Epoxy for garage floors

superd

superd

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I welcome any suggestions or experience you can share regarding recommended brands or how to apply epoxy to the garge floor. My builder wants to charge around $1,500.00 to do the job.......wife said ABSOLUTELY NOT at that price but she did agree to the "do it yourself" price with the following products;

-Rustoleum
-Quickcrete

Any feedback? I'm reading mixed reviews

Thanks :thankyousign:
 
superd said:
I welcome any suggestions or experience you can share regarding recommended brands or how to apply epoxy to the garge floor. My builder wants to charge around $1,500.00 to do the job.......wife said ABSOLUTELY NOT at that price but she did agree to the "do it yourself" price with the following products;

-Rustoleum
-Quickcrete

Any feedback? I'm reading mixed reviews

Thanks :thankyousign:
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Check into Rezstone ,,Hoover Wells. If you call them ask for John Corsini. At one time he was going to do my 2 car garage (free) but I was not ready. I gave John contracts over the years worth over $500000.00 Let me know if you need further assistance.
 
I used the Rustoleum kit and it worked great for me. I applied it the day I closed on my house, before I moved everything in. I think it looks great and durability wise it holds up well after a year's worth now of jacking up my car to work on it with jackstands and dragging all kinds of heavy stuff over it. I paid $80 for the kit and it took me a full morning to prep and apply it, then I gave it 24 hours before I even walked on it. This was all on a previously unfinished concrete floor that was pretty clean. I'm very pleased with it.
 
transambrotha said:
I used the Rustoleum kit and it worked great for me. I applied it the day I closed on my house, before I moved everything in. I think it looks great and durability wise it holds up well after a year's worth now of jacking up my car to work on it with jackstands and dragging all kinds of heavy stuff over it. I paid $80 for the kit and it took me a full morning to prep and apply it, then I gave it 24 hours before I even walked on it. This was all on a previously unfinished concrete floor that was pretty clean. I'm very pleased with it.
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In most cases floor needs to be etched with acid.
 
Yes, I forgot to mention that, I did that the night before to make sure the epoxy adhered correctly. And when it's time to apply the epoxy it helps to have a buddy rolling it with you because the cure time is 2 hours after it's mixed if I recall right. So you have a limited time to actually paint it on. So taping and prep needs to be perfect before you start rolling it.
 
I used ucoatit in my shop. It is very durable.no worries about hot tire pick up.
 
Everything I have read on doing it emphasizes one thing ..... PREP PREP PREP

if it's new concrete it has to have the proper amount of time for the concrete to cure and get all the moisture out of it or it won't bond. Also want to do your own moisture test before starting
 
chaotik said:
Everything I have read on doing it emphasizes one thing ..... PREP PREP PREP

if it's new concrete it has to have the proper amount of time for the concrete to cure and get all the moisture out of it or it won't bond. Also want to do your own moisture test before starting
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Looks like you know your Epoxy. if you have more then 15% (not positive on that ) moisture it will lift in sheets. Ne dry floor needs etching, primer then epoxy. Old floors need same , but it needs to be build up epoxy. By no means it is real easy if you want it to look and work good. If you just apply without proper prep save your money and don't do it.
 
Yeah.. Did slot of research on it because if some of the horror stories I heard. I also used the U coat it system. I would put it in the middle price range and think it's a solid system to use. I went one step further and rented a floor grinder and gave my floor the once over with it. Rather spend forever prepping and have it last, then having to deal with it failing and the mess that follows.

You will have to look it up, but I think it's atleast 2-3 months of curing to let your slab cure and dry out... Might be even longer depending on where you live and humidity/ temp, etc. Just make sure you don't just jump into it figuring it's been long enough... Do a moisture test to save the headaches.
 
chaotik said:
Yeah.. Did slot of research on it because if some of the horror stories I heard. I also used the U coat it system. I would put it in the middle price range and think it's a solid system to use. I went one step further and rented a floor grinder and gave my floor the once over with it. Rather spend forever prepping and have it last, then having to deal with it failing and the mess that follows.

You will have to look it up, but I think it's atleast 2-3 months of curing to let your slab cure and dry out... Might be even longer depending on where you live and humidity/ temp, etc. Just make sure you don't just jump into it figuring it's been long enough... Do a moisture test to save the headaches.
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I was told it takes 28 days for concrete to fully cure. Does moisture fall under the 28 day rule or is this a separate issue?

Is primer a necessary step or added measure? I am wanting this stuff to adhere properly. I asked the builder not to seal the garage, I was told this helps.
 
I used a 2 part epoxy, with a 2 part clear coat. One thing you need to consider is the. Clear coats from lowes or home depot WILL yellow and look like sh**. I did my own epoxy and came out good, IMO rent a diamond grinder and grind all imperfections. Put concrete caulk on all the expansion joints so it looks good or better yet make it flush with a concrete filler. Do it right because if so it will last a long time. Btw check out EpoxyCoat.com they just started selling their kit at lowes, only thing you need to get off their site is the clear coat which is UV resistant.
 
