Problems with lingering garage flooring odor

[irislevy]

On Oct 24 & 25th, I had a garage flooring installed. It was Epoxy base coat - National Polymer Inc 181 and top coat Polyaspartic - Versatile 5085.

The garage has lingering odors from what other installers have described as epoxy that is still out gassing. The floor appears structurally sound - no flaking or peeling. I can drive my cars on the floor. But, it does have lap marks throughout the floor.

I have tried a variety of home remedies such as vinegar, onions and lemon in water as well as activated charcoal bags and ventilation 24/7 with fans running. On Dec 21st, WhatAShield - a hydroyl sprays that eats VOCs has sprayed the entire garage and I still have strong odors when the garage is closed. I have to ventilate my garage 24/7 with fans to eliminate the strong odors. I bought a VOC meter and the last reading was HCOC = 0.336mg/m3 and Total VOC = 1.594mg/m3 with the garage closed for 11 hours about 8 days after WhatAShield was sprayed.

My contractor is willing to remove the floor. Is grinding off the floor the best method to get this done? Does anyone have any recommendations for the grinding process or a contractor in the greater Atlanta area. Also, thoughts on the concrete retaining epoxy fumes?

Thank you for your help.

 

[Shea]

On Oct 24 & 25th, I had a garage flooring installed. It was Epoxy base coat - National Polymer Inc 181 and top coat Polyaspartic - Versatile 5085.

The garage has lingering odors from what other installers have described as epoxy that is still out gassing. The floor appears structurally sound - no flaking or peeling. I can drive my cars on the floor. But, it does have lap marks throughout the floor.

I have tried a variety of home remedies such as vinegar, onions and lemon in water as well as activated charcoal bags and ventilation 24/7 with fans running. On Dec 21st, WhatAShield - a hydroyl sprays that eats VOCs has sprayed the entire garage and I still have strong odors when the garage is closed. I have to ventilate my garage 24/7 with fans to eliminate the strong odors. I bought a VOC meter and the last reading was HCOC = 0.336mg/m3 and Total VOC = 1.594mg/m3 with the garage closed for 11 hours about 8 days after WhatAShield was sprayed.

My contractor is willing to remove the floor. Is grinding off the floor the best method to get this done? Does anyone have any recommendations for the grinding process or a contractor in the greater Atlanta area. Also, thoughts on the concrete retaining epoxy fumes?

Thank you for your help.

National Polymer 181 is a 100% solids epoxy with a VOC content of less than 2 g/l. Anything less than 5 g/l is considered a no VOCs. Versatile 5085 Polyaspartic is an 85% solids polyaspartic with less than 50 g/l VOCs. This qualifies as a low VOC coating. Did the installers try and save money by thinning the epoxy with Xylene or acetone? The NP-181 is a fast-cure epoxy. If a thinning solvent was used, it would slow down the cure and not allow the solvents to escape before being captured by the polyaspartic topcoat. Particularly during the lower temps of winter.

Unless Xylene or acetone was used to thin the epoxy or polyaspartic, you should not be having issues with VOCs from the coating. Yes, grinding is the best method to remove it. And no, the VOCs should not get trapped in the concrete. However, it can get absorbed by the walls.

 

[irislevy]

My contractor insists there is nothing wrong with the floor. He claims the installation was done by experienced installers. I can’t prove otherwise other than high VOC readings. Today, Jan 5th, I closed the garage down for 8 hours and no cars in the garage.

HCOC = .632 TVOC = 3.379. These are the highest readings. It is getting warmer in Atlanta.

Two weeks prior to the garage floor coating install, I had the garage painted using Sherwin Williams paint. The sales rep knew in advance we were getting the garage painted prior to getting the floor installed. The contractor is placing blame that the product the painter used was defective because some of the tape and floating on the ceiling needs to be fixed. When I smell the walls, I do not smell the fumes. When I smell the garage floor, I smell the fumes. My contractor has never smelled the fumes. His manager and and representative from WhatAShield did smell the fumes but they could not identify what it was.

