Garage Flooring - Page 4

Hoona · 03-30-04, 11:20 PM

Hi - I am putting up a new 3 bay garage and should be pouring the footings in the next couple of days. Going with radiant floor heat (New England) and wonder what is best to use for paint. Gathering from the others, epoxy is the only way to go, but with a virgin floor do I need to wait for the moisture to come out before I paint? Do I need to etch a new floor? Any ideas on specific brand names that won't kill my budget and yet I want a quality result - Any ideas/thoughts/rec's? Thanks Mark

Peter D · 03-31-04, 02:30 AM

After 3 years of building on a raw concrete floor, my advice would be to go with an epoxy or urethane based paint - the following unavoidable spillages (in order of frequency of occurance) will be able to be just washed off :

- Bloodstains
- Primer
- Base Coat
- Clear Coat
- Oil

My floor is still (some of it) raw concrete, but large areas are multi-coloured ! In hundreds of year's time, some bright archaeologist will unearth it, analyse the layers, & figure out why the Delaney branch of the human race became extinct !!

Kind Regards,

Peter D.

Bill Hara · 03-31-04, 02:59 AM

Any traces of human hair on that floor? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

bclough · 03-31-04, 07:09 AM

[ QUOTE ]
...epoxy is the only way to go...

[/ QUOTE ]

Nuh uhh, Race Deck

Peter D · 03-31-04, 07:40 AM

Bill - plenty of human hair will be found embedded in the layers. All of it is mine & I freely admit to being the one who pulled it out. All of the blood is also mine, but I didn't do it - it was a vengeful GT40 that kept biting me !

Interestingly, the hair that will be found in the lower layers (blood + primer) will be quite dark, whilst that found in the upper layers (blood + clear-coat / oil) will be grey !!!

Kinds Regards,

Peter D.

**patbarry** · 03-31-04, 06:24 PM

28 day cure minimum to allow the concrete to fully hydrate. Make sure your contractor installs (correctly) a moisture vapor barrier - not just 2 mil plastic from Home Depot (no offense to Home Depot).

Hoona · 03-31-04, 08:45 PM

If not 2 mil - how thick - thanks for the response - Mark

**patbarry** · 03-31-04, 11:08 PM

6 mil minimum. Plastic should be installed after the sand bed, not under the sand. When they vibrate the slab, ask the crew not to punch holes in the poly with the vibrator (they do this sometimes to allow bleed water to drain quicker so the get on the slab and begin to finish). This negates the entire reason for the poly.

Malcolm · 04-01-04, 06:51 AM

Ahhh waiting for this paint to fully cure ie a week is proving really frustrating. I want to be in there now!

When I was checking my concrete slab for moisture content, one of the tests I carried out should be easy for anyone to do. I taped a sheet of polythene (about a mtre square) to the floor and then weighed it down with a rubber mat and heavy boxes. I left it 24 hours and then lifted it. If the concrete had breathed moisture it would collect and be darker than the grey of the neighbouring surface dry concrete. If there was no colour difference then the floor is dry enough to paint.

If you are building a garage I have some steels that I had made to floor mount and then hang engine hoists off. See my new ad in the for sale section.

**patbarry** · 04-02-04, 09:33 PM

The plastic is a good way to test for moisture. We tweak the test a bit and duct tape the plastic to floor. Pull if after 24 hours and see what you get. If you want to go crazy hang a light bulb over it and try and draw the moisture out.

Frank Catt · 04-03-04, 04:35 PM

Sorry guys, nothing beats car pet! Frank

Paul Thompson 'Hooligan' · 04-03-04, 05:15 PM

Hi Frank -

My 'simple picture posting' instructions worked then! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
(whoever said you can't teach an old dog new tricks?) [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

JOSEPH · 04-03-04, 05:15 PM

Like that red carpet!!!! Do you think it would look good under a blue GT-40?? I bet red and blue goes good together. Joe [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

**patbarry** · 04-03-04, 06:28 PM

That does look good! And I bet it's a dream if you have to get down on the floor to do something. Is it easy to clean?

gt40rick · 04-04-04, 04:58 AM

I have navy blue carpet and it looks great with the red car on it. Just make sure that the car is house broken first. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

JOSEPH · 04-04-04, 11:01 AM

Will do Rick. I spanked mine yesterday and it is clean as a whistle. Joe [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Mark Worthington · 04-04-04, 11:43 AM

Thinking of carpet in a garage reminds me of a T-shirt I almost bought at Oshkosh a couple years ago. It said, "Radial engines don't leak oil, they just like to mark their territory."

**patbarry** · 04-04-04, 09:28 PM

How's your weather Ron? Would I be correct that this weekend was not a painting weekend?