Paint the Garage Floor

[TowPro]

I am going to build my dream garage this summer.



I live on a hill, so I can build a 4 car, 2 storie garage, 2 cars parked on top floor, truck and shop on bottom floor, concrete floors on both floors, no Center collumns, 28' X 28' outside dim, 10' door for truck, heat, etc, etc,.



I want to know what have others tried (that worked) to paint your concrete floor? I think I should add something to it so its not slippery. I can't have the wife pull into the upstairs garage, skid on the wet floor and go on out through the wall on the back side, which would drop down about 11'!



How long should I allow the concrete to dry before painting it? (days, weeks, years?)



I have been dreaming about building this garage 25 years now and its going to start this spring!

 

[esommer2500]

http://consolidated-coatings.com/concrete/coatings.htm



http://www.goldenglowpaints.com/Articles/Application/Concreteflr.htm



http://www.vogelpaint.com/painting_concrete_floors.htm



http://www.amerimexpaints.com/html/concrete_floors.html



http://www.chemcosystems.com/projects_boeing.html



http://www.passonnopaints.com/passonno/industrial/concrete_floors.htm



http://www.midwestfloorcare.com/Pride3.htm



http://www.spectrapaint.com/industrial/sierraepoxy.html



http://www.sunwallpaperandpaint.com/paintconcrete.htm





I have been pouring concrete for about 6 years, but I have to admit I haven't painted any. There are some suggestions I can make. You probably want an epoxy-type paint. I am not familiar with what works, but I would stay away from the Lowes, Home Depot stuff. Check around some of the truck shops in your area that may have painted floors. Maybe they can tell you what they used and you can see how it is holding up.



As far as curing, you need to wait at least 28-30 days; the longer the better. There are also moisture problems that need to be sorted out, that is part of the waiting for a complete cure. Watch humidity levels, warming the shop quickly on a cold day, etc.



For slippage, we normally throw superfine silica sand on the slab if we roll on a heavy sealer. Unfortunately, the EPA decided we couldn't use the nice curing/sealing compound that we used to, and we haven't found another kind that works that well, so we stopped sealing shop floors unless the owner specified it.



You will need to see if the paint or whatever you use can bond directly to the concrete, or if you have to use a bonding or etching agent before application.



You are talking about having a suspended slab for the second story of the garage? Think twice about this move, it's going to be very, very, expensive. Don't think that you can just home-engineer this type of thing either. I poured concrete decks for a parking garage that was underneath an apartment building in Denver a couple of summers ago as an intern, and they were normally about 16" thick. It's no picnic. You will have pour concrete walls all the way around the perimeter of your lower level to support the second floor. Even then, I doubt you will be able to get away without having any columns in the center of the first floor.



I spent a whole semester last year studying suspended slabs and form design. This stuff is not easy. You may have a hard time finding a contractor that is willing to try it. If I were building it, I would pour the lower level walls and floor first, and then attempt the suspended slab. Be sure to leave bracing in the lower level doors all the way to the lower level slab.



Ok, I'm rambling. This sounds like a neat project, but please make sure you have someone engineer that suspended slab for you. If there is anything else I can help you with, don't be afraid to ask.



Eric

 

[TowPro]

I put my design on paper (AutoCAD 2000) and will be heading to the engineers in a week or 2.

Originally posted by esommer2500



Ok, I'm rambling. This sounds like a neat project, but please make sure you have someone engineer that suspended slab for you. If there is anything else I can help you with, don't be afraid to ask.



Eric [/B]

 

[illflem]

I highly recommend concrete sealers that are applied within days of pouring the slab. You put it on heavy with a hand held garden sprayer and it soaks into the first few inches of the slab, lasts forever since it's part of the slab. It will seal the slab against oil stains and keep the concrete dust down, you really don't have to paint after it unless you want some color. After the sealer most any high quality floor paint will work great, doesn't even need to be epoxy type.

 

[TowPro]

give me a name of a sealer. I used something called GL or something on the basement floor. It was a good price if I recall.



What I am really after it to make it easer to clean up that "black mess" that always seems to run out of my diesels!