How do I prove that the fumes are from the garage floor coatings?

Thank you for your help.

Iris

 

[Shea]

My contractor insists there is nothing wrong with the floor. He claims the installation was done by experienced installers. I can’t prove otherwise other than high VOC readings. Today, Jan 5th, I closed the garage down for 8 hours and no cars in the garage.

HCOC = .632 TVOC = 3.379. These are the highest readings. It is getting warmer in Atlanta.

Two weeks prior to the garage floor coating install, I had the garage painted using Sherwin Williams paint. The sales rep knew in advance we were getting the garage painted prior to getting the floor installed. The contractor is placing blame that the product the painter used was defective because some of the tape and floating on the ceiling needs to be fixed. When I smell the walls, I do not smell the fumes. When I smell the garage floor, I smell the fumes. My contractor has never smelled the fumes. His manager and and representative from WhatAShield did smell the fumes but they could not identify what it was.

How do I prove that the fumes are from the garage floor coatings?

Thank you for your help.

Iris

Place a 24" square sheet of plastic over an area of the floor and seal all the edges with tape. Wait 24 hours and then unseal and edge and place your VOC tester under the plastic to check the readings. If it's from the floor, they should be sky-high.

 

[irislevy]

Thank you so much for your help.

 

[Armorpoxy]

Shea is right on let us know what you find as the system you had installed was a low/no voc system.

 

[Garage Flooring]

Possible it was thinned or installed to thick. BUT also important to look at the garage itself. If you have bare drywall or wood, exposed insulation or anything else that can hold onto odor you may need to take additional steps.

 

[Youngandfree]

Would an ozone generator help at all?

 

[irislevy]

All,

I placed a 2x2’ plastic on the garage floor and taped it off for 24 hours. I then placed the VOC meter inside and I watched it go crazy. It read HCOC = 1.741 and TOTAL VOCs stopped recording when it hit 9.999. This is crazy. I tested this 3 times for accuracy and all high readings. I need the floor coatings removed since the the fumes are still strong if the garage is closed. I am ventilating 24/7.

The Sheetrock does not smell and hopefully there will be no odors once the coatings are removed. During the removal process, it has been recommended the entire garage be protected with 6 ml plastic and an air handler that any removes any residual dust. This will also protect the interior of my home. Then the floor should be washed down with a peroxide solution, 5 gallons water to 3% peroxide and then rinsed and dried. Has anyone tried this approach?

Others have tried ozone without success.

Thank you

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Gang, if he introduced an accelerator to the epoxy you would have solvent odor and potentially high VOC readings.

 

[irislevy]

Hi Scottie,

Thank you for the info.

Any advice on fixing the odor without removing the coatings?

Iris

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Hi Scottie,

Thank you for the info.

Any advice on fixing the odor without removing the coatings?

Iris

Unfortunately i do not.
The only smell issues we have seen would be related to the customer not ventilating properly during and after the installation. I would venture a guess that overtime the solvents will dissipate, and with that the odor. Another thing to keep in mind is some people have a low threshold for chemical smells. Personally, I have a very low ability to smell solvents at all.

 

[BillK]

Another thing to keep in mind is some people have a low threshold for chemical smells. Personally, I have a very low ability to smell solvents at all.

This I guess working in a machine shop all day makes me pretty immune to any kind of odor really bothering me. However if I open a can of carburetor cleaner in the detached garage 40 ft from the house, my Wife can smell it within 5 minutes

Personally I would just give it time. It will go away eventually. I bet if you just start using the garage as normal you wont even notice it after a while.

 

[irislevy]

Thank you but the bigger issue is the TVOC readings are way beyond normal after placing a 2x2’ sheet of plastic and leaving for 24 hours. Then slipping a meter under the plastic and the meter stops reading at TVOC = 9.999. The fumes are very strong unless I ventilate the garage 24/7 with 3 exhaust fans running. So how much time to I give it to gas off?

