garage concrete ???

[teeitup]

Well I'm in the process of starting a garage project. Is there any kind of coating I can put on the concrete area where I will parting out trucks in? I use a torch alot so the droppings on the concrete would pit it. Just looking for some ideas. Thanks Randy

[jitteryguy]

I let the concrette guy talk me into seal'n the floor of my first garage, I found that the chemicle's I spill'd ate the sealer and made the floor look worse than some oil spill's would have. So I swore that I'd never do that again, last summer the concrette guy convinced me that the "new" sealers would be resistant to gas and chemical's, he was WRONG !

I think your best bet is somethen that can be slid under what ever your torch'n then put up when not need'd.

so far I have found the drop'ns from my plasma from 12 inch or higher are not damage'n the floor at all, I did cut a peaice right at the floor and it did pit a little.

[LEEVON]

There are many, many chemical resistant coatings. One way would be to use a densifier/sealer. A densifier actually hardens and seals the surface. A cheaper one would be H&C Clearshield, this is frequently spec'd in back-of-house areas like food prep and janitor's closets. On the other end and higher cost would be the industrial epoxy floors. If you really want to get into the subject check out garage journal.

[teeitup]

Thanks for the info guys, I was wondering about a epoxy. I will check into that. Thanks again, Randy

[Zebb]

Originally Posted by jitteryguy

I think your best bet is somethen that can be slid under what ever your torch'n then put up when not need'd.

x2 I usually put some sheet metal on the floor when the cutting gets close to it. I even use metal outside to help catch some of the slag and keep it out of the gravel on the rare occasions that I am working outside with the torches.

I don't think there is an epoxy that won't get damage by a steady use of torches. I would hate to spend the money and time on an epoxy floor only to ruin it. Do the project then epoxy the floor.

[chipflyer]

Randy, I think it was member JohnH that is a commercial carpet guy and he gets rolls of extra carpet that he lays down on his shop floor, when it gets dirty he rolls it up, throws it away and rolls down a new floor. Maybe you should call Scott and get him to supply you with carpet!
Seriously I don't think any kind of coating will stand up to the torch spatter but if you seal or epoxy it the oil/fuel messes will be easier to clean up.

Jeff

[88JRFAN]

You could buy a couple welding blanket's to put on the floor. Torching on concrete will always pit it. Long as you keep it a good distance away, would help it last longer.

[special-K]

Keep a piece of metal to slide under. It just makes sense. I am 100% positive that will take the abuse and protect your floor. I'm sure epoxy can't handle hot slag. I have the same piece of carpet I've rolled out for mechanical work for over 20 years. I've taken a lot of naps on there,too,when I ran into a dead end . It's so peaceful under a truck.

[kingsolver72]

I use scrap carpet or leftover rems if they're not real big. But I like vinyl better under the truck. You can use a creeper more efficiently and see oil/fluid much better. I have a flexitec vinyl I been using for a while now. Much more durable than a sheet back vinyl.
I've never used a torch over either carpet or vinyl. Might catch carpet on fire or melt it...pretty stinky. I definitely wouldn't use a wool carpet. If that stuff catches on fire it emits a poison in the air.
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[LEEVON]

Hey Randy, just a thought. On my "someday" list is a shop...and in the corner or a convenient area of the shop will be about a 12x16 section that does not have concrete, but rather is filled with "clean" (washed, no dust) gravel just below the slab elevation. Maybe a small pillar, strip or two for jackstands but basically, just a gravel pit. This would be for heavy disassembly and fabrication, power washing and nasty greasy work. Floor drains are cost prohibitive an usually not allowed by code. With the pit, the mess goes into the rocks and if you have proper drainage, the water goes away.

[cdowns]

i'm a big fan of garage floor patina

[pritch]

Listen to LEEVON. These new generations of surface hardeners/densifiers are, IMO, the way to go. I've been doing concrete work for 30 years, and it's the only thing I recommend.

http://www.ashfordformula.com/

There is nothing, however, that can protect against heat.

