Former chicken coop, now primary shed/garage has a very rough cement floor. I'd like to make it smooth, and be durable, and not cost a fortune.
The epoxy floors I've seen laid seem to invariably come apart. Skim coats of thin cements seem to come apart even faster.
Is there a viable option that would work without breaking the bank?
I've actually pondered the notion of a floor sander, to grind the concrete down smooth. I've no idea if such a tool actually exists.
Polish it.
http://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete/polishing/polishing_basics.htm
I'd be looking at rubber mats like are used in ice rinks.
Quick google search: http://www.floormatcompany.com/the-revolution-58-inch-thick-rubber-floor-tiles-p-521.aspx
Friend of mine growing up had the garage covered in carpet tiles. Made things easy, mess one up you just replace a square or two.
mtn wrote: I'd be looking at rubber mats like are used in ice rinks. Quick google search: http://www.floormatcompany.com/the-revolution-58-inch-thick-rubber-floor-tiles-p-521.aspx
At first glance I thought, "A 58-inch thick mat?!"
In reply to foxtrapper:
skimming coats of concrete don't work......either grind/polish it(yes they make those), throw tiles all over it, or chip it all out and start over.
I've personally done options 2 & 3, either way, none are cheap.
In reply to foxtrapper:
Yes, concrete surfacers exist. They are often used to prep concrete prior to epoxy.
The fact your previous attempts have failed offer two possible explainations: improper prep so the top coat could adhere properly, or there's a vapor issue. Take a piece of 12"x12" plastic and duct-tape it to the floor for a week or so. If there's a lot of moisture under the plastic, then it's likely any kind of coating will fail. You can try sealing the concrete, but even that may fail.
Woody wrote: Polish it. http://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete/polishing/polishing_basics.htm
We had out floor polished in December and it is SO easy to clean. I love it!
Could you use a thicker layer for floor levelling compound?
How about adding an inch or two of concrete with some rebar mesh in it? Kind of a super-skim? Maybe sink a few anchors into the original slab. Float and finish that and you should be good.
chandlerGTi wrote:Woody wrote: Polish it. http://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete/polishing/polishing_basics.htmWe had out floor polished in December and it is SO easy to clean. I love it!
If you don't mind me asking, how big was the floor and what did it cost?
The best stuff I've used so far is the POR15 concrete floor coating. It's worked extremely well and easy to use. Not the cheapest out there, but I'd recommend it.
The floor polishing looks awesome though!
I do love a polished concrete floor. Some of the shops I've worked in had them, and they are great.
This floor is still bare, I've not put anything on it. It's about a foot thick, and looks like it was surfaced with a mop. Well, that or a notched trowel. It's got the nice lumpy swirly surface of those old ceilings.
Anyhow, the notion of polishing got me searching, then I thought about looking at the local rental place (god the web is handy). They rent a concrete floor grinder/polisher thingie for $40 for 4 hours, $60 for all day. That's a price I like! So now I just have to go learn about the tool and the heads or cutters you use on it.
I once used a rented concrete grinder. For most of a day. And managed to fix about 6 square feet.
Go to the tile clearance store and lay some floor tile, or head to Costco and buy a bunch of the interlocking floor mats.
Woody wrote:chandlerGTi wrote:If you don't mind me asking, how big was the floor and what did it cost?Woody wrote: Polish it. http://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete/polishing/polishing_basics.htmWe had out floor polished in December and it is SO easy to clean. I love it!
I work on semis, so it is a 5 bay shop 90' long and it cost about $30k. Thy had to work around three full length service access areas also; There was $20k worth of repair work that didn't have to be done because it took off the surface. One complaint is that where the substrate was weak it has started chipping out but I still am happy with the investment.
Obviously a garage or small machine shed would be considerably less, lol.
foxtrapper wrote: I do love a polished concrete floor. Some of the shops I've worked in had them, and they are great. This floor is still bare, I've not put anything on it. It's about a foot thick, and looks like it was surfaced with a mop. Well, that or a notched trowel. It's got the nice lumpy swirly surface of those old ceilings. Anyhow, the notion of polishing got me searching, then I thought about looking at the local rental place (god the web is handy). They rent a concrete floor grinder/polisher thingie for $40 for 4 hours, $60 for all day. That's a price I like! So now I just have to go learn about the tool and the heads or cutters you use on it.
Seriously, don't do it. The dust gets everywhere and it will take you a week (or more) to do it right. Go to your local Kroger and ask who polished their floor; they have polished concrete floors as do lots of newer malls.
I just installed a couple of bathrooms in a newly opened up health club. For 6 straight days I had to work near the concrete polisher guy. We had plenty of time to talk and breath concrete dust together. The floor in the workout area was about 50 X 50. It cost $15K to have the old concrete polished, stained and sealed. In the end, it didn't look good. The area covered with rubber mats looks better and was much cheaper.
You can lay down a coat of floor leveler and make it pretty thick. However, they are designed to be a sub-floor under something like tile, and will usually powder under heavy traffic if left exposed. Dropping garden implements on it will probably chip it as well.
I HATE polished concrete in a garage. If its sees oil and gets any water on it, its a instant skating rink.
The driving force behind my wanting to improve the floor is the difficulty I have with moving the dolly/jack with the Harley on it. As well the engine hoist, but it's got bigger wheels and I don't use it as much. So any softish floor covering is out, it's got to be hard so I can roll o ver it.
Not encouraging, hearing what some of you are saying about grinding/polishing it myself.
Maybe I'm really over thinking this. I only really need a small area for me to move the dolly & Harley around in. Size wise, about the size of a 4x8 sheet of plywood (which wouldn't lay flat and would drive me nuts as a result). But if there's a tile or something (cheap) that I could stick down onto the concrete there at the front where I park and twirl the bike around, that would probably be enough.
Kenny_McCormic wrote: I HATE polished concrete in a garage. If its sees oil and gets any water on it, its a instant skating rink.
It's not done right if its slick. Lots of people make the mistake of clear coating it afterwards; the right cleaning solution and a mop will keep it nice a long time.
Tile is hard but brittle, unless it's securely supported from below it will break pretty easily. It's possible to surface concrete without going to all the trouble of polishing it, I'm thinking that would probably do everything you need. And I also like the look of polished concrete but would not have it in a shop because it does get dangerous slick real quick. I once watched a car with wet tires slide across the shop in slow motion and hit the Sun engine analyzer (remember those things? 
).
Linolium?
jonnyd330 wrote: A pergo floor like Magnus Walker. pelican parts thread
That is really nice. I like the brick and the steel beam.
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