the next week, and it has turned out fine.

 

[Wardster]

Water curing is an opion if you do not want to use curing compound. Considering the fact that groove grabber stated that he intends to use epoxy on this floor, I suggested he get and keep it wet and cover it up.

-Wardster

 

[groove grabber]

Yes, I see both sides and along with asking you guys, I have been talking to other contractors in the area. Their opinions vary both ways also and with what I noticed as the modern day carpenters really lean on water to cure, the older contractors say they've poured thousands without water with no problems. I still believe that water is better so I'm going to continue to keep it wet for a piece of mind.

I want to thank everyone who has posted on this thread for their knowledge and I believe this thread will be one that is searched quite often.

For a little bit about myself, I race Dirt Late Models in the Midwest and after having been lucky enough to drive for other car owners the last few years, I decided to tackle owning my own car. Of course with owning your own car, your required to have a place to work on it. lol I didnt even attempt to ask the wife for her garage so I built a post frame that would allow me a place with a couple bays for my cars, a lift to work on them with and a place to hang out.