[Gumby]

spill enough oil, it will all look the same

never bothered me, think people are nuts who care to much.

guys with hospital clean garage floors and who do oil changes on grease covered 70s GM's wearing white and never get a spot on them, aren't my type of folks

[GOPAPA]

Originally Posted by teeitup

Well I'm in the process of starting a garage project. Is there any kind of coating I can put on the concrete area where I will parting out trucks in? I use a torch alot so the droppings on the concrete would pit it. Just looking for some ideas. Thanks Randy

I had some welding done for me a couple years ago in my shop and we used 2 pieces of Fiber Rock that was left over from a tile job I done.. A backerboard is what it is called..

It is 1/4 thick by 3'x5 ' ,,this is something that will protect the floor in the imediate area ,, I know you wanted a floor covering ,,and this wouldnt work very well for a perminent cover ,,just temporary until you get what you want to protect it until you do so..

Dont use the cement board as it crumbles bad ,use the other one that is solid like hard asbestos is..

easy to store too.

[teeitup]

Thanks for ALL YOUR INPUT, I appreciate it. I'm now leaning torwards just getting something to slide under the trucks while I'm cutting. I don't think the epoxy is for me since I torch so much, and I don't have time to keep everything cleaned up, sometimes things get taken off and they set around for days Thanks Randy

[ETsC10]

Originally Posted by teeitup

Thanks for ALL YOUR INPUT, I appreciate it. I'm now leaning towards just getting something to slide under the trucks while I'm cutting. I don't think the epoxy is for me since I torch so much, and I don't have time to keep everything cleaned up, sometimes things get taken off and they set around for days Thanks Randy

Good decision. Maybe the skin off the side of a truck bed?

[OC 72]

Look at this site...
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/

[johnnyclack]

my two cents

I have been a Project Engineer on a lot of industrial floor covings. If you are moving (any) materials across a shop floor nothing will hold up. And I have seen most that are available in various applications &-or demonstrations. And they all came down to the same thing/result. If you are using the materials as a sealer they will work OK. If you plan on using the floor covering materials for a work surface you will be disappointed.

My 2 ½ car garage at home is carpeted. I used an industrial grade carpet that was removed from an office remodel that I had as a project. It holds up better than average homeowner grade carpet. Talk to your local carpet installer, they will be more than happy to have you haul it off their job site

I have performed years of hot work over concrete areas. The best protection I have found to use is sheets of Plywood. I have dropped molted steel on it and the worse its ever done was to look like my kid had been after it with his wood burning tool.

Point of Info;
There are many times I use a plasma torch above slicked toweled concrete, and while it never pocks the surface, it definitely discolors it…….

[64fleetside]

I remember thinking of this back when I was building my shop. I then thought about the freeways here, 60+ y/o with nothing on them but sunshine. Anyways, 13yrs now of torching, hammers dropped, paint, bondo, fuel/oil/thinner spills, dragging dead frames/engines around, etc it is still fine w/o any type of coating or sealer or anything. My buddy used an epoxy coating but it lifts on hot days from a hot tire or any type of chemical spill.

[johnnyclack]

If you do decide to coat your floors, be sure to have it "shot peened" first before you apply anything. then you stand 1/2 chance in seeing it last 5 years....

[77c10]

Best thing to do if you think you will put an epoxy coating on it is to NOT have the concrete finisher put a "slick trowel" finish on it. Leave it a little rough so the coating has something to stick to.

[johnnyclack]

Originally Posted by 77c10

Best thing to do if you think you will put an epoxy coating on it is to NOT have the concrete finisher put a "slick trowel" finish on it. Leave it a little rough so the coating has something to stick to.

