bluesman2a
Well-known member
This is a continuation of my original thread here:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=105762&highlight=Epoxy
Originally, I had purchased 2 full Epoxy-Coat kits from Lowes, just in case I needed some more coverage on my attached 2-car garage. I wound up NOT needing the extra, which brings us to the current project.
On the detached shop, I will probably NOT use epoxy in the main work areas. I just do too much welding/cutting/etc. that would kill it. So this is just phase 1 of 2, where I will be doing the bathroom, compressor/mechanical room, and machine shop with the second kit.
Background: I have recently managed to make some progress on my shop bathroom, the drywall and painting are done, the shower has been done, the electrical is done, and the countertops are on the way. It was time to address the floor.
The Specs: Why epoxy? Well I was looking for something durable, non-slip, hate grout lines, and needed something that could wipe-down when I use it as a kennel for the dogs. Oh and CHEAP, let's not forget CHEAP. I already had the kit, it was paid for, call it $170/5, and I did my bathroom floor for $35 plus some consumables I happened to have on-hand. I can also refinish/repair it myself if necessary later.
Thoughts: In my original post, I covered a LOT of the mechanics, and this installation was less than 1/4 of the size of a normal "garage" floor. The remainder of this will be improvements I made from the original installation or things I learned to do better this time around.
Cut-in tools: On one of my other projects I picked up one of those 4" mini rollers like this:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
There are several types of rollers, MAKE SURE you get the ones with the nap, and NOT the foam ones, these do better getting into nooks and crannies in stem-walls.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
This tool beats the SNOT out of cutting in with a chip brush. I'd say it was the MVP for the day. The stem-walls I have were somewhat porous and this really got down into it. It also goes a LOT faster, with not as much deep bending. For anybody doing any kind of shorter stem-wall or cut-in work, I HIGHLY recommend getting one of these. Much like the regular rollers, these dry up fast, so have some extra covers on hand if you are doing several sections.
Flakes/Traction: This is going to be a wet environment with the shower and big wash sink. I really didn't want to use the aluminum oxide since I felt that would really make it difficult to clean. Based on my previous experience, the flakes are enough for good wet traction, but for the purposes of this installation, I just used a VERY heavy flake. We used the entire flake content of 1 kit in about 1/4 of the normal area, so about 4 times heavier than you would get with the normal kit. I particularly like it and it even gets a very high wife-approval rating. Who am I kidding, the flakes were her favorite part, she loved watching me bounce them off the ceiling. I've already ordered another 2 pounds of flakes for use with the rest of the kit.
Measuring:
THROW.
THE.
STICK.
AWAY!
I just bought the cheapie disposable plastic measuring cups (1 and 2.5 quart sizes) from Depot, they are like $1-2 and when you're done you can toss them. If you are doing a big project, this lets you pre-measure ALL your sections before even starting, so there's no "left-over" problem. I also used a disposable spatula, which is nice for getting EVERYTHING out of the measuring containers.
Mixing and the Mixing Tool: When I finished my last installation I found quite a bit of material left in the bottom of the big bucket. This time, I had a sturdy stick there to help scrape it off the bottom of the bucket. I also attempted to use the supplied mixing tool to "dig" down into the gunk stuck to the bottom. That didn't work well and the circular thing on the bottom of the mixer broke off. I had a paint mixer around that I switched over to and OH MY GAWD, it did SO MUCH BETTER! Do yourself a favor, before you start your project go GET one of these:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
They dig down into the muck in the bottom of the big bucket MUCH better, mix more thoroughly, and are much faster. When mixing the two parts of epoxy, I think it also does a superior job of getting it all cross-linked properly. I know a few folks have had issues with this recently and I think this is a worthy investment to make SURE everything is mixed appropriately.
SqueeGee: On my big project, I bought a 36" squeegee for pulling the material out. For this one I used the supplied small Ikea squeegee. It worked well in the smaller spaces and if you aren't doing a large floor, I can see where it might be nice. But if you are doing BIG spaces (in excess of 1-bay), invest in a bigger squeegee.
