No floor treatment at all?

[sbosecker]

I am planning a 46' x 60' Machine Shed/Shop. While I love the Man-Caves & Showroom Garage's I've seen posted on this site, my project will be more utilitarian in nature.

A floor plan follows at the end of this post. The shed will have a 3-bay mechanical storage/shop area with a lift in the center bay. Welding will be done in this area. Separate from the mechanical area is 30' x 30' wood shop.

I've been trying to determine what, if anything, I should do to the concrete floor that will be in this project. My knee-jerk after quickly reviewing the flooring section of this website is no treatment or densification to keep stains & clean-up under control.

Any thoughts?

Scott

 

[mygarageone]

You should at least have it sealed . Help keep the staining down and much easier to sweep .

 

[Shea]

You should at least have it sealed . Help keep the staining down and much easier to sweep .

I agree completely. You don't have to spend hundreds of dollars to get a good value if you are not concerned about a showroom floor. I would recommend going with a non film forming penetrating sealer to start with. It would not be that expensive for a floor as large as yours and will do a good job to eliminate concrete dusting, make it easy to sweep, and help to resist stains.

Another product that is starting to gain traction in a working shop is the use of densifier sealer combos. These sealers will densify the concrete and add a topical sealer at the same time that will repel liquids. This type would make the floor extremely easy to sweep. Again, these are a good value for the square footage involved.

 

[B&H]

I have a 28'X56' pole barn at home for a shop. I had the concrete finishers powers trowel to a pretty smooth finish. No sealer or treatment of any kind, no dust and no problems cleaning up.

During a recent auto shop expansion, a 10'x80' section that runs along the back of the shop was troweled smooth and left uncoated, with the same results.

The reason I am mentioning this is because when we had the concrete floors removed and replaced with new concrete in the old part of my auto repair shop 4 or 5 years ago, the contractor sprayed the floor with some sort of a cure-n-seal that turned into rubber cement as soon as we spilled gas or brake fluid on it. It was horrible! When I complained, the contractor said that I wanted sealer and that it was my problem! When I suggested that he was the expert and he should have known that gas would turn the sealer into goo, he said he didn't know that I was going to be spilling gas. Duh. So we had another contractor come in and grind the floor down and epoxy it.

Fast forward to this past summer, we put a large addition on my auto repair shop and the aforementioned storage area behind the shop. Again, because epoxy wasn't really necessary in the storage area and cost was a factor, we decided to only use epoxy in the new bays. We used a product called Stonehard, or something like that. Wow, that is some good stuff!!

 

[sbosecker]

Thanks for the links! A densifier seems like a good way to go but I thought the densifier acted like a sealer by hardening the top surface of the concrete. Is a sealer necessary on concrete that has received a densifier?

Best regards,

Scott

I agree completely. You don't have to spend hundreds of dollars to get a good value if you are not concerned about a showroom floor. I would recommend going with a non film forming penetrating sealer to start with. It would not be that expensive for a floor as large as yours and will do a good job to eliminate concrete dusting, make it easy to sweep, and help to resist stains.

Another product that is starting to gain traction in a working shop is the use of densifier sealer combos. These sealers will densify the concrete and add a topical sealer at the same time that will repel liquids. This type would make the floor extremely easy to sweep. Again, these are a good value for the square footage involved.

 

[LIGOOMBA]

I have a 28'X56' pole barn at home for a shop. I had the concrete finishers powers trowel to a pretty smooth finish. No sealer or treatment of any kind, no dust and no problems cleaning up.

During a recent auto shop expansion, a 10'x80' section that runs along the back of the shop was troweled smooth and left uncoated, with the same results.

The reason I am mentioning this is because when we had the concrete floors removed and replaced with new concrete in the old part of my auto repair shop 4 or 5 years ago, the contractor sprayed the floor with some sort of a cure-n-seal that turned into rubber cement as soon as we spilled gas or brake fluid on it. It was horrible! When I complained, the contractor said that I wanted sealer and that it was my problem! When I suggested that he was the expert and he should have known that gas would turn the sealer into goo, he said he didn't know that I was going to be spilling gas. Duh. So we had another contractor come in and grind the floor down and epoxy it.

Fast forward to this past summer, we put a large addition on my auto repair shop and the aforementioned storage area behind the shop. Again, because epoxy wasn't really necessary in the storage area and cost was a factor, we decided to only use epoxy in the new bays. We used a product called Stonehard, or something like that. Wow, that is some good stuff!!