This is a good idea if...... You epoxy finish is thick enough to absorb all of the ruff texture. Otherwise you are creating thin coverings on the ridges of the surface….. which leads to thin or little covering material at these points/peaks

[johnnyclack]

Sorry it's Friday and things are slow so here goes:

Ok, I was thinking while I was out in the shop breathing more welding smoke combined with grinding particles; that there may be some folks on here( Forum) who actually have the resources (spelled $) to put down the type of floor covering some of us are talking (spelled dreaming) about. So I’ll outline what I did to have 15,000 2Xft of floor covered in a hydraulics rebuild area (because it involves braking systems on public transit system vehicles, has to be as clean as a surgical operating room)

1. Searched out a vendor for industrial floor finishes (phonebook/on-line listings)
2. Then I located a local Rep for the type of product I needed (sorry it’s be about 10<>12 yrs back, I don’t recall the brand name, with MSDS regulations constant changing, it’s probably changed names by now)
3. I requested product information including directions for application, after reviewing them
4. I asked the Rep for contractor names as to who applied his product.
5. I called a couple and requested a site visit if they were interested in bidding on the job
6. Compared bids and went with the contractor I felt best about

Now before you start thinking this is way the-he__ out-there these guys are all over the place. And they are hungry and looking for work in the following areas:

• Every butcher shop, large or small is required to cover & keep their floors pristine
• Every fast food joint that processes food is required to cover & keep their floors pristine
• Every food manufacturer/ processor is required to cover & keep their floors pristine

You get the idea ? Who requires these poor working stiffs to meet & maintain these standards? Yep’ you guess it the “US Food and Drug Administration Inspectors” and let me tell you these are some tuff dudes. They can shut down a production line costing $1,000.00 an hour if their having a bad day. Sorry I am getting off on a tangent…

• I won’t bother listing all of the Hospital & High-Tech companies who install the same type of floor coverings needing to maintain a sterile environment.


• Oh Yea’ (Brings us Full Circle) Let’s not forget the Truck & Car fanatic who wants to be able to mop up the beer he/she (need to be PC) spills on his garage floor, rather than leave it for the Hound dog as a bonus for having to put with all the cussing that’s been coming down on his~her poor asss for peeing on the corner of the Snap-On roll-around .

[pritch]

The butcher shop in my town still uses sawdust over their 108 year old hardwood floor.

Another option that is getting popular is polished & stained. The company I work for's main business is building schools, and this finish is popular because it needs very little maintenance. But it very slick, especially if you have snow on your shoes when you come in. And towards that last statement, when I was contracting, every time I poured a garage or shop floor I would broom the slab in front any and every man door. About a 3' x 3' square, or wider if the door was. This was my standard finish. If the owner didn't want it I would hand him my trowel. Most just walked away in disgust. But in every single case after a few winters of use, if they saw me on the street they would thank me for the countless slips and falls I prevented them from having. I've finished everything from freeways to shuffle board courts and believe it or not, a simple garage floor is on the more difficult side of the scale. Not physically, but in getting that just-right level of slick yet non-slip yet sweep-able.

I do work on the side for a guy every so often and he always uses this stuff called Sparkle-Crete on everything I've poured for him over the years. We poured this bridge deck 12 years ago and even with all the salt that Utah uses (the absolute WORSE thing for concrete) there is not one trace of damage from salt (or an 80,000# mixer) yet.



I think he gets the stuff at Home Depot or Lowes. I'll ask him next time I see him. I think he re-applies it every 4 or 5 years or so.

[johnnyclack]

Looking at that batch truck brings back to many memories… some which dealt with having to help dig those units out having watch the driver pull out across the field and bury it to frame.

Those are cool trucks, love those live front ends, every foot closer meant one less foot I had to wheelbarrow it. The drivers from the batch plant we used were brothers , and we had all gone to school together. We called these fellows on the really tough jobs.

One quick ( I promise) story. … These brothers also ran Coon Hounds, they hunted Bear, Cougar and of course Raccoons’. Well here in Oregon there are a lot of road kill so it was not uncommon (probably more common than not) for these fellows to show up on the job site early in the morning with two or three coons to skin out why we off loaded the Crete.

I won’t bore ya' with their stories on how the brakes on these trucks had just failed coming down a 6%er hill and just missed taking-out a lady in her brand shiny new BMW