My wife and I are under contract on a house in Lakewood and will have about a week to move. Before we move in I'm thinking about laying down some sort of finish on the concrete in the garage to make it easier to clean, more user friendly, purtyer, etc. I'll probably be doing it myself since funds are tight with the house purchase. Anyone have any experience with DIY products for this?

I've thought of doing this a time or two before as well. I'd thought it might be a good idea to fill all the slab joints with caulk, or something similar, to give the floor a uniform, unlined finish. Lest your engine stand catch a crack while rolling across the garage floor. Would the epoxy coatings do a good job of filling those joints? Am I being too OCD in my thoughts on the coating?

Even the stuff from Sherwin Williams will wear out after time, but it is much better than the el-cheapo crap that Home Depot & Lowe's sells. It is also more expensive. If you want it done right and have it stand up, it costs a lot of $$$$. We have a really good customer of ours that had to have their 5 car garage remodeled two summers ago. Our concrete guy cut the top portion of the slab off and used an epoxy material that is wicked tough. I can't remember the name of it off hand, but you have to grind the top layer of concrete off in order for it to adhere correctly. But I'd do what Dan said to do, clean the hell out of it and then use an acid etch on the floor before you apply anything to it and it will stand up a whole lot better.

I have used the Epoxy System called SuperCoat at my last 3 houses. Really nice stuff. I ordered it direct at my first house for around $200 per kit, but the send two homes I I got it at Sam's Club for around $70.00 per kit. Really nice in the dark tan and dark grey. The light tan/ivory was too light and did not cover well. Really good stuff.

Costco.com has a really nice kit for on special till April 15:

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Productgro ... 8*&topnav=

Prep is the key on any system. Muratic acid is not available at HD or Lowes but worth trying to find it at a more commercial retailer.

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/produ ... navAction=

Put a clear.over it the guy who does our garage floors toldme you habeto clear over it to.make it last

I did U-coat-in in TX with good results. I went the Sherwin Williams route on this floor and it's ok. Still much better than bare floors and the time for you to do it is NOW! Don't wait until you move in or it'll never happen. If U-Coat-it sold a 3-car garage kit, I would have done it again. I think I did two coats of color and one coat of clear on my floor. Wish I would have done a couple more clear, but time was tight.

As Chad mentioned, prep is key. I got Muratic at Home Depot in the pool cleaning section. In fact, I have a gallon still that I don't have a use for. (I think it's still in the garage anyway)

I also have a bunch of those reflective beads they put in the road strips that could be used as grit. I have heard that those beads help light up under vehicles although I have not tried it myself. You'll want to use some sort of grit because they are very slick when wet. I have not figured out a good way to get the grit or flakes evenly distributed. Maybe if you mix your last coat of clear continuously, you could put the grit in that coat??

I like my flakes. Wish I would have put more down:




Sealing the cracks is a nice idea, but I am not sure at what step you want to install it. If you install before paint, it'll bond to concrete better, but the paint probably won't stick to it and you may end up with chips in the paint either side of the crack. If you do it after paint, it may not bond to paint.

DON'T:
-clean spills with brake cleaner or starting fluid etc.
-put something hot on the floor like something you just welded.
-leave metal shavings iron filings on your floor. The rust stains the floor.

I wouldn't try to fill in the expansion joints as it serves as a good spot for water to drain off / out (assuming the floor was done done correctly to begin with).

Lol, I have yet to have one work that way. I usually have to squeegee the floor off.

Thanks for all the advice. I'll check with Sherwin Williams to see what the cost is for their system. I may also do some more research on the product available at Costco, that looks like it could be a good deal if it is quality. If SW is significantly more than that, it may be cost prohibitive at this point. JM, how did the grit on your floors change how easy it is to clean? The epoxy floors I've been on were slick when wet, but I don't want to have to deal with getting oily stuff out from around the grit and it doesn't rain much here.

I applied the grit like feeding the chickens, but it's impossible to get it even that way. I had an idea too late of using a hand-held seed spreader, but you'd have to test to see if the spreader would go fine enough. You could test with sand.

