Edgy01

Since all this is a lot of trouble (emptying out three bays) I plan to find a person who will shot-blast/media blast my floor so that it can perform better. Follow up with the muriatic acid and washes and then paint.

dan

brickster

i had an epoxy floor professionally applied. it lasted only three years before water seeping lighly beneath lifted the epoxy. had another paint before that. went to racedeck tile and am much happier.

brickster

I have had my garage floors professionally applied and epoxied. In my experience, it does not last. It either peels at where the tires are or, in the case of my garage, started bubbling from what appears to be water evaporation at one end of the garage. The latter may be unique to my garage. I threw in the towel and installed tile flooring. http://www.gladiatorgw.com/list.asp?catID=4
at first i was hesitant about installing the tile flooring because i was concerned about the feel of the floor (yea i know sounds kind of stupid), but i am extremely pleased. numerous colors. easy to clean. tiles replaceable. patterns can be applied as you design. i could kick myself for wasting money on the epoxy job. by the way, i redid the whole garage with gladiator products and they are superb.

ELUSIVE

I used these guys to do my garage floor. They are nationwide...I think. ABSOLUTELY AWESOME stuff and they warranty it for 10 years. I can post pictures of my garage if anyone is interested.

http://www.premiergarage.com

brickster

start a new garage thread. love to see how you did yours!

DrDrilZ

how about racedeck tiles? only real downside is they have a plastic feel to them. but you place some pergo underlayment beneath it to give it a sturdier feel.

ELUSIVE

If you spill oil or any other liquid on racedeck, how do you prevent it from seeping between the tiles?

brickster

at least for me, oil seeping has not been a problem--have no oil to seep since my old 996 had the rms fixed. that being said. the joints between are very tight and the tiles are designed to drain water underneath. not sure that would help with oil but can't imagine it being much of a problem. if there really a disaster you can pick the tiles up starting from the outside in. the only problem with the tiles is that i like them SO much that after i wash and wax my car i now also feel compelled to vacuum the flloor followed by a pressure wash and squeegee. that is just not normal behavior! i am sure i soemone sold acryllic slip covers i would install themlike my mother used to cover the family sofa.

Haku

Thanks for your post. I've contacted their TN location and am waiting for some information.

In the meanwhile any tips/pointers from you would be much appreciated... and some pics of your garage may be helpful.

Thanks again.

brickster

http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/garage_copy1.jpg

Deanski

Now THAT'S a garage! Good for you!!

Damn, wish I had one like that! Since I live in a condo I'm limited. Damn declarations!

I know Griots sells tiles like those as well as other items. Whichever way, it's an improvement over stained concret!

Deanski

wross996tt

Brickster...Your garage is cleaner than any room in my house. Wow...I'd be afraid to park a car in it. Very, very nice!

gravedgr

That stuff from Premier looks awesome. Has anyone used them before?

Edgy01

Well guys, I painted the floor.

I spent several weeks doing the preparation work. First, cleared out all the stuff. I mean everything. Even the stuff overhead. (This is a three car garage, mind you!) I put all my stuff out in my pool area, and on my deck. Even took out the salt tank for the water softener.

I started by using the Griott's Garage concrete cleaner on the oil spots. (Mind you, we built this house in 1967, so we have our share of spots). I would let it sit overnight and beyond. It scrapes right off. You can see that it is working well. I applied it repeated in tougher spots.

Followed up with a power wash, and then once dried, I started with my little P-Cable belt sander to remove things like paint droppings and rust spots. Once done (and pressure washed again) I etched it with 2:1 water to Muriatic acid. Rinsed all that out and then applied some of Griott Garage's concrete repair stuff,--a two-part epoxy. Don't mix too much at a time as it has about a 10 minute working time,--tops. It fills in cracks and chips in the surface nicely.

After 24 hours I hand sanded with the P-C sander all those repairs. Sanded the entire floor pretty much by this time,--for the second time. Time for another acid wash.

Rinsed all that out and followed it up with a good washing with ammonia mixed with water. They suggest about 7:1. Another good wash and pressure wash. Then let it dry.

Concurrently I focused upon caulking the wall board where it meets the concrete stem walls. Once fully dry I painted that with Griott's garage floor paint. (I went with white to match the walls and to max. the lighting inside). I did that in two coats. The first coating took 1/2 gallon of paint (for a 3-car 21 ft by 29.5 ft garage). After a day wait I applied the second coating. Took about 2/3rds of the balance of that gallon of paint. (Mix it only in amounts that you can reasonably use in 60-90 minutes).

Back to the floor. With the floor fully washed and neutralized I set upon it with the Griott's paint. I had reserved 5 gallons to do it. For the first coating I mixed up 3 gallons and put in the hardner. I pre-painted all the edges and sections around the garage door tracks with a hand brush. With a paint roller now I started applying the paint. I poured out a liberal amount directly onto the floor. From there I began to work the paint with the roller. I used the roller with a fairly long handle,--about broom-stick length. Once done (this was at night) I turned off all the lights (to keep the bugs out) and ran the garage doors down to within 6 inches of fully closed, left the windows open (screened) and ran a fan in there to speed up the curing. I went with 24 hrs of cure time for all three gallons of the paint. (I nearly ran out).

For the second coat the next evening I had two gallons remaining. I mixed them one gallon at a time this time. (The time it took to work on 3 gallons leaves the last bit pretty sticky). I started in the garage with the thinnest first coat. I worked my way across, again doing the trim areas by hand with the hand brush ahead of time. They suggest a foam roller but mine wasn't up to the entire job. Have spare rolls ready to go. I had more than enough (with 2 gallons) to finish the 3 bays with that second coat. The difference between that first coat and the final coat is amazing,--roughed up concrete certainly soaks in the paint!

Will post pics in a bit. Time will really tell whether all this prep work paid off. They suggest a 4 day wait before you put a car on it.

Now,--where's the car??

Tedder Bear

Excellent summary. I've been considering finishing my garage floor. I think the paint option just moved back to the top of my list.

One neighbor used tiles, one used the Home Depot paint, and a friend used the rolled mats. The neighbor who used the paint isn't very happy, but I'm sure his prep wasn't as comprehensive as yours.

I can't wait to see the pics (of the car in the grarage).