Pitting in Garage Floor. Help me Resurface!

[MTBSully]

Hi all, first post here. Very informative forum!

Just bought my first home in January. I love it so far, and I have slowly been making the garage my own. The last thing I want to do is coat/seal the garage floor with one of those 100% solids epoxy coatings (likely from Armopoxy, i think they are on here). Problem is, the garage floor surface has some spalling and rough areas, and I would like to resurface it first so I have a nice smooth surface to work on. Here is a picture of a spalled area for reference. Worst areas are maybe 1/4"-3/8" deep.

So i did some research and watched a few videos on concrete resurfacing, doesnt seem like rocket science. Was going to get the Quickrete stuff, but then I read the reviews:dw::

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Quikrete-40-lb-Concrete-Resurfacer-113141/202289889

Could be users didnt do the right prep work, who knows. Did some more research and have read really good things about Ardex CD. Problem is, I can't find anywhere to buy it. Any suggestions? Any other recommended resurfacers for the job? The armorpoxy will be going on top once the floor is smooth and level.

Thanks!

 

[bdamico]

or you could tile

 

[Armorpoxy]

Hi, please email us at [email protected] so we have your email address and can send you some helpful bulletins on this problem. We also can obtain any of these products you need, but shipping can become a big expense.

We are not big fans of self levelers and skim coat type products in garages as they often can fail due to bonding issues due to temperature swings in a garage environment so when they fail the epoxy can come up with them. A new floor needs to be thick enough to have plenty of 'material' to hold itself together and not crack too.

Sometimes leaving the floor alone and doing a 'full broadcast' may be a better solution and less prone to failure. While much more expensive than standard epoxy floor, you don't need the leveler or skim coats.

 

[redneckwheelan2]

i'm a concrete finisher by trade so i have used trowelable products before. i would look into some ardex products if you want the patch and surface to last. it's a bit more exspensive then most but it sticks to practically anything id get a bag of ardex feather finish if there is random deep hole, "Rock pops" but if the surface is pretty consistent like the picture shows id get some ardex cd or cd fine for the first coat or two.
then one or two coats of ardex SD-M over the floor should make it look like a brand new floor. a different option too is tamms concrete finisher. its a little more prevailing/ easier to work with but we have only used it a few times at work so no long term reports of how it holds up. they are all a trowelable topping so they are thin but work great.
i would shy away from quickrete for patches and repair mortar chances are it will not last. ardex is harder to get since you have to go to a construction supply store to buy it locally. but its pretty much the only patch or topping that most concrete guys will use.
you can do all of it with just the SD-M and skip the CD fine or just use the CD fine. the SD-M will be a faster turn around since it sets up faster. if you want a nice smooth good looking topping i would choose the SD-M. the first coat or two will look bad since its filling in the low spots but by the time your done with the final coat it will look brand new. if there is any cracks in the floor or saw cuts they will crack threw the toppings in the same places they were originally.

prep work for them can be pretty simple. get the loose chunks of concrete off if there is any left, clean the floor good with either a pressure washer or a stiff broom with water an simple green or other cleaners like it. then hose off the floor good. let it sit till the surface drys. mix the product according to the instructions on the bag. then apply the product with a trowel. you need the existing floor wet but the surface dry. to have a good bond and no blistering for the first coat. if you use the SD-M or feather finish it sets up pretty fast like 15 to 20 minutes of work time before its hard. so start off with a little bit and adjust the amount you make as you go.

if you use the feather finish for patching hole use a coffee can or plastic ice cream container and only mix up around 1 measuring cup or less of powder at a time. should only need 1 10 lb bag of feather finish if you even need it and depending on how bad the surface of the floor is id say atleast 3 bags of SD-M. and keep your trowels and mixing equipment clean. clean any material off after you mix and after you apply it. it wont come off of tools otherwise..

 

[evmiller]

Sorry to necro this, but this thread has been helpful to me. I'm in the early process of prepping my garage for a new epoxy floor system and I've been very torn about what/if I should do anything with the pitting my garage floor has prior to putting the epoxy down. See attached photos. As you can see most of the pitting isn't very deep (approx 1/8" except a couple areas like the last photo where the divits are around 1/4") , however the pitting is fairly extensive. I've researched some polymer modified cement re-finishers like the Rustoleum, Quickcrete, and Ardex products but either the reviews for the products were very inconsistent or the product was hard to find online such as the Ardex CD like the OP mentioned. I was happy to hear from the armorpoxy rep here that their might be an epoxy solution that might be thick enough to cover or at least hide the depressions in the floor. I was previosuly looking at the armorclad system and was wondering how a "Full Broadcast" would differ. Is it the same term as "flakes to rejection"? Is it just a question of ordering extra chips? If so, this might just work to minimize or eliminate any depressions in the floor as the floor would almost be 4 layers thick. A primer, basecoat, flakecoat, and topcoat. I wonder if the OP has finished his garage. I'd be interested in seeing a followup to see what solution was chosen and what the result was.

here's some pics of what i'm dealing with.

https://goo.gl/photos/i2BYuoyMJdVRv4D77
https://goo.gl/photos/ZkrgVPVYJqWdM1g78
https://goo.gl/photos/ehEksvM6RHEgsix86

 

[Armorpoxy]

Hi, please email us at info@ armorpoxy.com, we have some helpful bulletins on this problem.

Short answer is that this garage has severe damage that a coating won't cure fully, even a full broadcast/flecks to rejection. If you want a reasonable result fill in the deep holes with a cementious skim coat product, crack fill the Cracks with our Crack Repair Epoxy Putty and then do the full broadcast. Patching though in a garage setting can delaminate due to temperature swings in garages and moisture issues, so we are not big fans of large patches. Small patching seems to hold up better.

A coating, even a thick multi layer coating may be up to 25 MILS thick but 1/4" is 250 MILS so you can see how a coating won't do much to repair a floor, and coatings will generally telegraph through floor texture and irregularities.

A better, but more expensive solution is to not attempt to fix it and tile over it with our Supratiles, or other type of garage floor tile.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[evmiller]

Thanks, already emailed you guys prior to me posting here.

I'll post with questions in another thread about the tiles.

 

[chrispyny]

hey evmiller .. how did you make out ? please post results!