 

[Todd T]

i am just the opposite. being in the body business i crawl around on the floor quite a bit on my hands and knees. when i built my garage i poured the slab absolutely flat and smoothed the (you know what) out of it with a hand trial.



i would think hard about that before making it too rough of a finish.



if my wife was entering the garage that fast she would be sat down and talked to... ... . i wouldnt want to risk her hitting my precious $2000 tool box oh' i mean, hurting herself

 

[esommer2500]

Definetly get a hard troweled smooth finish on your floors. Unless the area is really small, (10x10 or less) your concrete contractor will probably use a power trowel. My comment in my earlier post was to use silica sand with the sealer in order to make a 'semi-rough' surface. We do this alot in garage floors, and have even done this in bathtubs and showers where we have poured a decorative tile-like floor. It will provide some traction, but you will still be able to roll a creeper accrossed it without any problem.

I highly recommend concrete sealers that are applied within days of pouring the slab.

The problem with this, unless using a sealer specifically designed for curing AND sealing, is that the slab will not be able to 'breathe' and will not come up to strength as quickly, and may possibly not make the required strength at all. This is not a good situation with a suspended slab.



Eric

 

[ToolManTimTaylor]

Bar none the BEST

 

[Rosco]

For the ultimate "who cares what it cost " go here.



http://www.backstop-usa.com/firehousefloors.html





If that is out of the budget I have another option. I used to work for a company that made prefabricated concrete pump stations. These were the large underground type that sometimes were as deep as four levels below grade. Anyway, We used to paint the interior walls and floors with a two part epoxy paint which I belive was made by Glidden. This stuff was pricey but not outrageous and it is high quality.



Hope this helps.

 

[illflem]

Originally posted by TowPro

give me a name of a sealer.

The stuff I've used is called RadonSeal Standard, it was pricey but worth it. Takes about 5ga/1000sq ft @ about $30/ga. Best applied as soon as you can walk on the slab. The concrete will cure slower and as a result be stronger with no cracks.

http://www.radonseal.com/concrete-sealers.htm



Another tip, cut any expansion joints after the slab has cured with a saw, makes it easier to roll things around.

 

[Scot]

We have had the bay floors painted twice here at the fire department in the last 15 years. The super duper epoxy they used was slick as glass when wet. At a fire station, that is most of the time. At one station, it did not bond to the floor and we peeled up about 2500 sq/ft of it in a couple of days. Quite a bit of it could be grabbed and pulled up in giant sheets. The stuff we have now has some grit in it and it is not as slick. Tire chains will ruin it.

 

[esommer2500]

Best applied as soon as you can walk on the slab. The concrete will cure slower and as a result be stronger with no cracks.

Though I don't doubt that this sealer will work well in most applications, suspended slabs pose an entirely different set of standards. One of which is strength as the concrete cures, which can be either prohibited or encouraged by the sealing/curing compound used within the critical 28-day period after placement. My concern in pointing this out is that the slab may not be up to strength (which really needs to be tested by test cylinders taken at the time of placement and broken by the test lab to determine the strength of the concrete in the suspended slab) and could ultimately cause a failure (especially if there are not center columns for support) once construction has preceeded on the upper level.



Although sawcuts and construction joints will aid in the tendency of the concrete to crack in the area of the joint, it will only do that: AID in the concrete's ultimate decision to break/contract in that area. A very old farmer told me a couple of summers ago that concrete only does two things well: get hard and crack. It is estimated that each 10 cu yd. load of concrete will yield at least 1 good crack, though it may not be evident to the human eye. A control joint or sawcut basically creates a weak spot in the conrete that will invite the crack to happen there, but the end result is still the same. The only difference between a sawcut and a regular crack is their apprearance. We try to cut our slabs with an early entry saw (SoffCut) immediately after 'burning' the slab to a smooth, hard troweled finish. We also try to cut into 1000-1200 sq ft sections. Also, while interning in Denver with the suspended decks in the parking garage, those slabs did not get cut. The decision was made to let the slab decide where it wanted to crack, and I would recommend this for the suspended slab in question here as well.



Eric

 

[TURBOs4LIFE]

Preping floor

How can you prep a concrete floor that is about 1 year old? I am getting ready to paint my floor and need to know how to prep the floor. I have very little oil on the floor. Any tips would be helpful!

 

[TowPro]

Re: Preping floor

Most of those links posted earler in this thread have directions on floor prep. they talk about an acid bath that etches the floor. Check them out.

Originally posted by TURBOs4LIFE

How can you prep a concrete floor that is about 1 year old? I am getting ready to paint my floor and need to know how to prep the floor. I have very little oil on the floor. Any tips would be helpful!