Steve AKA vitessesteve Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 I am nearly finished with building a garage workshop. The concrete slab was machined to be flat. I want to seal the floor. What paint would you use? Alternatively I could cover the floor but specialist garage vinyl or tiles seem expensive. What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 Firstly, and assuming it was laid over a DPC, it will take months to dry out fully. And inch a month springs to mind. I didn't leave mine long enough... Anyway, the floors are usually sealed with dilute PVA (I bought te correct sealer, and yes, it was dilute PVA, annoying as I had lots of te stuff lying around at the time) I thn used an epoxy floor coating. Mainly it has lted really well, but a few area it has lifted. The Kitcar boys seem to like the screwfix "no nonsense" garage floor paint. But I would use very dilute PVA first, maybe 5-1 so it soaks in well, then another coat the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 1 hour ago, Clive said: The Kitcar boys seem to like the screwfix "no nonsense" garage floor paint. Me too. But I was going over a very old floor which was anything but smooth. Didn’t seal it as such but did thin the first coat a fair bit and it soaked in. it’s done pretty well. Except that the newish Falken tyres stick to it and pull it off if you park up while tyres are still hot (can happen with epoxy too) Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrapman Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 I picked up a pile of old carpet tiles at work. Solved the issue of the sticky tyres pulling the paint off, though I think the surface in the front garage wasn't finished 100% correctly. 1 under each wheel. The back garage had a much bette r surface, I did that with an epoxy undercoat and then a 2-part epoxy grey top coat. Almost bomb-proof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 I use old house carpet. Costs nothing, use it for a 5+ years then throw it away when it gets dirty. Benefits are that things dropped on it don't bounce and it seems to avoid the worst of tyre flat spotting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve AKA vitessesteve Posted February 9, 2022 Author Share Posted February 9, 2022 Thanks for your input. The slab is a nominal 6 inches deep so I will have to leave the floor to dry for now. 1 inch a month to dry or 1mm a week apparently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosbif Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 1 hour ago, Steve AKA vitessesteve said: 1 inch a month to dry or 1mm a week apparently. Err... That doesn't work. 1 inch is approx 25 mm. Maybe 1 mm per day? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve AKA vitessesteve Posted February 9, 2022 Author Share Posted February 9, 2022 Yeap you are right. I was mis remembering the metric version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hogie Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 When I was at work in the hangars at Heathrow the concrete floors were not painted However they had a beautiful smooth, dust free almost glossy surface. How was that done. Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPearce Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 That sounds like a "powerfloat" finish. The concrete is laid and tamped as usual, but then it's smoothed, first with a big flat paddle then, as it is drying, several times with a rotating disc. I had my garage floor done that way so that the trolley jack will roll over it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batch Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 As has been said earlier you do need to let it dry out fully and prepare the surface carefully. I used Sika floor epoxy resin floor paint for my new garage five years ago and I am still very pleased with it. Applying an epoxy paint can be more effort than a tin of garage paint from you local hardware store, the one I used came in two parts which needed mixing and you then have limited time to apply it before it starts to set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve AKA vitessesteve Posted February 11, 2022 Author Share Posted February 11, 2022 I had my slab power floated too. It is very smooth. However it will still need sealing? During the construction of the workshop.a few dents has been made. So the epoxy will smooth those out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batch Posted February 11, 2022 Share Posted February 11, 2022 I think the answer to your question is that it will depend on the product you are going to use and you need to follow their instructions What follows is taken from the Sika product data sheet for the paint I used - Substrate Preparation Concrete substrates must be prepared mechanically using abrasive blast cleaning or scarifying equipment to remove cement laitance and achieve an open textured surface. Weak concrete must be removed and surface defects such as blowholes and voids must be fully exposed. Repairs to the substrate, filling of blowholes/voids and surface levelling can be carried out using appropriate products from the Sikafloor ® , SikaDur ® and SikaGard ® range of materials. The concrete or screed substrate has to be primed or levelled in order to achieve an even surface. High spots must be removed by e.g. grinding. All dust, loose and friable material must be completely removed from all surfaces before application of the product, preferably by brush and/or vacuum. I had my builders run a grinder over the surface when I was ready for painting it. I then brushed and hoovered the dust, letting the particles settle out before repeating several times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted February 11, 2022 Share Posted February 11, 2022 Been following this with interest, as I painted my garage floor twenty years ago with an International (the boat paint people) product. AFAICR I just swept the dust off the floor and put it on with a roller. It's done well, there has been a bit of pick-up from tyres and the alcove where I store my tool roller cabinet has ruts from those hard wheels! But I had to seek education on "cement laitance"! This site would seem authoritative and offers a detailed explanation and how to manage it: https://theconstructor.org/practical-guide/concrete-laitance-causes-removal/27050/ This blames laitance on poor technique, too much water in the mix, the quality of the concrete or aggregate, and "overworking or overmanipulating" the surface, which puts doubt on some on the above suggestions, and that you shouldn't get laitance, if the contractor was properly skilled. Certainly, all I had was a dusty surface, which the paint sealed completely. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G Reg Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 I had a new garage built last year and also faced the floor challenge...and leaving the slab to dry properly for months. I couldn't wait as the garage was needed for the cars to be in over the winter. We had planned to put down a finishing screed layer on top of the slab, which is laid over a block and beam floor. Rather than the screed we laid bog standard driveway brick paving. It was about the same cost as the screed and immediately usable. Its tightly laid but i can still lift out any blocks that get really badly oil stained and either just turn them over or replace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy Dawes Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 On 05/02/2022 at 21:04, thescrapman said: I picked up a pile of old carpet tiles at work. Solved the issue of the sticky tyres pulling the paint off, though I think the surface in the front garage wasn't finished 100% correctly. 1 under each wheel. The back garage had a much bette r surface, I did that with an epoxy undercoat and then a 2-part epoxy grey top coat. Almost bomb-proof. I have done mine with carpet tiles , hardwearing and keep the rising damp away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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