Pre-pour question

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

I have read a lot on this site about floor prep. I am getting ready to pour my foundation in a cpl of weeks. If I plan to epoxy coat it as soon as it dries. What type of finish do I want to tell my concrete contractor to use on my floor. I understand the no sealer since the epoxy will eventually do that job. Just want to make sure I tell him the correct thing so my epoxy job is a little easier. BTW I live in east central Florida if that makes any difference.

 

[bmwpower]

Smooth finish.

 

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

Smooth finish.

Smooth finish but NO SEALER ???

 

[two2fastforu]

Hey thanks guys. I am meeting with the finisher on Sat and I thought smooth, but I wasn/t sure

 

[boiler7904]

Steel trowel finish. No Sealer. Make sure you wait at least 28 days before attempting to apply epoxy. Even then, do a moisture test. Otherwise the moisture in the concrete will push the epoxy off of the floor.

 

[FL_Javelin]

Steel trowel finish. No Sealer. Make sure you wait at least 28 days before attempting to apply epoxy. Even then, do a moisture test. Otherwise the moisture in the concrete will push the epoxy off of the floor.

What he^ said and of course use a vapor barrier. Here in Florida, its all the more important. I had mine power troweled smooth. Cut expansion joints cause it will crack. I had to grind since I couldnt use acid (see my project below) and the grinder still showed flaws even though the contrater did a very nice job. I suggest also wetting the concrete with a hose and/or sprinklers to allow slower curing since our Florida sun can be brutal, you may need to wait a bit longer but its worth it.

Also, one little thing that my concrete contracter did for me that I didnt even think of was to form a depression, the width of a 2x4 in the concrete for the garage door to set in. It REALLY helps to keep out wind blown rain and leaves, so glad he brought that up. Naturally the bottom of the depression is level with the driveway, not a gully in concrete which may mean your finished floor level is 2" higher. You can see this depression on my project thread.

 

[Vicious_Cycle]

I did just what you plan to do. I had it power-trowelled smooth. Then, since no sealer was applied, I immediately covered the whole floor with some 4-mil plastic. I lifted the plastic long enough to cut expansion joints (and clean-up the resulting dust) the next day, then recovered the concrete with plastic.

I left the plastic on the surface as long as possible, even after I began using the garage. My tractor and my riding mower and my truck all drip small amounts of oil, so the plastic served as a temporary 'sealer' to hold moisture in while the concrete cured, and it also served to keep the concrete surface clean for future epoxy application.

 

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

FL_Javilin - Thanks for the tip on the depression for the garage door. My concrete contractor does that as a standard practice. He also does a little more to the outside soe the tracks and door are in the depression. I hope to break ground in the next week or so.

 

[WolverineCoatings]

My answer will be COMPLETELY different from anything else on here.

Pour the floor... Seal it with BondTite 1501 Concrete Curing Sealer from Wolverine Coatings Corporation. Spray on the BondTite 1501 with a Garden Sprayer as soon as you can walk on the concrete. If you cut expansion joints the next day, you can treat them with the BondTite 1501.

You can coat the floor with Other products like LiquaTile 1184 without doing any additional prep! You DO NOT have to wait 28 days! At 77f you must wait at least 17 hours before coating with LiquaTile 1184. This amount of time (the 17 hours) depends on the temperature. If you choose to wait, you can wait up to 3 months after applying the BondTite 1501 with no additional prep!

 

[thegarageguy]

ditto on the no sealer. You'll still need to grind prep your floor to get max penetration and adherance. After 30 days of course. Good luck.