New Garage - Should i do epoxy now?

[cherokee007]

hello,

I will be moving into new home in 2 days. Concrete was poured over 2 months and I have seen lot of cracks develop along the control joints.

My question is: Should i wait few more months before i do epoxy or can i do it now? My fear was that concrete may continue cracking even after doing epoxy..


Any suggestions / recommendation appreciated

Thanks!

 

[dcs Inc]

Is it cracking where it's suppose to? they say it takes on the average of 30 days per each inch of concrete to dry once the initial hydration occurs and this is with normal conditions.

 

[regguy1]

I'd wait

 

[Shea]

If the cracking is occurring within the contraction joints then it's doing what it is supposed to do. That is why they are there. From experience you most likely will be fine but I would wait a couple more months before you start if you can.

Where do you live? If it's in a cold part of the country then you may want to wait till things warm up anyway. Your floor shouldn't be much colder than 50 degrees when you put it down.

 

[dandan111]

I'd wait a year.

 

[Car Guys Flooring]

Waiting may be the best option. In addition to your concrete being fresh, depending on where you live - the cold weather may aggravate your adhesion further. Waiting on your concrete to settle may give you an opportunity to fill your expansion joints and cracks more accurately before laying an epoxy coating... making sure you use 100% solids epoxy will help combat this problem further.

 

[cherokee007]

We live in AZ (It now around 60F here). Based on all your suggestion, i think we will postpone epoxy until summer.

Do we need to take care of something (like oil spills etc) until we have epoxy done or does it not matter?

 

[dcs Inc]

Yes, attempt to keep any deep setting oils off the slab. Put ya something down where you park if you have a leaker.

 

[Ch3No2]

I waited a full year cycle so the new concrete saw both hot and cold...glad I did

 

[pauloman]

you might consider something like Bio Vee Seal which is an internal concrete sealer (it leaves nothing on the surface) which would keep any spills, oils, stains, etc from penetrating beyond the surface into the concrete where they could become issues when you do epoxy coat.

assuming the cracks are just surface drying cracks you would want to use a solvent free epoxy (like Industrial Floor Epoxy) when you do epoxy because, if the cracks have stopped growing/moving, they will be buried and hidden under the solvent free epoxy. With a waterbased epoxy the the cracks will be visible after the epoxy has cured.

 

[AmericanGarageFloor]

There are really two questions of value to a lot of forum members here. First is how long you need to let your slab cure prior to applying a coating. I think that horse has been sufficiently beaten

The next question is can you apply a garage floor epoxy this time of year. A lot of manufacturers talk about the fact that the epoxy will cure down to 50 degrees. That does not change the fact that without the proper additive, while the epoxy may cure, it may not properly bond to the concrete. We offer a winter grade garage floor epoxy (as do others) that will not only cure down to 40 degree F it also has a specialized wetting and bonding agent to make sure it adheres to the concrete at colder temperatures -- I will not bore you with the science.

Finally, absolutely protect the floor until you are ready to coat it. You can use cardboard, Oil Dry mats, Drymate garage floor mats or BLT garage floor mats. Depends how fancy you want to get

 

[Mush07071]

Im in the same boat, In NJ.. Floor is 3 months old.. If I keep the garage at 60 degrees would it be OK to epoxy new concrete..I plan on priming too.

 

[Mush07071]

Im going to rename myself Tread Killer..

 

[Prepman]

Hello,
I install floors in garages and would look at using the latest product breakthrough in garage flooring. It has a long name, (polyurea alaphalic polyaspartic), but it can be installed at 0 degree F. The product that I use can be used can be used as a primer, intermediate coat (if using decorative chips), and clear finish coat. Each coat dries in approx. 1hr. We install these floors all coats in1day. We use an oil removal product, grind to profile, apply coatings. This product is more expensive than epoxy, but is UV stable (will not fade), and is chemical, resistant. We have had no failures in garage floors at all in 5 yrs of using this system. The company I recommend the most is manufactured by Endmar Coatings. Their product is one of the PAP'S that can be used as a primer too. I would do a moisture test to make sure the slab is dry enough. Good luck !

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Randy, your breakthrough product has been out a good long while now. This thread is referring to the waiting period before coating a floor. How was your post relevant? Are you claiming your product can keep a floor from settling or cracking?

Please read what the op is questioning and then let us know how your product will help the op.