Stupid epoxy question

[nonhog]

Been looking at ways of adding heat to certain areas of my shop.
Thinking about floor heat, too late for a hot water system. I have seen electric grid type that you would put under tile.
Not so sure about the tile idea. The area in question would be my "clean " bench small parts, model cars, slot car repair, that sort of thing . tile might be o.k. there but am wondering could you epoxy over the grid ? Actually would look cool if it was clear.
http://www.tileheater.net/
My guess is it wont work but I really dont know for sure. Thanks

 

[AlphaGarage]

Can't speak for other products, but our Wolverine coatings work just fine over in floor heating systems.

There's another thread here about one of our customers who had put down some BondTite and thought that it looked so sharp he thought about not laying down the color coat. The epoxy he used is BondTite 1101, which is our clear epoxy that's used for both the primer coat and the clear coat.

You could also use BondTite 1101 as the primer coat, and then our EnduraShield 2254 as the clear coat. It's UV stable, a bit harder, and crystal clear.

 

[nonhog]

Thanks Fred,
just to be sure you understand my question the floor heat grid sits on top of the slab . So your saying Bondtite and ES2254 could be applied thick enough to cover the "grid" and be smooth ?

Brad

 

['the epoxy floor guy']

Doing the process you are speaking of is POSSIBLE. The challenge is the cost.

Based on the 'electric' mesh systems I have seen you would need somewhere between 100-150 Mils of Product.

That would be the equivalent of 16 and 11 Sf per gallon (@ 100sf/gal). IF you have a 450 sf garage and estimating 13 sf/gal you would need 35 gallons. If you purchase 'regular' epoxy @ $40 / Gallon it would cost around $1400.

By using this method you will lose some of the heating capacity of the cables. SOME, Not a lot.

Unless seeing the cables is 'key' you may want to consider installing a thin layer of 'thinset' mortar. This will not interfere with your heating and give a good base to install your Epoxy over.

Another option is to install your garage with a 'quartz' system. Applying an epoxy then applying quartz as the decorative additive. Sweeping off the excess then repeating until you have completely covered your cables. This too would not interfere with your conductivity of the heating cables.

Lastly, You can STILL put in hot water heat and pour an additional 2" of concrete OVER your floor. Using a pea gravel mix and 4000-5000 psi mix you can use an acrylic bonding agent applied to the existing concrete to get a GOOD bond. OR you can hire a company to come in and pour over 1 1/2" of Gypsum based concrete. This will also be suitable for an epoxy coating.

Hope this gives you some ideas of your options.

 

[menz300]

Another option would be a decorative concrete overlay. You could do a colored and stamped overlay over the heat system.

 

[thegarageguy]

a 1/4 inch polymerized cement underlayment is the way to go. Then epoxy coat it, stain it, dye it, polish it or whatever.