Btw with the stuff I used no primer needed, but contact them to make sure.
 
on one garage i used rustoleum. was not inpressed . on my other garage i used quikrete . i have to say that quikrete is the better of the 2
 
Jomax said:
I used a 2 part epoxy, with a 2 part clear coat. One thing you need to consider is the. Clear coats from lowes or home depot WILL yellow and look like sh**. I did my own epoxy and came out good, IMO rent a diamond grinder and grind all imperfections. Put concrete caulk on all the expansion joints so it looks good or better yet make it flush with a concrete filler. Do it right because if so it will last a long time. Btw check out EpoxyCoat.com they just started selling their kit at lowes, only thing you need to get off their site is the clear coat which is UV resistant.
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Any clear coat that is oil based will yellow or turn gold.
 
Rustoleum professional with a coat of their clearcoat on top


Ryan

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I did my garage floors about 3 years ago and they still look great. I put this floor through some abuse. My only complaint is that I allowed a puddle of anti-freeze to dry on the floor and it permanently stained the floor. :doh:

I roughly spent about $200 dollars for material and supplies. This what I used;

Muriatic Acid
Behr Concrete Primer
Behr Epoxy Concrete Paint (they has various colors to choose from)
Rustoleum Premium Clear Epoxy

After a weekend of work I had a very professional looking floor.
 
superd said:
I welcome any suggestions or experience you can share regarding recommended brands or how to apply epoxy to the garge floor. My builder wants to charge around $1,500.00 to do the job.......wife said ABSOLUTELY NOT at that price but she did agree to the "do it yourself" price with the following products;

-Rustoleum
-Quickcrete

Any feedback? I'm reading mixed reviews

Thanks :thankyousign:
Click to expand...

I wouldn't use either of those systems. I have seen then both and weren't impressed. I have used epoxy-coat and the sherwin williams brand epoxy. The sherwin williams brand is my favorite. It has a longer working time, plus you get better uv protection bc it comes with a clear coat, and gloss coating, so if your doors are up alot this will resist the yellowing effect. Also the shark grip, slip resistance that comes with this system is much finer, wheres the slip resistance with other systems is very course and hurts to walk on barefoot. Also you can buy more decorative flecks, with other systems ive found it difficult to buy indivdual packs of flecks. The prep is by far the most important part. I like a system that uses phosphoric acid, vs muratic acid....word of advice, make sure you stop @ the garage threshold. Paying a contractor that much is crazy, but I also wouldnt skimp and buy an $80 kit. you will have to see it everyday, you dont want to regret bc once its down its down! Goos Luck!
 
A-train said:
I wouldn't use either of those systems. I have seen then both and weren't impressed. I have used epoxy-coat and the sherwin williams brand epoxy. The sherwin williams brand is my favorite. It has a longer working time, plus you get better uv protection bc it comes with a clear coat, and gloss coating, so if your doors are up alot this will resist the yellowing effect. Also the shark grip, slip resistance that comes with this system is much finer, wheres the slip resistance with other systems is very course and hurts to walk on barefoot. Also you can buy more decorative flecks, with other systems ive found it difficult8 to buy indivdual packs of flecks. The prep is by far the most important part. I like a system that uses phosphoric acid, vs muratic acid....word of advice, make sure you stop @ the garage threshold. Paying a contractor that much is crazy, but I also wouldnt skimp and buy an $80 kit. you will have to see it everyday, you dont want to regret bc once its down its down! Goos Luck!
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I am definitely going to research Sherwin Williams. I have an account with them & get a discount. I didn't know they had a garage kit. How long did it take you to finish the process?
:dblthumb2:
 
superd said:
I was told it takes 28 days for concrete to fully cure. Does moisture fall under the 28 day rule or is this a separate issue?
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For type 1 cement, which is typical for home construction, it takes 28 days to reach the designed compressive strength, it is still curing after that - in theory, the Pantheon is still curing. There are 5 types of cement (that ACI recognizes) that can be used in concrete, each have different curing times or chemical resistant properties. As a benchmark, on heated interior installations I have the contractor wait 3-6 months before sealing joints in concrete to ensure a full cure, if necessary they can seal after 2 months but I don't sleep well when they do. For exterior installations I have them seal joints prior to any freezing weather, but wait as long as possible. Again, I'm talking joint sealant, not epoxy coating.

The issue with curing is shrinkage in the concrete, if you don't wait long enough you apply the coating, then the slab shrinks and you get wrinkles and delamination in flexible coatings and reflective cracking the rigid coatings. Even at 90 days of cure you have only reached 20-35% of the max. shrinkage.

In terms of Moisture, choose an appropriate type of coating, there are breatheable and non-breatheable. I have seen cases with a high watertable and no vapor barrier under the slab, where moisture wicks up from the soil and with a non-breatheable coating you get blistering in the coating.

BASF is a great brand. Disclaimer: ALWAYS follow the manufacturer's recommendations.
 
superd said:
I am definitely going to research Sherwin Williams. I have an account with them & get a discount. I didn't know they had a garage kit. How long did it take you to finish the process?
:dblthumb2:
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I opened an account and got discount pricing, its really quite fairly priced. I was doing a 500 sq ft shop. start to finish it took a including prep it took 3 days. By no means was that me working all day for 3 days. once the main coating was down (4.5) mils thick, I waited 24 hours the started my clearcoat and gloss coats allowing 12 hours to dry in between. so the last two days I may have had 1 or 2 hours a day in it. Another benefit I forgot to mention is that it while putting the flecks down in the main.coat, if your not satisfied with the coverage u have thrown out or u want more you can always add more when u put down ur clearcoats. this was helpful for me bc I wanted heavy flecks in mine and was able to add throughout the process.
 
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