I am not sensitive to odors but I certainly do not want to breathe in harmful chemicals that are off gassing.

 

[yhprum]

Question for the brain trust, Would some type of infared heat help cure or bake out the VOCs?

 

[Super38ACP]

This I guess working in a machine shop all day makes me pretty immune to any kind of odor really bothering me. However if I open a can of carburetor cleaner in the detached garage 40 ft from the house, my Wife can smell it within 5 minutes

Yup - except lavender - she lights a candle with any kind of lavender or flowery smell and it affects me like the carb (or Brake) cleaner affects her, plus I can taste it for hours...

Sorry OP no help - but I'm following to see if there is a resolution.

 

[mike93lx]

Grind it off and start over or do something else.

Porcelain tile is a fantastic floor covering that lasts far longer than anything painted on and has none of the odor issues

 

[BillK]

Iris,
If it was me as long as your installer is on board with removing it if that time comes I would just give it some more time. Obviously I am not there and I dont know how "bad" the smell really is. I bet after a few months you will hardly notice it. How do others in your household feel about it ?

Also I did a little reading on the TVOC readings and apparently the number can be deceiving without knowing the actual breakdown of the VOC's. The high number by itself does not necessarily mean it is dangerous. Depends on which actual VOC's are high. Some VOCs are not really dangerous.

 

[dmchao]

I posted this on another thread I referenced, but perhaps it will help you.

Hi everyone, I like many of you had a polyaspartic coating with flakes put down in our basement, and midway through the smell of Xylene became too much for me. I told the contractor who let the base layer cure for 2 days and then switched to a 100% solids epoxy top coat instead of continuing with Polyaspartic with heavy solvent in it. My wife is also 13 weeks pregnant so this was a major safety driver for me. It was unknown to me during the quoting phase how much solvent they were going to use, the salesman did make it seem safer than reality. I moved her to my mother's condo for a week during this process, and kept fans going on 24/7 for literally 7 days. I ordered the below product and it took 4 days to get to me but it was well worth it. I am fortunate to have designed in zoned HVAC into our basement remodel, as ventilation was key and obviously difficult in an enclosed space. I cranked the heat to 74F for the entirety of the 7 days while circulating with large CFM fans in all rooms once the topcoat was dry. I was originally blowing air around and out of the home, but I decided to change strategies by bringing fresh air inside from outdoors, and using my basement exhaust fan to evacuate old air. This was slow, but effective, as my exhaust fan is only 110CFM. While this worked, it really did not eliminate smell, only offer me assurance that dangerous solvents were pulled out of the air. (Used field PID meter to verify, and it was still fairly smelly)

The following filter came from the grow industry, but helped me get back living in my own home .
Terrabloom 8" filter with 8" intake fan. They have smaller ones, but based on CFM I wanted to circulate I chose 8". They also have a 10".
Imagine basically the smell of a "grow", and this product is designed to neutralize in-line HVAC. You just stack the matching inline fan on top of the filter, vertically oriented. You can pull air through the filter and out through the fan, or flip the fan over to **** in fresh air and push it through the filter. It basically works the same. The reason I ended up with this product is that VOCs like Xylene are smaller than Microns. This filter claimed to filter fine particulate the size of VOCs, and their claims appear to be true.

Activated Charcoal Carbon Air Filters For Grow Tents

Premium activated charcoal carbon filters. Removes 100% unpleasant odor. Quite and effective.

terra-bloom.com

Its super easy to put together and it contains about 30 lbs of impregnated carbon, which is ideal for this scenario.
In 3 days all the smell was gone. The 1st day I noticed the sickly sweet smell eliminated to about 95%.

All in all, this is probably my last venture into a coated floor, but I was able to mitigate most of my issues.

 

[FJ4FUN]

This is exactly why we do not offer Wolverine Coatings' polyaspartic products to the general public...