quetion regarding gap between drywall and concrete

[igo4bmx]

I am a finally a home owner and plan to make my garage look somewhat decent. I am cleaning the concrete slab and rinsing it, but worry about water getting into the gaps between the concrete and the drywall. Should I worry and should I seal the gap with something? I'm thinking the gap helps with concrete expansion/contraction and also prevents water from ruining the drywall.

thanks

 

[5wndwcpe]

The concrete shouldn't move all that much. I'd be more concerned with water "wicking" up the drywall and causing a mold problem behind it. Simple solution: Install 4" vinyl cove base. It'll cover up the gap and make hosing the floor down much easier.

 

[akdiesel]

I agree with the vinyl molding, but if you also want to go one step further you could also silicon the bottom edge on the back side of vinyl to the floor to keep water from getting behind and creating mold.

 

[igo4bmx]

so the drywall is not painted nor is the floor. Should i install the vinyl first before starting any etching/degreasing? I am worried that 1- the etcher will damage the vinyl and 2- the issue with masking the vinyl when its flush against the floor.

I'm thinking of running a bead of silicone in the gap to "seal off" any chance of water getting in there, then proceeding with washing the floor, and epoxy paint then painting the walls and vinyl cove base.

 

[akdiesel]

I would go with your assumtions. I am not sure how the etching chemical would attack the sillicon or the vinyl. Plus once you do the etching you will have a good clean floor to have the silicon make contact.
On a side note: With the walls in the garage painted a light color it adds the ability for the lights to reflect off of as well as protecting the bare sheetrock.

 

[igo4bmx]

I would go with your assumtions. I am not sure how the etching chemical would attack the sillicon or the vinyl. Plus once you do the etching you will have a good clean floor to have the silicon make contact.
On a side note: With the walls in the garage painted a light color it adds the ability for the lights to reflect off of as well as protecting the bare sheetrock.

Yes I think I will paint the walls first because it can help prevent light amounts of water from absorbing into the drywall.

 

[Jaguar Fan]

Here's what I did:

However, when I used a powerwasher, it was a bit tricky to keep from blowing the plastic off.

Sheetrock, as you probably know, is manufactured with lots of water. The amount of water it will pick up from doing your floor won't hurt the sheetrock. As long as you let it dry out, you won't have a problem. Since you said the sheetrock isn't painted yet, just let the sheetrock dry out and you'll be fine. I would only worry about mold if it stayed wet for a long time.

Since you are acid etching, I suggest you do not paint the dry wall until after you've done your floor. The fumes from the acid can damage the paint (ask me how I know!). A typical procedure for spreading the acid is to use a plastic flower watering can -- and the acid can "spash" up onto the drywall, also damaging the paint.