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dw76

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Hello,

My concrete garage floor is 20 years old and showing signs of Wisconsin road salt. I have a room directly under the garage with a spancrete ceiling. When the snow/salt melts during the winter it leaks into the room. Have tried using crack sealers (the type applied with a caulk gun), the floor had been sealed years ago with concrete sealer, no epoxy. None of it works. Wondering what my best bet is now to fix this? I've considered having the floor repoured but that sounds very expensive. Instead, was looking at putting in garage flooring--due to a nearby Home Depot, I was interested in their "G-Floor" brand. Anyone have any experience with this? Any other brands/recommendations? My next qustion is do I need to cover the entire floor or could I just cover the center area of the garage where we park and have a 2-3 ft concrete border on the outsides? Looking for input from the experts.... Thank you!
 
Is the water soaking through the concrete or cracks? Are there cracks or separations at the wall and floor joint? I wouldn't buy anything from the box stores to waterproof anything, just my 2 cents and oh yeah, Welcome to Garage Retreat!
 
It primarily comes through the seams but I've noticed some leakage coming through small cracks in the floor as well.
 
By seams I should clarify these are not where the wall meets the floor, but rather the floor itself was poured in 4 squares. The leakage comes mostly where each section meets. Nothing down the walls that I've noticed.
 
Have you looked at Rustoleum? They make a commercial coating that is available through major paint stores like Porter Paint, Sherwin-Williams. There are better products than you can get at H-D or Lowes.
 
My only concern with an applied product like that is whether or not it will adhere to the surface well. With 20 years of use I'm sure I could not get it to stick like it would on new concrete. Have you had luck with the cleaners that they recommend? I've tried various cleaners over the years for oil spills etc. and none of them have ever really done a very good job... although I haven't tried the products rustoleum mentions.
 
I'd recommend renting a grinder to remove the top layer of contaminated concrete. Thus would be the best way to bond any paint product.
 
Yup you need to grind it. I have had good results using a floor sander with the coursest paper available. Getting the paint to stick is all in the prep work you need to get as much of the old paint off as possible and degreas any oil spots as well. Sherwin williams sells h&c epoxy products that hold up well.
 
That sounds like a lot of work, is that something I can do myself or does it need to be done by someone who knows what they're doing, ie sanding a hardwood floor? (I'd always been told you could easily ruin a wood floor by not keeping the pressure stable and sanding too deep in spots...have never tried it); just wondering if you run the same risk on a concrete floor. Also, I'm female. Am I going to be able to handle a grinder? I'm not afraid to try but once you start, there is no turning back so I'd like to know what I'm getting into.
 
Sanding concrete is way differant than sanding wood. You cant mess up the concrete with the sander but that sander will get away from you If your not fairly stout.
 
Thank you Mark. I'll check them out and decide whether or not I can do that or look to call in some favors. I appreciate your help. Thanks again.
 
You need an industrial grade epoxy for your 20 year old garage surface. There are many types of epoxy that vary in thickness and durability. Getting something from a Home Depot type retail store doesn't always do the trick because they don't sell "industrial grade" products. They have residential and commercial grade for the most part. Pouring new concrete is much too expensive in many cases. Using Epoxy will not only make your surface look new again but will also seal in any water leaks you have as well. If you are worried that you have leaking in the perimeter of the room (where floor meets wall), you will need to coat the first 6" of your wall so that you have a seamless coating that starts from 6" up the wall and extends down to the floor and around the perimeter of the room.

Since you have large seams that water seems to be escaping down into, you will need to fill those cracks with some sort of crack filler if you want to avoid seeing the lines after rolling the epoxy paint on.

Floor preparation is 90% of the work. Rolling the product is pretty simple assuming the product is mixed well and the surface has been prepped. For prepping, You should us a degreaser and scrub rinse that into the surface. This will get all of your fats, waxes, greases, oils, dirt and grime out of the concrete. After scrubbing the surface, you will shop vac the leftover residue up or squeegee into a drain. Following that you will put down an acid etcher which will take care of any mineral stains as well as open up the pores of the concrete which will aid in proper adhesion once you roll the epoxy paint on. Roughing your surface is also a good idea and helps with adhesion. I normally rough the surface, then degrease, followed up by acid etching and 2 coats of water rinsing to get your surface back to a 7pH level (neutral) and ready for the paint after it has completely dried.

Durall Manufacturing (www.durall.com) sells all of the products you will need for your project and you can order it directly to your house without having to go through a distributor which will save you time and money. Durall also has a 24/7 (952-888-1488) help line which you can call and they will walk you through the steps when you are ready to begin the project.

Hope this helps!
 
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