Shop floor finishes/coatings/coverings?

[Rod]

I'm looking for advise for shop floor finishes and would like to hear your experiences.

Currently, I have an epoxy coating on concrete. Its looking old and tired with some chips, scuffs and has some paint on it. The concrete is in good condition. I was checking the shop floor coverings from Costco.ca but both appear to have drawbacks; the roll does not always lie flat and can curl where as the tiles can allow fluids to leak through to the surface below. I looked at RaceDeck and SwisstraxCanada as both are available locally too.

Are there any other systems out there and are they worth buying? In your opinion would I be just a far ahead to recoat it with more epoxy?

[MK4]

In m'y opinion the epoxy coating has some real advantage, you CAN custom color it. Make some design with it. And it is really easy to clean because of the smoothness of the finish. On the other hand the other floor covering are an instant fix, and you get the look and feel right away.

Cheers.


Mk4

[AC Bill]

I prefer the epoxy as well. Seals cement extremely well, keeps dust down, easy to clean up spills, etc, etc. It's still fairly resistant to chips, but working around cars, there is bound to be a few created..

Can you simply lay another coating of it over the other, without having to strip it first?

The only issue I have with Epoxy sealant is, that if wearing certain shoes that are wet, it can be like an ice rink..lol

[Tatika]

Hi Rod:
I used VCT (Vinyl Composite Tiles) on the floor in the garage; purchased from Rona. Inexpensive enough, easy to lay, wears like iron, low maintenance and easy to repair. This is the same flooring you see in just about every supermarket because it wears so well.

Maintenance - Wash with soap and warm water. Recoat with liquid wax.
Scratches or other surface damage - sand the damaged area and lay down some liquid wax.
Repair - warm tile with a heat gun and lift and replace; suction cup or putty knife

Similar to the epoxy finish though, it can be slippery when wet.

Greg

[Derald Rice]

I have Wolverine Coatings epoxy and the only drawback that I have had is that it is not friendly to any welding activity. I used base coat, flakes, and clear. I have not had any problems with it being slick with wet feet.

For more information than you may need or want, go to www.garagejournal.com and on thier flooring page, there are 273 pages of garage floor coating discussions: Flooring - The Garage Journal Board

[CRAZYBOBDS]

How do you put the VCT tiles down? Does it matter if the concrete might get damp from underneath?


Bob Leach

[2FAST4U]

I helped a friend epoxy his floor. It's a two part finish and has a clearcoat. Very strong and looks great

[Tatika]

Crazybobds:
The VCT goes down with an adhesive for the tiles. There are a number of them available. The one I used was a water based formula that seems to work well - no tiles have lifted curled etc. I've soaked the floor may times with water, oil, gas, transmission fluid - no movement. Ultra-bond Eco 350. http://www.mapei.com/public/COM/prod...350_TDS_EA.pdf

Now, that said, I couldn't say if water wicking up through the concrete will affect the adhesive. I would suspect if the adhesive would be recommended for a basement, that might be an indication.

Greg

[tirod]

The commercial standard in auto shop concrete is floating it directly after pour, and that's that. Smooth finish, no overcoats, and keep it mopped up so spills aren't a work hazard, OSHA compliant. A working garage floor with overcoats quickly becomes worn, chipped, and has separation issues from brake fluid and petroleum distillates. So, most shops and architects simply don't put anything down.

My store has the traditional one foot square tiles in the showroom with commercial floor sealer cleaned and buffed monthly. We get hydraulic hoses of all kinds in the front door, Joe Dripdragger hauls his Dirtmover 9000 blade hose across the floor dumping fluid all down the main walkway to the back shop, and the stuff eats the top coat leaving brown stains for 6 months until a strip and recoat. No remorse on his part at all. The new store plan is polished tinted concrete. I'm sure they're top coating it by the same commercial service, but at least it won't look like crap as much.

