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Garage Floor Solution

887 views 25 replies 18 participants last post by  SCOTTMCCLAIN 
#1 ·
Gentlemen, after reading the heartbreak about the Race Deck, I want to offer a suggestion.

My frim has built a number of car dealerships - Ford, Nissan, Volkswagon, Infinity, Porsche, Acura, Mini, Audi, Land Rover, etc. In the service areas, we never use anything like paint or any sort of surface-applied coating. Invariably, surface coatings wear out quickly and chip and peel excessively. Once you paint a floor, the only way to get it off is to bead blast it - expensive.

Modern dealerships WANT customers to see the shop - every one of 'em has windows into the service areas where customers can see the techs working. They can't afford to have a crappy looking floor.

We have done a number of shop floors with this sealer: Ashford Formula It looks good at first, but it gets better every time it's mopped or buffed. We pay about $0.50/sf installed, although I'm sure it would cost more for an individual's garage - small area. It can be done by an individual, though - it's not rocket science. Pre-cleaning is the biggest PITA.

There are other products out there that do the same thing - Sonneborn, Paul Wolff Co, Master Builders and Euclid all make similar stuff.

Similar products can also be gotten in color, or the concrete can be stained before the sealer is applied (this looks VERY cool - often used in fancy lobbies). Staining costs me about $1/sf to have done. Again, it can be done by an individual.

A sealee concrete floor will repel moisture, oil, grease, solvents, etc. It isn't a surface treatment, but a chemical change to the concrete.

Any construction supply house will sell one of these products, most often the Sonneborn stuff.

All the best,
Tag
 
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#2 ·
Shodan, where were you when I build my house???Sounds like re-finishing is very difficult especially since I have an epoxy coating on my floor now, which is peeling!
Thanks for the info. I'm thinking of adding a work garage and will surely keep your product in mine!
thanks
Bob Mac
FFR3981
 
#7 ·
By the way, some pretty good pictures of concrete stain are here: L.M. Scofield

These guys are the major manufacturer. Just a hint if you like the look of stain - on an older floor, you MUST use a product called stain enhancer on the floor prior to staining. Stain works by reacting with the alkali in concrete, and on older concrete that has leached away. Whatever you do don't make the mistake I did once and acid wash the floor before staining. What a mess!!!

Bob, as far as getting rid of the old epoxy, you need to bead blast the floor. Most commonly, I see blasters use ground walnut shells as a blast medium. Again, it's not rocket science, but I doubt that any rental yard will rent out a bead blast machine. We use some one-lung guys that travel around with their machine on the back of a 1 ton truck. a machine costs about $12k or so.

Personally, my garage floor is so screwed up that to get it to look good would take a miracle. But my back patio is stained and sealed, and it looks great 20 years later.

All the best,
Tag
 
#8 ·
Well I guess I'm back to Armstrong Solarium linoleum. I used this in my other garage but will have to get 2 12 foot sections to do the entire garage...You have to make sure you have the shop cut it so the squares match up if you want the correct checkerboard effect...I had no problems parking on it and it cleaned up with a squeegy and broom...Biggest PITA is getting all the air bubbles out from it when laying it down....Best price I found is 1.99 a sq ft...

Randy
 
#10 ·
Tag,

I am just starting construction on a new house and this sounds just like what I am looking for. My only question is how slippery does it get when wet? I have found some of the coatings people use tend to be even more slippery than bare concrete when they get wet.

Murph
 
#12 ·
Murph, this stuff can get pretty slippery, but that's the trade-off for staying clean. Certainly it's not enough of a problem for dealership service departments, since a LOT of them use it.

But then, standard troweled-finish concrete is pretty slippery when wet, although most home builders don't do that good of a good hard trowel - it's more expensive that a less well-troweled finish and most homeowners don't know the difference.

If I wanted a really cool looking garage, I'd stain and seal it with a clear sealer like Lapidolith. It will last for a LONG time, never peel, and look great the whole time. Not only that, but the mottled colors of the stain hide the dirt. After about 5 years, you might have to re-seal it to renew the shine, but it will never absorb anything. Second choice would be the Ashford, which is what the pro shops use. Roughly, prices installed are:

Plain concrete - FREE!!!
Ashford - $0.50/sf
Stain/seal - $1.25/SF
Cheapo vinyl tile - $1.75/sf
Good vinyl tile - $2.75/sf
Race Deck - $5.00/sf

I also should point out that for the vinyl flooring to be properly installed, you must use a moisture barries, which costs another $1-2/sf. This is required because non-asbestos vinyl tile doesn't breath like the old stuff did, and water vapor leaching off the new slab will stain and damage it. It can take a year or more in the sun to dry out a slab enough so that you can use vinyl without worrying about moisture.

In fact, I'm about to write a contract for $75,000 worth of Ashford for a new Porsche dealership.

All the best,
Tag
 
#13 ·
Tag,

Thanks very much for the info - it sounds like just the ticket. My 28 x 38 garage floor is being poured on Monday...and there's a distributor in Calgary - 3 hours south of me.

Andrew
 
#14 ·
A neat product from the Whirlpool Corporation, Just a FYI.

The wide rolls install easily either under vehicles or wall to wall to hide stains, cracks, and chipped or peeling paint. The premium grade thickness of the non-porous material keep it in place without the need for adhesives. When it's time to clean the floor covering, simply hose it off or powerwash it in or out of the garage. The 8' 2" wide rolls are offered in three lengths to fit almost any garage.

