Sikaflex SL

[Brutemega]

I was thinking about putting Sikaflex SL on the perimeter of my garage floor in the expansion joints to level them....and then use Epoxy-Coat over top. Can this be done??

Sikaflex SL is a polyurethane I think.

I live in Phoenix..obviously no freezing or moisture issues.

Thanks in advance.

--Bryan

 

[mhoffm911]

I used Rustoleum Epoxyshield Pro...however, when I talked with their customer service they told me any such product (for filling cracks, patching, etc.) needs to be "epoxy-based" or "mortar-based" or there might be adhesion problems. Of course this might have been to sell more of their own crack filler.

I would check with Epoxy-coat to see what they say.

 

[comp]

not sure ,,,but all the Sika products i have used years ago were good for their app.

 

[timgr]

Can you do that? I would think you cannot - the purpose of expansion joints is to expand, and if you fill them with a flexible material and cover them with epoxy, the epoxy will crack. Ask the EpoxyCoat people if you can do that. You might be able to epoxy over the edges of the joint and fill the joint with some matching flexible material.

For crack filling or leveling, I'd uses a portland-cement-based cement repair product.

 

[logical]

Nothing you put in the joint will stop the floor slab from moving if it wants to move. The idea behind something flexible is that small movements will stretch or compress the fill material and not reopen a void or split the coating. Flexible filler is the right way to do this...or you can not fill at all.

 

[WolverineCoatings]

I would suggest using compatibile products from the same company... Sika was a GREAT company at one time. I am disappointed that they were purchased by Akzo Nobel... I'm partial to IntegraFlex 1921 Self Leveling Joint Filler, BondTite 1101, and LiquaTile 1184...

 

[fuzzymoto]

When I asked Epoxy-Coat what to use to fill the expansion saw cuts in my garage floor they recomended acrylic caulk. That's what I used and then applied Epoxy-Coat over it. I did mine recently, but so far so good.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

I am presently using this product to fill joints in my shop slab. None of the literature says anything about overcoating, but I suspect it can be done with no problems.

http://www.sikaconstruction.com/tds-cpd-SikaflexSelfLevelingSealant-us.pdf

http://www.sikaconstruction.com/ht-cpd-SikaflexSelfLevelingSealant-us.pdf

In any case, this stuff is thin, if the crack is deep, the stuff will flow down into the joint. My cracks are too narrow to fill with the "backer rod" as they suggest, and on some I have resorted to pouring clean play sand into the joints and leaving it so I have a half inch or more of depth, the sand slows or stops the flowing of the sealant and eliminates waste.

Use masking tape down both sides of the joint and let it set for several days. I have been "trimming" mine flush with the floor surface using a razor scraper that uses single edge blades. I start pulling up the tape and start pushing the blade. Sometimes I have to use a back and forth sawing motion, and I flip the scraper occasionally and change the blade every ten feet or so. My floor is quite smooth, and the joints are gaps that have opened up at metal key ways that were put down and the slab then poured. These are not saw joints, and are somewhat irregular.

If you have much distance to go, buy a large 1 qt tube type caulking gun and use the 29 oz tubes, its lots cheaper. I have 180 ft of joint to do, I have done about 90 ft so far and one 12 ft outside joint at the edge of the building slap where a parking pad meets it.

Charles

 

[FFPL]

I used the wolverine intergraflex. It was quite easy to use as it self leveled. I poured it in all the cracks/joins and then went around and did the feathering. It was quite thick; much thicker than the primer and top coat. I used some 3/16th cord (nylon rope) to fill the saw cuts so I wouldn't use too much of the integraflex. I probably didn't need to do this as I had 2 gallons to play with. Apparently is will move with the joints so I shouldn't see any more cracking.
The only real effort required was to feather the edges. It took me quite a while to go around all the cracks (expansion joints, saw cuts, and cracks in the concrete). I did need to go around and refill and refeather (I used a wide putty knife). I used about 1 gallon in total. Now that the floor is down its almost impossible to see the joints.

 

[WolverineCoatings]

Well, since it has been mentioned...

We have several products for filling cracks and joints... The two that I would recommends for DIY use would be:

IntegraFlex 1921 - Self Leveling
IntegraFlex 1922 - Thicker putty... Can be used on vertical joints

Both of these products will bridge joints, remain flexible, retain firm integrity, and can be overcoated with most chemistries.

Just remember... if you call in or fill out an information request... make SURE you mention Garage Journal... if you call in... you may get blown off if you don't since we don't sell to the general public other than this board... The best way to get information is here:

http://wolverinecoatings.com/html/contacts.html

 

[jmarshall76]

I also used sikaflex sl in my joints does anyone know if I can use an epoxy paint over it ?

 

[pauls340]

This topic of a joint filler before or after epoxy coating your floor has been discussed many times. I have talked with many contractors and in my opinion if you put anything flexible in that joint and then epoxy over it, it will eventually crack 100% of the time. So because of that I vote to epoxy your floor and then whatever joint is left, put a quality joint filler....which automatically eliminates all Zika products. I stopped using them when Seal Bond came out with their Construction Series; zero dry shrinkage cracks or pull-off from joints in over 3 years.

 

[pauls_workshop]

I'm agreeing with Pauls340 above on not trying to epoxy over the joints. I'm about to do a basement shop floor with expansion joints on the perimeter. I'm going to epoxy, then put in Sikaflex after and maybe use some enamel paint that matches the floor color or slightly darker gray to paint over just the Sika. I'll probably later on use some trim or vinyl wrap around trim for the wall to floor interface, which will cover over most of this joint width.

Although I'm new to epoxy and this is my first floor, I'm a professional mechanical engineer in real life and avid do-it yourselfer. I design engines for a living and am not a civil engineer or installer or cement contractor or any of those experts! But, expansion or shrinkage can and will happen especially with new cement but also whenever later on it wants to with temperature and moisture changes. Everything in the world expands when the temperature increases and contracts when it decreases, which can be calculated using something called a "coefficient of thermal expansion" for the material. These things are all accounted for in proper design of parts or systems, including cement. For really old floors that are nearly a constant temperature, *maybe* one could fill joints with a good product like the Legacy one and epoxy over, but I would not. I think cracking of the epoxy over any joint certainly can eventually happen and usually does. I would leave the expansion to expand or contract as needed. For non-expansion joint cracks or other floor defects, I would use a "epoxy cement" with a 100% solids epoxy and about a 4:1 silica sand to epoxy mix, then diamond grind over when dry to perfectly match the plane of the floor around the defect. I would not use this or anything like it in expansion joints myself. - Paul