The grit is fine enough it's easy to clean. It'll tear up a paper towel, but the paper towel still gets the job done. The more dense you apply the grit, the more aggressive it'll be. But it doesn't take much to make an improvement on traction. And if you apply it mixed into the last clear coat, it'll be partially coated and you'll need a little more to get the same grip.

As far as the floor being slick when wet, if you pull a vehicle in that's been snowed on or otherwise wet, it only takes a few drops to put you bottom side up!

Even if I lived in AZ, I'd still put grit in my floors.

I have done 2 garages with the Rustoleum EpoxyShield and have never had any issues with it. As long as you prep/clean/etch/dry the floor properly, you'll be good to go. Personally, I see no reason to use the expensive stuff unless $ simply isn't a concern.

Regardless of what product you use, brake fluid will bubble it. That is the only thing that has happened with my EpoxyShield.

I used sand in the cracks and then covered them with Quikrete crack seal. Came out nice.

http://www.quikrete.com/ProductLines/Co ... ckSeal.asp

Sealing the expansion joints is a good idea. Water that seeps into the joint and then below the slab may cause expansive soils to expand, thus cracking the concrete. Seal with a good polyurethane caulk. Sikaflex 15LM is an excellent caulk for this. Available at Smalley and Company on south Jason Street in Denver. They make a "self leveling" version that you can simply pour into the joint and allow to level itself out, therefore not needing to tool it smooth.

Just like everything else, prep is everything when it comes to caulking. Clean the joint, make sure it is dry then apply the sealant. Allow it to cure fully. If you use a urethane instead of a silicone you will have no trouble with the floor paint adhering to it.

And yes - do it BEFORE YOU MOVE IN!!! I caulked mine prior to moving in with the idea that in a few months when we had settled in, I would paint the floor. That was 11 years ago. Never happened.

I may not know a lot about electrical stuff in our rigs, but I do know how to "caulk a crack"... Been doing it for over 30 years now.

ahh yes, Brake fluid is another enemy of floor paint. Had some drip down a jack stand supporting my bronco. Messed up the paint where the leg of the stand rested.

To get your distribution even, hook a fan up and let the flakes fall in the wind. There is no "sure fire" way for even distribution on that stuff. When our concrete guy did that one garage floor for us, he used a fan on a pole that was adjustable, have the fan higher for further out and lower for closer to the fan. You gotta put the flakes in while the floor is still wet/tacky. Then do an overcoat for added protection.

That fan is a good idea. Paint half your floor (quickly), spread the flakes, allow side one to dry, repeat on side two and I'd put my grit in on the last coat or second to last coat of clear.

Tried the seed spreader a few years ago and I didn't come out too consistent. My rustoleum floor has taken a beating and only a few spots have come up. My father in law paid big bucks on a floor and it peeled up with almost no abuse. If I could go back and do it over again, I would just use copious amounts of clear and paint flecks. I like that look.

Lila - How was the prep on both floors? With any paint, prep is key and it's no different on floors.

The Super Coat kit comes with silca sand to add grip to the floor and clear coat. The sand is added to the clear coat step. The color coating is put on in 4'x4' sections and put the flecks out as I painted. I have never sealed the concrete joints but wish I had. I think a epozy caulk would go in, dry, get painted, and really make it look finished and expand/contract with the seasons. The caulk will add to the time it takes as it would have to dry before painting and sealing.

You could just say screw it and spray Herculiner on the entire floor. I sprayed that stuff in my sister's Heep a few years ago in my dad's garage and that crap isn't coming off for love nor money. And that was with primer over spray on the floor. The only bad thing is that Herculiner is sucks to have to clean. Everything gets stuck in it...lol.

But really, the main thing is to clean the hell out of the floor with a grease cutter, then use something like Dawn dish washing detergent on it to get the grease cutting residue off. Use an acid concrete etching solution and then put the floor coating on. I'd put at minimum 2 coats of the coating on then throw the flakes, then a clear coat. The stuff is pretty good, but it only comes in amounts to do a single stall at a time. I'd have to check contractor pricing, but I'd imagine that it isn't any more expensive than the Home Depot/Lowes products and is better. It also comes in a variety of colors.

