New Garage Floor?

This is what happens when business is a little slower and you have time to sit and think; Our garage is used daily for not only

keeping 4 vehicles out of the weather, but also all of our unused cages, pest control boxes, shop vacs, etc. The floor is in pretty

darn good shape after 16 years of use and in order to keep it that way, I'm thinking about epoxying or tiling it. We are talking

about 1320 square feet so I'm going to have to catch a lot of raccoons to pay for it. Any of you guys have any experience or input

on a project like this?

They sell special paint's in industrial supply houses to seal concrete floors for use in warehouses, factory's etc.

My thoughts? I hope one day to catch as many raccoons as you Paul, so that one day my house may be bigger than your garage!

I have epoxy in my garage,,,,, It has held up well and is an easy self install product,,,but it is a man cave.. (don't buy the home depo kit)

Clean and Sand floor,,,,seal cracks,,,,paint edges,,,,,, roll and spread flakes.....

Tile would be nice but would chip and be expensive,,,, labor or 1300 feet would be about 1300- 2000.00,,, tile/ material would be 2000.00- 3500.00.

I have stained concrete also and it is nice when done right.......

Staining works best of burned finish floor,,,,,,,,Might be the best for your option as it is easy clean

Maybe fake wood laminate?...... there is a trafic master product that has adhesive edges and is a composite material?

I always wanted to see Wisconsin so buy a ticket and i will come help

Paul, I've considered doing this as well but one thing we have to think about some others don't is wintertime salt. I can't get what I consider to be a good answer out of the guys I know who install these products so until I'm 100% confident it won't need to be redone every 5 years I'm just going to keep with my well used and in some places blood soaked concrete.

Eric, I will try to remember to ask a couple of my customers about the road salt effect on their epoxy garage floors.

Vinke, I appreciate the offer but the adult refreshment bill alone would probably double the cost of the project.

Throw Back, bear in mind that I was 56 years old when we built this house so you have lots of time to catch those raccoons.

Big Bob, I think you can also seal the epoxy as a final step. I sure have lots to think about.

Paul:
The Fire Department had the floor of the fire station done. A company came in and shot blasted the floor and put down a colored epoxy. Looked great for about 7 months then started getting bobbles in the epoxy. I was from moisture coming through the cement. The floor and been in place for 15 years.
There was some fine print in the contract about moisture. To this day we still get bobbles and they have water in them when you brake them. The floor has to be clean of oil and dirt.

Getting There, that is an excellent point but I think we're covered. Where our house sits was actually a marsh at one time. ( I shot

pheasants on this place when I was a kid ) They filled it in with top soil, so the garage had to be dug out and filled in with

crushed rock so that the concrete garage floor wouldn't crack or sink. I wasn't happy with the extra expense at the time but I guess

I'm happier now.

Epoxy.....

Paul
Our station sits hi and dry. Good drainage but we think the water off the roof is to much and goes under the building. That is the only thing we can figure out at this time.

Getting There, once again a good point. I now know why the builder ran the downspout for the garage right into the sewer. The garage

itself has four floor drains and everybody said those drains were illegal. ( Except the State Inspector, who is the only one I care

about )

I epoxied my driveway 5 years ago and it's held up great for 5 upstate ny summers/winters.

im in the process of finishing my new shop now. its 30x40 w/12' walls. im adding a 30x10 leanto type addition off the backside this spring.

I haven't put a single vehicle inside it yet and wont till I figure out what im doing with the floor. Road salt can chip up cement as we all know. I will move my welding equipment in the one side so whatever I put on the floor needs to be able to handle sparks, etc. so far none of the cement guys ive spoken with have had a perfect answer.

I was over at a guys shop the other day picking up some cable and he put thompsons water seal on his. it looks great and is 15 years old I believe he said- he also said he has done it 2 times so far and it was getting due.

this is a great topic

...ah leave it be, look at it kinda like an old trap... after 15yrs, it's got a patina to it. Just keep doing what you've been doing and let it develop it's own character.

I know what you mean Stewie. When I was a kid, the neighbor's manure pile had a very destinked petunia to it.

I used the epoxy kits from Menards on my new shop. Took three kits as one kit only does 250 square feet. No vehicle traffic so can't speak to that.

Now there's an answer I can relate too.:) Great minds do think alike at times.