garage floor: what would you do?

[vw fiend]

the floor of our garage was epoxied poorly before we moved in. it looks terrible, it sweats when it's hot, and gets super slick when it's cold. the options so far, thanks in part to garage journal are below. approximately 400sqrft:

1. professional grinding by concrete polishing guy (was expecting under $1k); price $2500
2. rent concrete maintainer, $275 + $275 more for discs (24hr rental) + truck rental to get it home
3. race deck; $1k-ish
4. porcelain tile $1ish sqrft + time
5. roll of rubber matting; not a fan, didn't even check price
6. professionally installed epoxy, which after lots of reading not sure I trust any of it $1500

I want safe, and low budget; but I'm not really sold on any of these, though I think I'm leaning towards renting the maintainer.

[vw fiend]

floor with grinder based test spot:

[Mister MK4]

grind it. i have a feeling you'll also have issues with the other options.

[vw fiend]

Thats the way I'm leaning. Just talked to a nice guy on the phone, he owns an epoxy company, and will grind the floor clean for $600; epoxy it for $1100 - thats the best I've seen yet, this company, actually:

http://epoxyindy.com/home.htm

He says that if I were to just grind it and leave it, the floor would be like a sponge. What can I do to it after grinding on my own that would protect the floor? I have a feeling a good epoxy kit would cost me close too $500, and then I might as well have him do it - he said he can leave it clear, which I prefer.

[Slayer]

If it's sweating moisture, then I don't think epoxy is the right solution.. might be why it's so ****ty now. Everything I see says to tape down a 1x1 square of plastic on all sides and leave 24 hours, and if there is moisture under the plastic, then don't epoxy

I bought epoxy for my garage, but ended up putting it to use right away, so I haven't had a chance to put it down.. just bought racedeck to do instead, that way I can shuffle stuff around to do the floor

[vw fiend]

it sweats on top of the old epoxy; I'm assuming from the air and not from below. I'll do the taped plastic test, but if it comes back with water under it, what do i do? I think it needs grinding no matter what, but leaving it untreated is bad from what I understand.

[vw fiend]

what about a grind, then a seal? or does the grinding process destroy concrete too much to be able to reseal it?

http://www.radonseal.com/concrete-sealers/dryway.htm

[2004turbo]

Pretty sure that if there's water under the plastic test it means there is no vapor barrier underneath

[vw fiend]

built in the 60's, i wouldnt be surprised.

[barry2952]

Concrete is a thermal battery. It sweats because it's cold and it comes in contact with moist air. The only way to stop that is to replace it and insulate it. The moisture is coming from above, not below. The paint is a pretty effective moisture barrier.

If you replace it you can easily heat it with a coil of Pex tubing, a line-voltage thermostat, a small pump and a water heater, and you've got a heated garage floor.

[Markg813]

U-Coat It floor

[vw fiend]

U-Coat It floor

a quick search shows that its water based - I've heard thats the last thing I want; why do you recommend them?

[barry2952]

Mine's U-coat and regularly gets submerged in water when we have a super-heavy downpour, with no degradation in 10 years.

[capthowdy_1968]

I had U-Coat on my last garage floor and after about 5 years, it's starting to peel up from the tires. We are building a new house and I am going to try the Griot's stuff. Probably the same stuff but a little cheaper.

[Shamrock]

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/pr...905&navAction=

I did it myself I really like the results... you can get the industrial clear if your really worriedd about longevity off their website..


I just pressure washed my floor with the integrated nozzle shooting out concrete cleaner then I rinsed it on max... whatever didn't come up I painted over there was one spot I had to take a scraper too...

I then used a commercial grade polyurethane sealant to fill in the cracks..