UL Classified
Gladiator™ Roll Floor Covering is classified by Underwriters Laboratories Inc. for fire exposure as it relates to critical radiant flux and slip resistance.

Premium Grade Thickness
The beefy .090 inch thickness of the base floor covering material makes Gladiator™ roll floor covering the thickest residential garage roll floor covering on the market.

Installs Without Adhesives
The heavy weight and thickness of the flexible floor covering keep it in place and allow it to conform to the floor without the need for adhesives.

Under Vehicle or Wall to Wall Installation
Rolls can be placed under vehicles for partial floor coverage or wall to wall for full coverage. The 2 inch underlap flap allows for easy seaming of multiple rolls that prevents gaps from appearing between the rolls from expansion and contraction during seasonal temperature changes.



Hank
 
#16 ·
Interesting thread and good info -- thanks! I'm building a new home right now and am debating what to do about the floor. I don't really like the RaceDeck stuff myself, so these other solutions are interesting.

At one of our homes, we've had epoxy down in a four-car garage for 15 years without a bit of chipping or peeling. Maybe its longevity has to do with applying it properly? Ours was done during construction -- no idea, but I like it.

Cheers, John
 
#18 ·
Snake,

It's built to take Jacks, Jack Stands, Creepers, any thing that has hard or soft rollers, etc. anything you would find in a normal garage.

Hank
 
#19 ·
Hank, that stuff looks great. Just what I need to cover my VERY ugly floor. The epoxy dribbles from my LAST project are impossible to remove without damaging the concrete.

Andrew, tell your contractor that you want a very hard,"burned" trowel finish. This means that the concrete finisher will take an extra pass with the trowel at the end of the day when the concrete is getting pretty hard - certainly hard enough to walk on. Also, it wouldn't hurt to call the contractor and Ashford today and make sure that he's using a compatible curing compound.

If you can't get hold of Ashford, call Paul Wolff Co. in Orange. They have a similar product that is just as good as Ashford. For these commercial projects we do, we take prices from both companies since we consider them equal.

All the best,
Tag
 
#21 ·
My job has me doing consulting on floors, moisture problems etc. As stated by Tag, one concern with some of the flooring products is the moisture vapor coming out of the underlying earth and creating pressure that will lift the paint, or destroy the adhesive. Especially for those in cold climates, the spring thaw in a garage will create a lot of moisture coming up from below. For those building new garages, be sure to put a good vapor barrier under the floor. It should be a virgin polyethelyne a minimum of 10 mils thick. Most of the poly from the lumber yards is recycled milk jugs and is much more permeable. The vapor barrier should be placed directly below the concrete. Previously, a layer of sand was placed over the vapor barrier, but it has been found to trap moisture in the sand, and it never gets out of the system. In addition, keep the concrete mix very "dry". don't let the finishers add water to the mix, this just increases the moisture problem. A mix with larger aggregate and high range water reducers will reduce the curling effect and reduce the water in the system.

If you have a floor that you want to put some type of covering on, get hold of a calcium chloride water vapor transmission test. This is a small plastic dome that a tray of calcium chloride is placed in and left for three days. You then weigh it after the test is complete, and with some calculations you get the amount of water vapor transmitted through the floor over 1000 sf in 24 hours. Typical values for paint or sheet goods would be less than 5#. Each manufacturer puts out the data on their product. Be sure to check that your floor is below the rating, or you will have a problem.

With higher amounts of moisture, the water based adhesive break down and you have them oozing out of seams, or turning into odd smells. This has happened in the last few years as the VOC's have been taken out of products. This is a huge problem that is developing in the flooring industry. You can get the test kits from most places that sell wholesale flooring materials.

If you absolutely have to put down a floor, and you have vapor transmissions that are high, there is a company called Koester American that sells a product called VAP1 I think. This can be applied and does a very good job of redcing vapor transmission. As Tag said, this is not cheap. Many of the others claiming to reduce vapor transmission might work, but I ahve not head good luck with them.

Steve
 
#22 ·
Like TAG said, a good sealer is much more durable than even high-quality paint. One thing to check before purchase, though, is whether or not the product you want to use is suitable for old concrete, even if previously unfinished. One product I'm familiar with, Euclid Diamond Hard, is a great sealer and finisher. But, it reacts with the lime in the surface of freshly cured concrete (it's supposed to) and won't work well at all on an old surface. Also, most of these products require a bit more than a quick roller application, so be sure to read the instructions and tell the sales rep what you are doing before you purchase and apply the product.
 
#23 ·
Max,

There are three different floor covering sizes to pick from. You can find it at Lowes, Sears, and Gladiator Garage dealers, just look under dealers at the Gladiator web site, I'll ask you to input your zip code and give you the nearest dealer.

Roll Floor Covering (8 Ft. x 24 Ft.)
Roll Floor Covering (8 Ft. x 30 Ft.)
Roll Floor Covering (8 Ft. x 36 Ft.)

Hank
 
#25 ·
I treated the floor of my shop today with the Ashford Formula. Besides the pain of removing everything from the shop so I could get at the floor, it was easy:



Application was pretty straight-forward, only really 2 steps, spray it on with a low pressure sprayer (keeping it constantly wet), and evaluating the condition 30 minutes later. If the solution is mostly still there, wait until it starts to get slippery, then hose and squegee it off. If it is mostly gone, squegee it off.

Only immediate differences I can tell is the surface texture is a little smoother, and water doesn't soak into the floor anymore, it has to evaporate.

It only cost $115 to treat the entire shop floor. Pretty cheap.

I'll update in a few weeks.
 
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