Garage Floor

[RichK]

20-year old concrete garage floor is structurally sound by looks like crap. It has more stains than a Minwax display at Home Depot. Two of the bays are dedicated to shop equipment and work benches. The third bay is for my wife's car. The thought of prepping the floor for epoxy or paint is really unattractive because of the time, labor, inconvenience, and dust. My kids are grown and out of the house, so this will be a 1-man job. I'm leaning toward covering it with some kind of garage-quality rolled goods or click-together garage floor tiles, but the cost is much higher than epoxy and I'm not sure about the return on investment. Anyone out there done this or know someone who has? Any thoughts and recommendations on what to look for and what to avoid would be appreciated. Thanks.

Rich

[Robert Adams]

Well if you did want to do paint it's a dust less process. Rent a floor grinder and after about an hour or two the floor will be nice and clean to fresh concrete. Just keep it wet and keep rinsing. It's just a floor buffer with a diamond head on it. And yes it will yank the handle out of your hands and spin you around like the cartoons... Takes practice mainly if you are using it to remove tile grout. 


     As for the roll stuff. It's OK but it's hard to roll tools and cabinets over them. They will also trap any moisture underneath and smell... I really like the race deck product but I can almost add onto my shop for that price...

[Cecil]

And yes it will yank the handle out of your hands and spin you around like the cartoons... Takes practice ...

Floor buffers are not that difficult, once you understand the principle.  To steer it, you just raise or lower the handle.  If you keep the handle at the proper height, it will stay in one place.  It takes a little practice, but not a lot.

[Robert Adams]

Floor buffers are not that difficult, once you understand the principle.  To steer it, you just raise or lower the handle.  If you keep the handle at the proper height, it will stay in one place.  It takes a little practice, but not a lot.

True but when used to remove tile grout it's a whole new experience. It will grab and bounce like nothing else. Once you get a clear area it's much easier but is allot harder than just buffing a floor.

[Cooler]

True but when used to remove tile grout it's a whole new experience. It will grab and bounce like nothing else. Once you get a clear area it's much easier but is allot harder than just buffing a floor.

My local Home depot rents random oscillating floor sanders.  

So it is muriatic acid clean; sand, polish and seal.

My garage is over a crawl space that remains much colder than the surrounding area.  Each time it rains the condensation on the garage floor looks like a massive roof leak as the moisture condenses on the floor.  

For that reason I nixed a cover (mold, mildew) or paint or epoxy (how slick is a wet, oil-slicked epoxy finish?).

But if you don't have that issue, take a look at this:  http://www.werkmaster.com/concrete/

[Robert Adams]

My local Home depot rents random oscillating floor sanders.  

So it is muriatic acid clean; sand, polish and seal.

My garage is over a crawl space that remains much colder than the surrounding area.  Each time it rains the condensation on the garage floor looks like a massive roof leak as the moisture condenses on the floor.  

For that reason I nixed a cover (mold, mildew) or paint or epoxy (how slick is a wet, oil-slicked epoxy finish?).

But if you don't have that issue, take a look at this:  http://www.werkmaster.com/concrete/

Yeah paint of any type is not an option there. How is the support done under the garage floor. A suspended concrete floor in a residential application kind of worries me.... I have never seen one in person as garages are always slab on grade here.

[Cooler]

Yeah paint of any type is not an option there. How is the support done under the garage floor. A suspended concrete floor in a residential application kind of worries me.... I have never seen one in person as garages are always slab on grade here.

I went under the house when the home inspector was here.  You have to crawl through a small opening--I would not try it again until I lose another 20 pounds.

Concrete covered all the structure, but there appeared to be two large I beams running horizontally (two car garage).  They were fully encased with concrete however so I cannot be sure but the shape was more or less correct.

Under each of the I beams was a wood post which appeared to be about 10" x 10" and resting on a pier.  The posts were centered in the middle of each beam.  

The land slopes dramatically so that there is full headroom at the rear of the garage and just about 3 or 4 feet of room at the front.  It is cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter than the surroundings.  The garage has a drain in the middle which simply drains into the craw space.  I guess I could wash a car in the garage.  

I am tempted to run a room air conditioner in the basement venting to under the garage.  That would cool the room easier and warm the crawl space in the summer reducing condensation.  It is an easy fix as the access hole is in the basement at a perfect height for an air conditioner.

[dannypham]

just raise or lower the handle and keep the handle at the proper height, it will stay in one place.