I just went through the same thing last summer.When the contractor poured my floor I wasn't there and they power trowel it and put some type of sealer on it that turns into goo when something is spilled on to.I am leaning towards some type of fortified sealer.Im going to be grinding it the end of this month and see how it turns out.If I feel the epoxy will work and not peel I will go that route .If it seems on the smooth side I am gonna seal it.Just don't know which sealer to go with if I go that direction.

 

[Shea]

Is a sealer necessary on concrete that has received a densifier?

No. But - a densifier generally will not seal the concrete as well as a penetrating sealer. The densifying process that hardens the concrete helps to seal it as well, but they are not designed as a stand alone sealer.

Cure and seal products, densifiers with topical sealer added, and topical acrylic sealers will gum up when exposed to some solvents and especially brake fluids as described by the above posts. If you won't be exposing the floor to these kinds of chemicals then you will not have to worry about it. If you are, then a standard densifier or penetrating sealer is best for a low budget sealer. The penetrating sealer will do the best at stain resistance in my opinion, but the concrete will still stain if left to sit too long.

Epoxy is much more resistant to staining and caustic solvents, but it would be much more expensive for a floor of your size. You can reduce those costs by going with a simple primer coat and clear epoxy coat system however.

 

[efncrx]

What program did you use for the floorplan?

I agree with the rest some treatment would be good before it's stained up pitted ect. Making more work down the road.

 

[sbosecker]

What program did you use for the floorplan?

I have a nephew that - exhibiting the usual family timing - graduated with a degree in architecture in the middle of the recent economic unpleasantness.

While munching on a turkey leg at Thanksgiving 2012, I approached him about coming up with a plan for my shop project. He used the software that he has from school to produce the drawings.

Unfortunately for me he got both a real job and a girlfriend shortly after he started working on my project. I started prodding him to finish recently and I supposedly will have the final drawings this coming week.

Best regards,

Scott

 

[efncrx]

Thanks for the response they look good! good luck with the flooring!

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

If you are looking for the anti-coating then densifier is your product.

Cure n Seals are great for new slabs but they really are temporary, a small splash of gas and they are rubber, as mentioned above.

Remember, the only product that will truly respond against stains is a topical sealer, if that is a concern.

 

[ddawg16]

I asked the same question......then I found GJ......specifically the floor section.....

I still have a lot of stuff to get done before I'm ready for a 'pretty' floor....so I tossed down a couple of gallons of concrete sealer...

 

[efncrx]

^spiral stairs are the cats pj's until you need a couch up or down!

What kind of sealer was used? Floor looks glassy and nice!

 

[Garage Customz]

Why not do the "showroom" floor in certain areas where looks may be important, and just sealing or curing the concrete in the actual working section? I feel that the amount of budgets that get eaten up with flooring could be better used for equipment, tools or toys!

 

[ozyborn]

Bare floor in mine. No sealer, no epoxy. no anything. Sweeps fine. Stains? It is a garage and I use it. It is not a showroom floor. I keep rubber mats by the work benches but that's it. I do not see the point in wasting money to make a garage floor look pretty.

 

[ddawg16]

^spiral stairs are the cats pj's until you need a couch up or down!

What kind of sealer was used? Floor looks glassy and nice!

I just got a couple of gallons of concrete sealer from HD.

And....not plans to put a couch up stairs. I do have a 4x4 window on the side upstairs....if I need to get some big up there...it goes through the window....if it won't fit through the window....then it doesn't need to be up there anyway.

 

[Milton Shaw]

The longest lasting, easiest maintain floor I ever worked on was at a new Firestone store. The concrete was treated when it was poured with a product called MasterPlate 200. BASF makes this coating that is sprinkled on the wet concrete as it is poured to give a very dense sealed coating. After 30 years of heavy daily use these floors are still in good condition. This was power troweled till it was a polished finish and other than being a little slick when wet with soapy solutions. But it is not as slippery on just water spills. This is a specific product to be used in service department floors and is extremely hard if installed right. I looked into doing this when I did my personal shop but did not spring for doing it because of cost. It should be cheaper than epoxy as most of the labor is the same as finishing the concrete to begin with, just the added sprinkling a pound per sq ft while the concrete is wet. You need to look at some floors done with this and find a concrete contractor that does this on a regular basis and not spring it on a contractor that has never seen it.