TransAmConvert
Member
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2010
- Messages
- 6
Hello to GJ,
I've been reading this board for some time and have really appreciated all the information, and in that spirit I'll be sharing some experience of my own.
Last year I built a 3 bay 30x45 garage / pole building. This fall I finally got to having the floor poured. I researched tons on different things to do to the floor and wasn't thrilled with any of the common options. Sealer seemed too flimsy, good epoxy was too expensive and I was afraid of it going south and racedeck/tiles were too expensive and not the look I wanted. So I tried something different and used the Consolideck (Prosoco) LS / LSGuard system and am fairly happy with the results.
Here are the steps taken and materials used:
1. The floor was poured. 6" thick 4000# mix with wire reinforcement and 3 drains.
2. The floor was finished at the time of pour with power trowels to a very smooth finish, probably the best possible with a power trowel.
-----------Here is where I took over with DIY-----------
Note: The following procedure is my personal application of a specification I found online that was prepared for walmart. It can be found fairly easily on google.
3. After the floor had fully cured (30+ days) I applied the LS densifier. I just used a garden sprayer and a new soft bristled broom to get it to an even coat. Used about 3 gallons to do the whole floor.
4. A week after the densifier, I was ready to apply the LSGuard. I rented a propane powered high speed burnishing machine from a local flooring supply center. Before I applied the LSGuard my intention was to go over the floor with a diamond pad to improve the smoothness, per the recommendation of the tech rep at consolideck.
I got a set of HTC Twister pads for this purpose and used the rough (800 grit) pad. However, I only succeeded in doing about 150sqft before the pad was toast so I continued on with the lighter pads on the rest of the floor and went faster to lessen the wear and stretch the life out.
5. I applied the LSGuard per the instructions with the sprayer and broom as before. It only took about 1 gallon to do the whole floor per coat. After it dried tack free (a little over an hour) I ran the burnisher over it with a hogshair pad.
The instructions are specific that the surface must get to 92 degrees, which I verified using an infrared thermometer as best I could (obviously I couldn't measure directly under the running pad but the perimeter temperature got into the high 80s which I considered acceptable. )
6. I applied two more coats to get the final result - more on this later.
7. I sealed the control joints with Sikaflex 1a.
Costs:
Consolideck LS ~$250 / 5 Gal
Consolideck LSGuard ~$450 / 5 Gal
Burnishing Machine Rental ~$230
HTC Twister pads ~$80
Hogshair pads 3 @ $15 ea
Sikaflex 1a ~$30
Total ~$1085 or $0.80/sqft
Problems / What I would do differently.
1. The HTC twister pads did not do nearly the square footage advertised. The twister pads do not have diamond through their entire thickness and once the diamond layer wears away they're useless.
Where I did use the 800 grit pad though looks nicer than the rest of the floor. I would just buy a pack of 800 grit diamond pads from 3M or whoever and use those. I do however feel that some diamond pad must be used first, it does smooth the floor out so it will take a gloss.
2. I had a problem on the last coat of LSGuard. I did this the day after the first two coats and it was raining that day. The third coat took forever to dry, unlike the first two which dried in a little over and hour. I ended up going to bed, and by the next morning it was dry...too dry. When I burnished the third coat the footprints and broom marks didn't come out nearly as well as with the first two coats where they came out almost completely.
Lesson: don't apply this stuff in humid/rainy weather. It still looks fine but would have been better if I hadn't done the third coat
3. I had a little trouble with the LS leaving a whitish residue in some spots where I over applied it. Burnishing with the 800 grit diamond took it out but after I burned up that pad it stayed. Again it looks fine but it could be better.
Results
So far so good. Water beads on the floor, but I haven't gotten oil on it yet. It's not nearly as slippery as it looks but certainly more than bare concrete. I like the color mottling and light reflection - should make for a nice work surface.