On the other hand, I worked at a protein conversion plant that did use epoxy. The previous concrete floor was extremely deteriorated and hard to wash down. Another concrete cap was poured, and the new concrete covered before it could be contaminated. It was in service six months before the plant burned down, and was still intact when the burning embers of the roof structure went out. The BATF couldn't get anything in the way of accelerant off of it, and mentioned they don't like working that kind of floor. Nothing soaks in to be traced later. Good stuff.

So, it's either polished untreated concrete as a commercial standard, or epoxy coating, but most anything in between seems to chip, swell, score, discolor, delaminate, or get abraded. So most working shops don't use it. The tire retailers also never let new tires stack directly on a floor, because the volatile ingredients in rubber composition discolor most square tile or poured vinyl. And the new car dealers have square protectors they put under the tires on showroom floors.

Look around, plenty of examples of what works and what doesn't in the commercial world. The last place I would look is a big box lumber yard. They are the epitome of buy what I sell, but don't look at what we do - polished concrete is their standard, too. It's seems, umm, oh well, hypocritical to tout special garage floor tiles when their own architect and accountants nix the idea from the get go - but that's retail for you. They don't park the forklift in the flooring showroom, there's a reason for that.

It's outside on smooth concrete and "Keep that oil mopped up."

[Rod]

Thanks for your advise. I've narrowed it down to Greg's floor tile idea and re-coating the floor in epoxy.

[Tatika]

Rod:
If you are going with the VCT, a couple of points I learned:
1. Clean, clean, clean - pieces of debris under the tile or in the adhesive will eventually show up in the tile like a zit! A little raised tip, (that's tip ..... but maybe think otherwise) shows up in the surface of the tile. If its not too big it can be sanded down.
2. A regular tile cutter works well to score the tile and snap it. Alternately, a cheappy glass cutter and a straight edge works also.

Regards
Greg

[AC Bill]

Originally Posted by Rod

Thanks for your advise. I've narrowed it down to Greg's floor tile idea and re-coating the floor in epoxy.

Rod, just get the wife to do it for you, while you go for a cruise. You need to move the roadster anyway..

[Rod]

Originally Posted by Tatika

Rod:
If you are going with the VCT, a couple of points I learned:
1. Clean, clean, clean - pieces of debris under the tile or in the adhesive will eventually show up in the tile like a zit! A little raised tip, (that's tip ..... but maybe think otherwise) shows up in the surface of the tile. If its not too big it can be sanded down.
2. A regular tile cutter works well to score the tile and snap it. Alternately, a cheappy glass cutter and a straight edge works also.

Regards
Greg

Thanks for the tips Greg. Would it be worthwhile to also fill in any chips with some patching compound?

[Tatika]

Rod:
Yes, you should fill any holes and cracks as level as possible. Although you won't see them right away, they will likely show up in time.

Greg

[Rod]

I took Greg's (Tatika) advise and installed AZRock tile in my shop. It was a lot of work but I like the end result. Now I have to move back in.

Here is a photo.

[John4337]

I used racedeck tiles ( Garage Flooring | Garage Tiles | Garage Floors | Garage Floor Mats | RaceDeck ), easy to install in a day and move in. You can pull one out to replace if needed, and many colors and patterns are possible

John

[TAnderson]

Rod-
If you go epoxy I highly recommend hiring a pro that specializes in epoxy flooring. There are some specific prep steps (etching) and if not done correctly the epoxy will likely peel in the future. Plus that miriatic acid that they etch with is nasty SH*#.

This is one of those “you pay for what you get” deals and once that stuff is down there’s no re-do’s. Just MHO...
-Tom

[canuck1]

Originally Posted by Rod

I took Greg's (Tatika) advise and installed AZRock tile in my shop. It was a lot of work but I like the end result. Now I have to move back in.

Here is a photo.

Looks good. Looks kind of like epoxy actually! I can only just barely make out what I think(?) are seams between tiles if I zoom in.

Did you use the same adhesive as Greg or source a different type? What did you use to cut the tile?

Do you have any idea what the temperature range is for installation? Will I need to wait for next summer or do you think I could add enough heat with a few heaters?

