A smooth 900sqft concrete slab has been poured and is awaiting the construction of my woodworking shop.
There are always better, more expensive ways to approach each step of the new shop building process, but the floor is not one on which I plan to spend a lot of money.
I never plan to drive a car into the shop (though technically I could), or riding mower or anything like that.
Most of my heavy equipment is on casters.
As I see it, the options for floor finish are expoxy, paint, or some other kind of sealer.
I'm currently thinking white paint, making it easy to find tiny parts that are dropped.
Does anyone have specific product recommendations, or other guidance, to help me make good choices here?
Thank you!
I've used various products and i would still suggest the 2 part floor epoxy, followed by a sealer and polish. Especially before you start putting anything in there its easy breezy. You will spill stuff and drop things and it will hold up better than the floor paints if done right. You can pop glue off easy and wipe up chemicals usually without damage. A new white floor you will be able to find parts easier, until the second day when there are shoe scuff marks and other marks all over the place.
Just keep in mind new concrete needs time to cure before any top coat you choose to use.
This stuff. It ain't cheap, and it smells when wet, but it's been on my garage floor for a year, 100 yo concrete, and I can't hurt it. Hardly any prep involved with new crete.
White gets dirty fast so I am not sure I would go for that but perhaps a light grey could be an in-between solution. Having said that you may want to just put a clear sealer on it to make sweeping easy since you will already be in the grey color range anyway.
I used the rustoleum garage epoxy for basement and garage Its holding up great. I also used it for 3500 square foot warehouse at work. One section gets heavy use with a heavy forklift and pallets. and is hoilding up going on 16 years now
At work we have an epoxy floor it held up nicely over the years. I would second the light gray over the white because white glaring up at you all day would be hard on the eyes.
I had epoxy with the little plastic confetti stuff. Loved it for traction. Hated trying to find dropped screws and washers on it. When I got my shop done here in Santa Fe, I was going to get epoxy over the concrete in the motorcycle garage side, but the contractor flaked out, so I've still got naked concrete.
The one thing I wouldn't do is get epoxy with nothing in it. I'd probably get the sanded stuff, as spills on epoxy are pretty dang slippery. Also, I would prefer gray to white for glare. But I'd also look at light yellow or other pastel choices. Gray seems too likely to hide small parts.
After a lot of evaluation, I went with tile. The inexpensive tiles at HD were on a really good sale and I was concerned about the longevity of epoxy, especially after reading the various reviews. Sounds like surface prep, etching, and cleaning make or break the epoxy floor coverings.
One of the folks I work with painted their basement with the fancy version of Rustoleum metallic epoxy after their basement flooded. It took 4 people 2 days. The first day was spent cleaning, etching and prepping the floor. Day 2 was spent with one person rolling the paint on and 2 people taking care of the edges. The last person made sure the epoxy was ready to go the rolling didn't have to wait as well as spreading the sand. Apparently, it sets up FAST and if starts to dry and you roll over it things get screwed up. I saw the finished pictures - WOW it looked great. I haven't heard if they had any problems with it popping.
I need to do this in the shop and in the main garage. I might wait to see how it works for you.
Clear sealer, after the concrete has cured completely. + 1 for no paint or epoxy. There is a concrete stain available that soaks in and won't peel off. Also easy to repair a chip or ding in the floor without buying a whole epoxy kit to use a brushfull.
Sealing or painting is really a must to keep the concrete dust out of your tools. Use anything you can afford.
Fresh concrete tends to be dusty in its natural state. And yes the dust leaves a layer of abrasive dust for the first year or so. Not to mention concrete is porous and sealant will help it not to wick.
Well I had to look that up and there is such a thing as concrete dust. As far as getting in to my tools after 30 years of no damage I'm not going to worry about it. So I going with my original advice.
I've been on unfinished concrete floors and there's a nails-on-a-chalkboard feel to them for me personally. I'm definitely going to finish with something!
Simplest option on the table so far looks like "Eagle Natural Sealant" or similar, at Home Depot: a $90, 5gal can covers 1000 sqft and I don't have to mix anything.
Good points about white paint being a bit too glaring as well as too prone to scuffing. Perhaps a light gray glossy paint…
I ve been on unfinished concrete floors and there s a nails-on-a-chalkboard feel to them for me personally. I m definitely going to finish with something!
Simplest option on the table so far looks like "Eagle Natural Sealant" or similar, at Home Depot: a $90, 5gal can covers 1000 sqft and I don t have to mix anything.
Good points about white paint being a bit too glaring as well as too prone to scuffing. Perhaps a light gray glossy paint…
I used to work in a shop (national chain)that had the grey epoxy. The stuff lasts for years if maintained. I was the guy that had to maintain them, but also the guy that had to repaint shops that needed it. The grey stays pretty clean if sealed and polished regularly(rent a floor buffer from HD), scuff marks come off easy. After years of the grey, for my own garage I did the tan kit with the flecks. Personally i don't find the flexks an issue. I have one of those magnetic sweeper wands that will grab anything metal. And i learned long ago the best way to find small parts you drop is to get down to floor level, close one eye and use the lower eye to sight down the floor and hold a flashlight, even tiny springs etc will stand out.
Back in the day when I used to be mechanic. We painted the shop floor yearly. We went to a Sherwin Williams paint store and used a industrial shop floor paint. It's a thick paint. They can mix it to any color you want.
I used the rustoleum product with the confetti. It's held up very well in my shop for 3 years now. Doign the etching and all that was a pain and you do need to work quickly. Definitely have someone else helping you paint. My wife did the edges while I rolled the floor.
I kinda like concrete just as it is, plus as stated no work. My BIL is in the other camp, and all I can tell you is he learned the hard way they aren't all created equal. Not sue what brand he used, but paid a LOT of $$$$ for a product that he spent a solid week prepping brand new concrete for, and within a week had almost totally peeled off.
He finally got another product that stayed down, and after 8 years they moved, and it was still down. However on rainy, or snowy days that floor could look dry, but was slick as snot. I can understand a clear coat floor that IS wet being slippery, this stuff just needed moisture in the air. Splatttt that was yer ass hitting the floor.
I used an epoxy product in a bright yellow color. It definitely made the shop brighter. Another thing I noticed is that
the humidity was significantly reduced. You could just feel the difference in the air. I've never regretted doing it.
I used an epoxy product in a bright yellow color. It definitely made the shop brighter. Another thing I noticed is that
the humidity was significantly reduced. You could just feel the difference in the air. I ve never regretted doing it.
Wait a minute, what? Can you suggest a mechanism for this? IE, that moisture otherwise wicks up through the unsealed concrete and evaporates into the shop air, but is blocked by epoxy… or something else? I'm not doubting you, just completely confounded as to the possible cause of this perceived humidity reduction.
Evaporation of capillary moisture through a porous aggregate pushed by hydrostatic pressure?
In medicine this is known as a wet-to-dry bandage. Moisture moves towards the dry.
Concrete wicks moisture. Is why you don't lay lumber flat on bare concrete.
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