I've been doing some more research and I think I've figured out what I'll use:

http://protective.sherwin-williams.com/ ... oduct-6878

The stuff is supposed to wear like iron, given good floor prep and it runs about $175 for enough to coat 550sq feet once. Both of the SW stores I talked to suggested not clear coating it, which appeals to me. Apparently the best way to do it is to thin the first coat about 15% for better penetration, then do a second coat at full strength.

Now all I have to do is figure out whether I want to fill the expansion joints. I really like the appearance and ease of cleaning, but I'm concerned about long term durability of the filling compound. Apparently if you use something soft like a urethane caulk the epoxy can crack and chip as the substrate flexes and if you use something more rigid it can crack. Anyone have any experience?

The joints are a catch 22. Soft and you'll crack it by just rolling your floor jack over it. Hard and it could crack due to expansion or impact from a dropped tool.

My only suggestion might be to paint the floor without the cracks filled in. Then try to color match you filler with your paint. Or contrast your floor color for a tiled look.

Hey, I like the idea of contrasting the filler! I hadn't thought about filling after paint-that would address most of the concerns and allow use of a soft filler without paint cracking. I wonder if there are any issues with a polyurethane filler bonding to the epoxy. Mostly I want to be able to roll stuff around without dealing with the expansion joints. The floor is divided up into relatively small sections with smaller joints, so that could look really good. Maybe do a grey floor with black filler.

Prep work is definitely the key. I spent a whole day scrubbing and etching the concrete with acid. I also filled the expansion joint prior to application. I used a silicone sytle filler with a caulk gun. I have only noticed one spot where the silicone has cracked. I was talking with viper and I think a bed liner for the floor would work awesome. When I sprayed my bed liner, I used a cheap hopper gun. I worked awesome. I wonder how that hopper gun would work with paint fleck distribution.

A good polyurethane caulk (like the sikaflex I recommended above) will have no problem with normal expansion and contraction. It should withstand a 50% movement without failure. In other words if your caulk joint is 1/2" x 1/2", the concrete can move 1/4" in any direction and the caulking will absorb that movement.

The key to a long lasting installation is prep and depth. Your joint needs to be at least 1/2 as deep as it is wide. If you want more movement, then shoot for equal thickness and width. You must tool your joint smooth to press the caulking into every crack, crevice and pore in the concrete, if you just leave it to settle on its own, either use a self leveling caulk or don't bother messing with it at all, the joint will fail. Same policy for caulking as the epoxy, clean, dust free and dry when you apply it.

Paint and epoxy will not adhere to silicone, but silicone will absorb more movement, up to 100% movement if it is applied properly. The cracks noted in the silicone above were probably actually cracks in the epoxy/paint, the silicone is probably just fine. The downside to silicone vrs the urethane is cost. You will pay nearly double for a quality silicone vrs a quality urethane caulk.

It is up to you when you apply the sealant, but for sure you want to apply it prior to any clear coat. Clear coat tends to chip off and it would suck to notice your sealant pulling away from the crack only to realize that the clear is still stuck to the caulk.

Ask me why I know so much about caulking and I will explain that after 30 years in the window and door installation business, you get pretty darn well informed about proper weather protection and what products work and what does not. You will not see me purchasing caulking from Home Depot or Lowes unless it is DAP painters caulk for use in filling the nail holes and painting my baseboards at the house. The very best caulking sold in those stores does not have 1/10th the performance or durability as most of what we use in this industry. Water and wind are our biggest enemy, we battle constantly to control or contain them.

Prep is the key, I like a floor buffer to sand the floor instead of chemical treatments, and the 2 part epoxy systems from home depot work just as well. The one thing to remember after your finished and it is cured is to apply some wax to the areas your tires sit, that prevents the hot tire from making the coating peel from the floor which is the most common issue with epoxy coatings.

Never heard of waxing the floor after - what type of wax?