So I put a 3 coat with flake epoxy system in my garage. Lessons learned

[sammyg2]

Looks great, you are quite the expert now.

Finishing up my garage floor should be a piece of cake for you but I can wait to see how you address the cracks and old oil stains from decades past.

When can you start?

[rusnak]

I've been looking at the epoxy with flakes also.

My GC told me that it's not so durable, so recommends a sealed finish to the concrete.

I want to seal the expansion joints, and then use a colored light grey epoxy because I need to keep the area dust free, and clean. We have some different things going on from tool storage to food container storage, so I need to be able to mop the floor. I installed a floor drain where I expect to have the most dirt track in.

I've been looking at different industrial floor finishes.

[1990C4S]

Poor man's finish.

Using Boiled Linseed Oil as Concrete Floor Sealant | DoItYourself.com

[jcommin]

Originally Posted by speedster911

Finishing my new garage and considering an epoxy floor.

For everyone who has DIY epoxy floors - with the grinding/ sanding- what do you estimate your cost per square foot cost? .. with or with out beer

Living in CA , estimate I have received is $6.25 per sq foot. Guy claims he has been doing epoxy floors for 20 years. Said I should plan on redoing topcoat every 5 years.

This is a garage that I will roll floorjack on, drop tools, spill oil etc. Am I wasting my money should I just leave it as bare concrete ???

I epoxy coated the floors in plant I work in - $6.25/sq ft is a good rule of thumb for estimating cost. Getting the right coating and floor prep is the key. My aisles and floors last longer than 5 years.

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Timely thread, I'm also undecided what flooring to go with at the moment my first choice is large white porcelain tiles

[ltusler]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Hey, I like my oil stained concrete floor!

Me too!

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by speedster911

Great info- thanks everyone!!

Now to decide on color of floor!! any pros/ cons of dark floors ( Black or Red)? One thing leads to another - cannot make decision on cabinets until I make decision on floor color.

For concrete stain, are you topping it with urethane?

When I used the Behr stain product I didn't top it. I would think you'd have to use a water based urethane which as I understand it, does exist.
As for dark or not, I went with Taupe and "Autumn Blend" chips because it gave me light and dark and allowed for multiple choices on wall and cabinet colors. IIRC some dark colors tend to yellow over time where the light beige/taupe doesn't show the yellowing as much.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

Looks great, you are quite the expert now.

Finishing up my garage floor should be a piece of cake for you but I can wait to see how you address the cracks and old oil stains from decades past.

When can you start?

Not gonna happen Sammy, Not ever again!! I told my wife "next time, we just take e old concrete and pour new.
On the serious side, oil stains are easy. Pour straight Purple Power on them and hit them with 4000 psi and 150 degree water.
The cracks also easy. Use Epoxy filler and V groove them. But you're still not getting me to do it again.
BTW Sammy, I parked an old 95 Subaru Legacy Wagon on my floor. That thing leaked like a Porsche. And my floor was originally poured in 1997 so it has some age and come cracks. I could post a pic of one that I know was poured too thin and needed a surface repair. Used a Sakrete product and Epoxy fill to feather the repair.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by aschen

I went into ADHD mode about this very subject several months ago. Its amazing how much info there is related to this. There are alot of armature (and professional) coatings gurus on the web. In the end I found it all a bit depressing, everything seemed compromised, and the best bet seemed to be your approach (primer, 100% solids, Urethane top). Though I recall some fancy very expensive urethane was advocated. Once I put everything into the shopping cart for my new to me 3 car garage I was @ around $1500 or so in materials. In the end I cheaped out since I was poor from just buying the house.

I got the rustoleum solvent based epoxy (have to order, not the same as crappy home depot version). I put on 3 coats and not top. It was about $600 all in I think. It turned out surprisingly nice and seems very tough. There has been no scratching or cracking with jack stands or dragging heavy objects. I park my lotus with 60 treadware tires and there has been no lift up.

We will see how it holds up. Im sure with all the work involved I should have used the better stuff. If it peels up eventually I'll go with tile or rubber.

If you topcoat it should last for a long, long time. Through all of my research, initial floor prep and topcoat were the biggest things. I know the product you're referring to. It's not crazy thick like what I put on but from what I found it's a good product.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by cabmando

Not gonna happen Sammy, Not ever again!! I told my wife "next time, we just take e old concrete and pour new.
On the serious side, oil stains are easy. Pour straight Purple Power on them and hit them with 4000 psi and 150 degree water.
The cracks also easy. Use Epoxy filler and V groove them. But you're still not getting me to do it again.
BTW Sammy, I parked an old 95 Subaru Legacy Wagon on my floor. That thing leaked like a Porsche. And my floor was originally poured in 1997 so it has some age and come cracks. I could post a pic of one that I know was poured too thin and needed a surface repair. Used a Sakrete product and Epoxy fill to feather the repair.

sounds like a lot of work.
I'll prolly go to home despot and buy a few hundred of those 12 by 12 industrial asphalt floor tiles fer 50 cents a piece

[cstreit]

Originally Posted by daepp

Dropped screws - I can tell you - you get down on all fours and get your cheek about as close to the floor as possible and try - try - to see it from the side. It's amazing how hard those suckers are t find on flake epoxy floors..

THere's a trick to this:

Take a flashlight and place it on the ground. As you scan the floor with it, any nut or screw will cast a shadow. Makes it MUCH easier to see.

[Jeff Alton]

For dropped screws, get a magnet brush...

Our shop has multiple bays acquired at different times hence different floor coatings. They are all grey with fleck but differ in product and prep. The original by prep was done by a company that claimed to be pros. We got 5 years out of the floor and it needs to be done again, not sure which way we will go on that one. Other bays were prepped by true professionals. They shot blasted the floor prior. I can try all I like but can't seem to hurt that floor. Going on 3 years with cars in and and out all day long, welding roll cages, lifts going up and down yada yada yada. Totally durable.

My advice is to go with a light of a color as possible as it really will brighten the ambient light conditions inside your shop/garage.