Question: Epoxy Floor Prep
 

I having the drywall finished in my garage in preparation of new cabinets. So, I spent the whole weekend emptying out the garage for the drywallers.

Since the garage is empty, I think this is my one and only opportunity to epoxy the floors and so I will spent the next couple of weeks preparing for this. I've watched hundreds of YouTube videos and I think I've got a good understanding of the prep work (i.e., clean, clean, clean, degrease, acid etch, grind/sand the surface).

My Question: You can see from my attached photos that I have a "wood" sill in this old house. This wood is always dry and I don't think it is ever getting any water from the outside but I think I should caulk it. I'm wondering if this is a) a good idea, and b) should I caulk this before doing the epoxy coating.

Any advice would be great (unless you suggest replacing the wood with cement - that's not an option for me).

I didn't take any close up photos but I may do that tonight.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1505149175.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1505149230.jpg

Tape it off, epoxy up to it and then come back and caulk the joint.

I just had my floor done- they sanded it. I asked about acid etching, they felt it takes a lot of work to neutralize the acid after it was applied and any remaining traces of the acid caused the epoxy to not stick which is why they didn't use that process.

Why not put a thin silicone along the floor and cover with an attractive baseboard

My local hardware store carries a baseboard that is basically plastic so it is waterproof. That's what I used. Just cut it like regular baseboard, nail it in and caulk it. No risk of water absorption.

If I had to do it all over again I would do the grinding method. The big difference to me is that acid etching isn't 100% even. There are going to be low spots in any floor so the acid doesn't stay in some areas long enough and puddles in other spots. The result is inconsistent finish.

I was planning on doing both acid etch and grinding. My thought is that the acid will help to remove any grease/oil that has seeped in over the years. This garage floor is 70 years old.

Do not use acid...you will never get it all out. the grinding should get out anything that has seeped/stained.

I just had the floors done here at work, They used a grinder and sanded the floors down to remove any kind of contaminate . They then painted on a grey epoxy and then sprinkled on the colored chips , after that dried over night they swept up the floor then coated it with a top coat of epoxy. There are different types of floor coating, the one you get from Home depot is not the same. They guarantied not to have hot tire pull up.

Big box stores sell water-based products. The commercial products are 100% solids - no water, no VOCs. They are much higher quality.

That being said, prep is key - just like it is with any other top coating process.

Neighbor in the pool deck refinishing business just now says he does not use acid anymore because the drying time using water is expensive.

He grinds, vacs and blows.

He did say acid works fine if you power-wash before and after. Before the final power wash you hose out the spent acid and broom wash with buckets of TSP.

yes, that is the issue....no one goes to the trouble to fully rinse it out. The amount of water you need to fully flush the acid takes ages to dry.. you realistically need to wait weeks before you coat the floor. Everyone tries to rush it and that is where you get into adhesion issues.

I used acid on one house. Pressure washed, acid, then pressure washed again and let it dry for several days. Then two coats of S-W Armour Seal. It lasted the eight years I was there with no issues. Very tough. I'm sure it's still fine another ten years later.

I just went through the whole epoxy thing. Clean it, degrease it and then grind it. Don't waste time with the floor sanders with the Diamabrush attachment. If your floor isn't PERFECTLY smooth you're wasting time. I went to Hertz rental and got a Husqvarna grinder with cutting heads. I would have saved an ENORMOUS amount of time had I gone that route first. The key is that you want to get up the sealer that is on the floor. Then you want to do a moisture entrapment test where you tape down a 3'x3' piece of plastic overnight to see if moisture wicks up. If it's dry, you're good. If there's moisture you'll want to use a water based bonding sealer. I used a system by originalcolorchips.com. It was not cheap!

BTW, the acid etch does not touch the oil. The oil has to come up with cleaner/degreaser. If you do go the acid route, rather than just rinse, get some baking soda and mix it with water to neutralize the acid. You use much less water when rinsing this way. But again, I'd just do the diamond grinding and call it a day.

Thanks for all the advice.

Since I won't be starting this for about 3 weeks, I will spend the time degreasing, presure washing, repeat. Then I will rent the proper grinder and grind the whole surface. The cement is in reasonably good shape but it's had a lot of oil on it over the years so I will spend extra time cleaning.

I will also spend time researching products. I'm open to suggestions - I'm looking for a good product. I probably won't go the Home Depot route as it seems that I have a lot more options when going direct to an epoxy floor manufacturer.

Check out the site I mentioned above. They're in Michigan. They have great customer service and will talk you through the process. I went with a heavy flake broadcast. The only regret I have is that they tinted the primer the same color as the epoxy. That made it hard to tell if I had covered the primer. I wouldn't recommend tinting the primer the color of the floor. I also went with a Urethane clear on top. From all of my research, the epoxy clear is thick but will yellow with time. The Urethane has a VERY strong odor when applied. The epoxy had no real odor. The nice thing about the Urethane is, it's not as thick as epoxy so the flakes also act somewhat as a slip resistant surface. I'm going to apply a second coat of Urethane on my floor but that's just by my choice. I was told by the company it really isn't necessary.

Main thing you want to be careful of is not just blasting away at the floor with water to remove the stains. You'll actually force water into the pores of the concrete causing water entrapment. Just get a really good degreaser. I used Purple Power from Autozone. I have used this stuff for years on my heavy equipment. If you pour it on straight, it'll actually lift some of the sealer on the floor.

I ened up purchasing a product called Armor Granite. It was not cheap but looks to be a very good, higher-end product.

http://www.armorgarage.com/garage-epoxy-floor-granite-kit.html

Good pick. I looked at their product as well and hard a difficult time deciding between them and the company I went with. Good luck and don't forget to post pics!

Are you kidding? I've been documenting my whole life. :)

My biggest hold up, at this point, is the drywall. I can't seem go get anyone to respond to my requests. I've contacted 3 drywallers on Craigslist, each had great pictures of their work and each listed that they have vast experience. Then I get a call back that my job is too big or no call back at all. You've seen my photo on this thread - this job is tiny.

If I can't find someone to commit by this weekend, I will order sheetrock and start doing it myself. I can do it but the ceiling is a bit tough when solo.

Quit looking for drywaller's on craigslist and just hire a drywall company to come out and do it for you. Drywall is not all that expensive, and the rates are pretty consistent across the industry. Hopefully your walls are framed in such a way that you can install the wall sheet rock in a vertical format.

When I used to install epoxy floors for my clients we would shot blast the old floor. You will not likely find rental equipment for this, but you will find companies that will do it.