As bonus on this time around I got to use the big squeegee for cleaning/prep and to get all the water removed/managed. Things dried out MUCH faster this time.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=105762&highlight=Epoxy
Originally, I had purchased 2 full Epoxy-Coat kits from Lowes, just in case I needed some more coverage on my attached 2-car garage. I wound up NOT needing the extra, which brings us to the current project.
On the detached shop, I will probably NOT use epoxy in the main work areas. I just do too much welding/cutting/etc. that would kill it. So this is just phase 1 of 2, where I will be doing the bathroom, compressor/mechanical room, and machine shop with the second kit.
Background: I have recently managed to make some progress on my shop bathroom, the drywall and painting are done, the shower has been done, the electrical is done, and the countertops are on the way. It was time to address the floor.
The Specs: Why epoxy? Well I was looking for something durable, non-slip, hate grout lines, and needed something that could wipe-down when I use it as a kennel for the dogs. Oh and CHEAP, let's not forget CHEAP. I already had the kit, it was paid for, call it $170/5, and I did my bathroom floor for $35 plus some consumables I happened to have on-hand. I can also refinish/repair it myself if necessary later.
Thoughts: In my original post, I covered a LOT of the mechanics, and this installation was less than 1/4 of the size of a normal "garage" floor. The remainder of this will be improvements I made from the original installation or things I learned to do better this time around.
Cut-in tools: On one of my other projects I picked up one of those 4" mini rollers like this:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
There are several types of rollers, MAKE SURE you get the ones with the nap, and NOT the foam ones, these do better getting into nooks and crannies in stem-walls.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
This tool beats the SNOT out of cutting in with a chip brush. I'd say it was the MVP for the day. The stem-walls I have were somewhat porous and this really got down into it. It also goes a LOT faster, with not as much deep bending. For anybody doing any kind of shorter stem-wall or cut-in work, I HIGHLY recommend getting one of these. Much like the regular rollers, these dry up fast, so have some extra covers on hand if you are doing several sections.
Flakes/Traction: This is going to be a wet environment with the shower and big wash sink. I really didn't want to use the aluminum oxide since I felt that would really make it difficult to clean. Based on my previous experience, the flakes are enough for good wet traction, but for the purposes of this installation, I just used a VERY heavy flake. We used the entire flake content of 1 kit in about 1/4 of the normal area, so about 4 times heavier than you would get with the normal kit. I particularly like it and it even gets a very high wife-approval rating. Who am I kidding, the flakes were her favorite part, she loved watching me bounce them off the ceiling. I've already ordered another 2 pounds of flakes for use with the rest of the kit.
Measuring:
THROW.
THE.
STICK.
AWAY!
I just bought the cheapie disposable plastic measuring cups (1 and 2.5 quart sizes) from Depot, they are like $1-2 and when you're done you can toss them. If you are doing a big project, this lets you pre-measure ALL your sections before even starting, so there's no "left-over" problem. I also used a disposable spatula, which is nice for getting EVERYTHING out of the measuring containers.
Mixing and the Mixing Tool: When I finished my last installation I found quite a bit of material left in the bottom of the big bucket. This time, I had a sturdy stick there to help scrape it off the bottom of the bucket. I also attempted to use the supplied mixing tool to "dig" down into the gunk stuck to the bottom. That didn't work well and the circular thing on the bottom of the mixer broke off. I had a paint mixer around that I switched over to and OH MY GAWD, it did SO MUCH BETTER! Do yourself a favor, before you start your project go GET one of these:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
They dig down into the muck in the bottom of the big bucket MUCH better, mix more thoroughly, and are much faster. When mixing the two parts of epoxy, I think it also does a superior job of getting it all cross-linked properly. I know a few folks have had issues with this recently and I think this is a worthy investment to make SURE everything is mixed appropriately.
SqueeGee: On my big project, I bought a 36" squeegee for pulling the material out. For this one I used the supplied small Ikea squeegee. It worked well in the smaller spaces and if you aren't doing a large floor, I can see where it might be nice. But if you are doing BIG spaces (in excess of 1-bay), invest in a bigger squeegee.
As bonus on this time around I got to use the big squeegee for cleaning/prep and to get all the water removed/managed. Things dried out MUCH faster this time.
