Shop Floor Finish

[Scott B.]

Finally, after almost exactly a year of occupancy, we have finished our shop floor.

Here was the process:

- Etched and rinsed the floor
- Applied two coats of epoxy in 24 hr increments with flecks added on final coat
- Injected Sikaflex in expansion joints, and flecked that too

Which has led to today being spent on baseboard/chair rail/panel details.

We did the floor with a waterborne epoxy, and I continue to be blown away by how well waterbornes perform on concrete, and I enjoy how easy they are to work with.

Here is the floor:

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It will never be this clean again.

If anyone has questions on this product or process, I am happy to help.
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[fritter63]

What was the brand of the epoxy?

 

[Scott B.]

H&C Shield Crete

 

[Chris H]

That looks great! How long does it take to fully cure? To drive a car on?

 

[Scott B.]

That looks great! How long does it take to fully cure? To drive a car on?

Thanks Chris. Its a chunk of work, but very rewarding when done.

72 hours for vehicle traffic
24 hours for foot traffic

 

[Steve R]

That looks great! How long does it take to fully cure? To drive a car on?

Thanks Chris. Its a chunk of work, but very rewarding when done.

72 hours for vehicle traffic
24 hours for foot traffic

Had a friend do this and you need to be very careful about dry time.  They too waited 72 hours and parked a car on it and it popped up under the tires.

When I read the product..... the dry time will state at XX temp and XX humidity it will dry in 72.  If your temp or humidity is not the number they quote, you will need to wait a lot longer.  It took more than a week for their floor to fully cure. In hindsight waiting would taken a lot less time than going back in and fixing it.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Scott B.]

Excellent point, Steve. It is much more likely to happen in 72 when the slab is radiant. Vehicle traffic is no messing around. Hot tire lift kills floors. Once the coating is up, its coming up.

Here is a customer floor, 4 bay garage, that we did with the exact system 4 years ago, and it is holding up fine to fat tire traffic:

[attachimg=#]

Prep is key. Proper etch or mechanical prep, and respect for cure times.

 

[peter halle]

Scott,

How slick is the finish on your floor?  I have been on epoxy floors that once they have sawdust or chips on them become quite slippery.

Peter

 

[Steve R]

Excellent point, Steve. It is much more likely to happen in 72 when the slab is radiant. Vehicle traffic is no messing around. Hot tire lift kills floors. Once the coating is up, its coming up.

Here is a customer floor, 4 bay garage, that we did with the exact system 4 years ago, and it is holding up fine to fat tire traffic:

[attachimg=#]

Prep is key. Proper etch or mechanical prep, and respect for cure times.

Good point Scott,

Here in upper mid - west (MN/IA) we can get to very high humidity/due points that lasts for days. At 80% humidity any new coating is not going to get to 10% water content via evaporation .... for a very long time. Chemical reactions are more controllable and stable. I have not looked up your exact product that is a "waterborne epoxy"  the water part concerns me..... but maybe the chemical creates enough heat to burn off the water?

Cheers,
Steve

 

 

[Scott B.]

Scott,

How slick is the finish on your floor?  I have been on epoxy floors that once they have sawdust or chips on them become quite slippery.

Peter

There are alot of factors that play into slipperiness. Its best if the concrete installers don't burnish it too much, leave it porous.

The flecks help to give it some grit, and the kits come with an additive that you paddle in when mixing:

[attachimg=#]

 

[Scott B.]

Good point Scott,

Here in upper mid - west (MN/IA) we can get to very high humidity/due points that lasts for days. At 80% humidity any new coating is not going to get to 10% water content via evaporation .... for a very long time. Chemical reactions are more controllable and stable. I have not looked up your exact product that is a "waterborne epoxy"  the water part concerns me..... but maybe the chemical creates enough heat to burn off the water?

Cheers,
Steve

 
[/quote]

Steve

It is a hot mix, but the effectiveness of it is more a reflection of the advancements of waterborne technologies in general over the past 5 years. The key is not to get greedy and try to do it in one coat. The first coat should be on the thin side to bond to the concrete, then the second coat a little heavier to bond to the first coat. If that initial bond is compromised, its not going to be as durable. We test the first coat when dry with a variation on the fingernail test, a scraper test. If you can't cut it with moderate pressure on a scraper, adhesion and bond are very good.

What I like about it waterborne is that it breathes. In radiant slabs, its not so much an issue because the tubing helps ensure a dry slab, but in non radiant basements for instance, an oil or other non waterborne that doesnt breathe in the event of moisture can be catastrophic. I had one fail about 15 years ago and it is a mess.

 

[Steve R]

What I like about it waterborne is that it breathes. In radiant slabs, its not so much an issue because the tubing helps ensure a dry slab, but in non radiant basements for instance, an oil or other non waterborne that doesnt breathe in the event of moisture can be catastrophic. I had one fail about 15 years ago and it is a mess.

Breathe-ability is great. Just don't find radiant slabs that often here in MN. So it goes down on cold slabs even in the summer. I like the product but up here.... let it  cure for a very long time or you will have problems.  What I hear from installers here is in new construction no problem. In an upgrade situation. do the floor first and then have the wall cabinets install take too weeks. ;D

Then everyone is happy. 

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Sean.M]

I use the H&C 2 part a couple times a year, last year I used the H&C concrete stain matched to the epoxy color and I liked it quite well.