Polyurea woodshop flooring

[jt1103]

Hi all, I've recently been doing a lot of research on garage flooring, specifically for a woodshop, and had a couple questions.

Background: I just bought a house in PA with a 380sqft 2-car garage that has a ~60 year old concrete slab in great shape. Except for a few cracks/chips, it's mostly just oil and paint stains that will grind away. UV exposure only through small windows along the top edge of the garage doors. No apparent moisture after a plastic & duct tape moisture test. I will be using the space almost exclusively as a woodshop - definitely no cars. Foot traffic, caster wheels, lumber, and the occasional dropped chisel/saw.

1. Based on what I've read, a 3 coat polyurea kit (Nohr-S or SPGX seem to be most popular here) or 2 coat epoxy with a polyurea/polyaspartic topcoat are my best options for something that I want to last 10+ years. Is that overkill for a one-man woodshop, and could I still get 10+ years from a system that costs less? I'd love to be in the $500-600 range rather than the $1000-1100 range.

2. Is there a reason I should seek out a polyaspartic system instead of either the Nohr-S or SPGX kits?

3. Will the Legacy course softskid (or Armorpoxy equivalent) be difficult to sweep, mop, or kneel on? Will it catch a lot of sawdust? I really don't want to have to worry about slipping, but don't want to spend half my day sweeping to get up sawdust.

4. My concrete extends out about 6" past the door. Is there an easy way to prevent any flakes from getting on the exposed 6" of the slab, or it it better to grind it clean and leave it bare? I don't think it would look very good to have a strip of flaked epoxy sticking out the front of my house.

5. Do Legacy or Armorpoxy have West Chester local contractors that use their products that they could recommend if I give up on my DIY dreams?

6. Can I opt for a light/medium flake or should I really go for a full flake? I was familiar with the light/medium flake look when I started doing research, but have since been looked at like I'm crazy by three different local contractors doing estimates when I asked about not flaking to rejection. One attributed the popularity of the light flake look to the big box store kits not including enough flake. I think light/medium looks better and don't like the finished texture of full flake.

7. I'm filling my hairline cracks with PC Concrete 2 Part Epoxy but also have a couple 4" diameter 1/2" deep shallow divots from previously removed concrete anchors. Am I safe to use the Rustoleum concrete patch kit with some silica filler or should I opt for something more aggressive?

8. Is there a way to buy 1.5 gallons of polyurea from anyone? With a 400sqft garage, it's a bummer to have to buy 600sqft worth of material

 

[MerlinsBeard]

As far as PC concrete epoxy, I don’t think the viscosity is low enough to fill thin slab cracks. I used it on cinder block crack that was pretty wide and it worked good. I recommend checking out the polyurea plus sand as a filler since the viscosity is much lower. Check out Xtreme Set 100 if you have a lot to repair or slabweld from Best Materials if you don’t

 

[Armorpoxy]

Hi,
Normally, unless going with a full broadcast (not inexpensive) a single coat of SPGX Polyurea is great. If adding flecks and such then our standard www.armorcladepoxy.com 100% solids 3 layer system would be thicker for about the same price.

You could use a 300 sq ft Add On size kit with extra primer since priming extends coverage by about 20-30%. Life span on either epoxy with Military Grade topcoat or SPGX would be comparable.

We don't recommend contractors except for large commercial projects over 5,000 sq ft.

Please contact below (not PM please) for any individual assistance you may require. Thank you.

 

[black2002ls]

Along the same lines. We are having a 24x40 shop built with our new home and I would like to coat the shop floor. Part of the building will be for our laser business and related wood working, the rest woyld be parking/auto repair/hot rod building.

Is the SPGX a good product for this? Primary concerns are a light color to keep the area bright, non slip additive compatible (we have a 4 year old), and durable.

I am looking for something that can be completed in a day or two, and put into service ASAP. I will have about a week to complete the job,including electric and framing, before my laser shop will have to be moved from the old location.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[jt1103]

I wound up going with Nohr-S, mostly because I needed to make a decision and it didn't seem that much better/worse than the kit for SPGX. I'm installing it in the next two weeks so I'll let you know what I learn

 

[Armorpoxy]

Hi SPGX would be an excellent product for this application and normally used with our ArmorGrip non skid additive which gives it a slight texture, but isn't gritty. The job can be completed in a day due to the very fast cure time so you could do the job day one and move in on day 2.

 

[dcg9381]

SPGX - I really like it. It's less expensive than epoxy, easier to install than epoxy, and has great coverage properties. I don't think the non-skid is necessary UNLESS you're getting a floor wet at any time. On a wet floor, the stuff is slick...
The skid additive is a little trick to install as you need to be sure it's consistently mixed.. IE - mix, apply, mix again, etc...

 

[Armorpoxy]

Thank you for your comments. Yes, we strongly recommend nonskid on a floor that may see moisture or lubricants they can be slippery.

Using nonskid is easy as per above, just mix, pour into a pan, then dip/roll, and then repeat, just give the product in the can a quick re-mix to avoid any settling of the nonskid.

 

[jt1103]

much appreciated!

 

[jt1103]

Hello guys. Good topic. I can also ask, what varnish will be the best for wood? What do you use? Thanks!

Hey Partoss, you may find more educated answers on https://reddit.com/r/woodworking rather than a garage flooring board for that question, but for what it's worth, I've had luck with Epifanes clear varnish for outdoor furniture following this guy's advice: https://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/videos/outdoor-sitting-bench/

 

[dcg9381]

Hello guys. Good topic. I can also ask, what varnish will be the best for wood? What do you use? Thanks!

Look at: https://refinedelements.com/

Owner does a lot of high end wood work. What he recommends (that you can buy in the USA) as a finish for wood that is used by high end cabinet guys is:

Sherwin Williams White Water Conversion Varnish. (It's catalytic, spray on)