Here are the pictures:
Being Poured:
View media item 13701
Post - Pour:
View media item 13700
Final Results:
View media item 13697
View media item 13698
View media item 13696
View media item 13695
I've been reading this board for some time and have really appreciated all the information, and in that spirit I'll be sharing some experience of my own.
Last year I built a 3 bay 30x45 garage / pole building. This fall I finally got to having the floor poured. I researched tons on different things to do to the floor and wasn't thrilled with any of the common options. Sealer seemed too flimsy, good epoxy was too expensive and I was afraid of it going south and racedeck/tiles were too expensive and not the look I wanted. So I tried something different and used the Consolideck (Prosoco) LS / LSGuard system and am fairly happy with the results.
Here are the steps taken and materials used:
1. The floor was poured. 6" thick 4000# mix with wire reinforcement and 3 drains.
2. The floor was finished at the time of pour with power trowels to a very smooth finish, probably the best possible with a power trowel.
-----------Here is where I took over with DIY-----------
Note: The following procedure is my personal application of a specification I found online that was prepared for walmart. It can be found fairly easily on google.
3. After the floor had fully cured (30+ days) I applied the LS densifier. I just used a garden sprayer and a new soft bristled broom to get it to an even coat. Used about 3 gallons to do the whole floor.
4. A week after the densifier, I was ready to apply the LSGuard. I rented a propane powered high speed burnishing machine from a local flooring supply center. Before I applied the LSGuard my intention was to go over the floor with a diamond pad to improve the smoothness, per the recommendation of the tech rep at consolideck.
I got a set of HTC Twister pads for this purpose and used the rough (800 grit) pad. However, I only succeeded in doing about 150sqft before the pad was toast so I continued on with the lighter pads on the rest of the floor and went faster to lessen the wear and stretch the life out.
5. I applied the LSGuard per the instructions with the sprayer and broom as before. It only took about 1 gallon to do the whole floor per coat. After it dried tack free (a little over an hour) I ran the burnisher over it with a hogshair pad.
The instructions are specific that the surface must get to 92 degrees, which I verified using an infrared thermometer as best I could (obviously I couldn't measure directly under the running pad but the perimeter temperature got into the high 80s which I considered acceptable. )
6. I applied two more coats to get the final result - more on this later.
7. I sealed the control joints with Sikaflex 1a.
Costs:
Consolideck LS ~$250 / 5 Gal
Consolideck LSGuard ~$450 / 5 Gal
Burnishing Machine Rental ~$230
HTC Twister pads ~$80
Hogshair pads 3 @ $15 ea
Sikaflex 1a ~$30
Total ~$1085 or $0.80/sqft
Problems / What I would do differently.
1. The HTC twister pads did not do nearly the square footage advertised. The twister pads do not have diamond through their entire thickness and once the diamond layer wears away they're useless.
Where I did use the 800 grit pad though looks nicer than the rest of the floor. I would just buy a pack of 800 grit diamond pads from 3M or whoever and use those. I do however feel that some diamond pad must be used first, it does smooth the floor out so it will take a gloss.
2. I had a problem on the last coat of LSGuard. I did this the day after the first two coats and it was raining that day. The third coat took forever to dry, unlike the first two which dried in a little over and hour. I ended up going to bed, and by the next morning it was dry...too dry. When I burnished the third coat the footprints and broom marks didn't come out nearly as well as with the first two coats where they came out almost completely.
Lesson: don't apply this stuff in humid/rainy weather. It still looks fine but would have been better if I hadn't done the third coat
3. I had a little trouble with the LS leaving a whitish residue in some spots where I over applied it. Burnishing with the 800 grit diamond took it out but after I burned up that pad it stayed. Again it looks fine but it could be better.
Results
So far so good. Water beads on the floor, but I haven't gotten oil on it yet. It's not nearly as slippery as it looks but certainly more than bare concrete. I like the color mottling and light reflection - should make for a nice work surface.
Here are the pictures:
Being Poured:
View media item 13701
Post - Pour:
View media item 13700
Final Results:
View media item 13697
View media item 13698
View media item 13696
View media item 13695