Sean

[johnnybgoode]

I had my floor done with polyaspartic polyurea. It's expensive but looks great, was done in a day and has a 20 year warranty. We just bought the house and have no plans to move so I went for it and am very happy. My garage is only 400 sq/ft, if I was doing 1000 (I'd kill for a bigger garage, sigh.) I would have probably done something else. Here are a couple of pics. It's very easy to keep clean and is not slippery when wet and is not UV sensitive so can be used all the way out to the end of the concrete bib. The only down side is that if you drop a small nut or bolt on it, they are almost impossible to see/find. Regards Scott
Garage Floor 001.jpgGarage Floor 002.jpgGarage Floor 003.jpgGarage Floor 006.jpg

[barrhavencobra]

Hey Scott, does it still look like new? I am hoping to get ours done sometime. What would you have done differently if you had a bigger garage? We still need to find time to grab that beer,

Jim

[wildswing]

I've got a couple questions, if I may...

1 - For those who added the specks to their coatings, how hard is it to locate a small screw, or the like, when you drop it on the floor?

2 - For you northerners, how slippery is epoxy in the winter? Thinking walking in with snow covered boots.

[Rod]

Originally Posted by canuck1

Looks good. Looks kind of like epoxy actually! I can only just barely make out what I think(?) are seams between tiles if I zoom in.

Did you use the same adhesive as Greg or source a different type? What did you use to cut the tile?

Do you have any idea what the temperature range is for installation? Will I need to wait for next summer or do you think I could add enough heat with a few heaters?

Sean

Eh Sean:

Same glue, available at RONA. I used an OLFA knife to score a line on the tile then applied pressure to the score line until it broke. The tiles break very easily. For very small cuts I used a pair of end cutting pliers and nibbled off bits. I believe the lower temperature limit is 50°. I used a heat gun to warm up one of the tiles so it would conform to the ugly concrete I have in one corner. It worked.

I tried to buy the tiles at several RONA stores close to home but the only one I could find that carried the tiles was on 12th in Vancouver. The tiles are like the one you might see in supermarkets and industrial offices, not pretty but highly functional.

[JohnPR]

I used a really thick type of vinyl-rubber stuff, which comes on rolls. Each roll is 7.5 ft wide by 17 ft long. You just unroll it over the floor, and it's heavy enough that it doesn't move when you drive on it. No glue required. I bought 3 rolls, and it completely covered my double garage, with about 4 inches of overlap between the rolls. It's ribbed in the lengthwise direction, so you easily squeegee water and snow right out the garage door. Also, it doesn't soak up oil or antifreeze, so cleanup from spills is easy. I got it on special from Canadian Tire for $99 per roll; I think the normal price is $150 per roll. Costco has some too, but it's got a diamond-type pattern, rather than ribs, so although it's a bit more attractive, I didn't think it would be as easy to squeegee as the ribbed version. I've had it 5 years now and love it. No problems, no degradation, no hassles. And looks good too.

[Tatika]

Rod:
That looks really good! I have to ask though, where on earth did you move everything that was in your garage .... doesn't look like the one I've been in. Moving ALL the accumulated junk is absolutely the worst part of the job.

Greg

[zzmac]

Originally Posted by wildswing

I've got a couple questions, if I may...

1 - For those who added the specks to their coatings, how hard is it to locate a small screw, or the like, when you drop it on the floor?

2 - For you northerners, how slippery is epoxy in the winter? Thinking walking in with snow covered boots.

1. No problem finding stuff that you drop.
2. Just sprinkle a little sand on the epoxy when it's wet and it won't get slippery later.

[Rod]

Originally Posted by Tatika

where on earth did you move everything that was in your garage

Some of it went into the other garage, some into the TV room and some into the garden shed.

I've moving back in but trying to be very circumspect with the boxes of nuts and bolts, parts, stuff and junk. Got a good sized pile to go to the metal recycler and to the dump. I sold my radial arm saw and got rid of that monster saw bench which has freed up a lot of space. Its a much better arrangement.