I have been building a new shop and it is to the point of moving in, in 3 weeks but would like to cover the floor. What would be the recommended covering you guys would suggest
I always planned to do something nice but realized I was going to use it and it was more than a showroom for finished cars I just put on a couple of coats of concrete sealer. After all the painting,priming and welding slag and oil,it looks like a old service station floor. HRP
Doesn't anyone do any research anymore before starting a project ? The time to plan the floor is before the concrete is poured. There is a wide range of colors available in concrete coloring and hardener that is mixed into the concrete. What you get is a beautifully colored floor that is hard and virtually indestructible, although you still need to be careful with welding and especially cutting torch slag which will damage any concrete floor naked or not.
Cut, weld, grind, sandblast, paint...throw stuff down.....well you know, its going to take a beating under god conditions..Bare concrete other than sealer. I used a product called Dekaton. That was in '89. Floor still looks good considering. Brake fluid and lacquer thinner are kinda hard on it though. Tim
Look into concrete polishing - floor is sprayed with a sealant then a floor buffer type device using diamond buffers is used to polish the floor. Ends up looking like terrazo due to the agregate in the concrete. You can get various levels of shine from matte to gloss. Actually is less slippery than regular concrete even though you'd think otherwise. Will handle any of the usual abuse from fabrication and repair and can be touched up by a quick repolish. I work for 3M and we use that in many of our factories. I haven't done it in my shop yet, but that's how I'll go. Dale
I like using a concrete stain either in light grey or a darker shade of grey and then every few years I just apply another new coat of stain and it looks brand new all over again. I have been doing the same thing for 20 years. The shop walls are painted in a matching grey paint to the floor stain 4" high with a 4" red border around the complete shop. The rest of the walls and ceiling are painted with semi gloss white paint so that at night with the florescent lights on the ceiling on the light bounces off the wall color to provide plenty of light for working. The key to setting up a nice shop is planning so I also installed 26 electric outlets around the shop along with ceiling fans that had to be lowered because of the ceiling heights being 13' Add three 10' high insulated garage doors and the shop becomes more usable and fun to work in. Jimbo
For me, the most important thing was having the most reflective color, white. I put in a white epoxy coating, and while it has gotten dirty, chipped a bit, and yellowed in splotches, it meets my need of still being bright enough for a working area. An epoxy coating seals the surface well if applied soon after the concrete has cured and over a clean surface. I have a 4' by 8' skylight and two 4x4s to bring in light, so most of the time I do not use my 8' tube fluorescents. Walls and ceiling are an off-white as well.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Ole...oor-Coating-Kit-251870/100671422#.UhqygBvrxYw his. avalible in multiple colors
I used a mop on water based, clear urethane recommended by a friend. It makes the floor easier to clean, but doesn't show the scratches or scars from use. Just clean and mop more on when its worn. seven years of use, no regrets.
I stained mine when it was built with a saddle tan color. It really makes finding dropped hardware a whole lot easier to find. Plus it looks good!
Just use a sealer on it. Any coating that makes it slick is an invitation to disaster, spill antifreeze on it and get hurt.
I used the Rustoleum Garage coating from Lowes. Its held up great. The sealer applied to fresh concrete I believe was the key to how well its held up. I would also suggest taking a picture of your shop before you start any work because it will never look the same. BOutlaw
when I build my new one I am thinking the old wood block floor like they used in the mills they are sturdy as hell and when they get greasy or cracked they just pull them out and drive in a new square , they soak the blocks in preservative so it will not soak up oil or water .
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