[s-cars] Epoxy garage floor finishing (NAC)

Mon Nov 12 13:41:27 PST 2007

Joe,

To say you've provided a plethora of information would put it mildly!
Thanks for your input, I'm sure it will prove to be helpful for Dave.

If Dave is in a location that you couldn't service, or wants
to go the DIY route, are there any "kits" or brands on the market
that you sell or would recommend he investigate?

Thanks again
Chris

--- joeyoder at completegarage.com wrote:

> Good afternoon.  I'll try to be helpful.   There are several options
> in the
> epoxy arena.  The most popular is the cheapest and to me, the least
> desirable.  
> 
> There are several keys to getting a good epoxy floor. 
> 
> 1.	It needs a good, solid floor on which to apply it.  If moisture is
> coming up through it; that's a serious problem with no guaranteed
> result.
> If this is not an issue, you're good to go.  Even dirty, oil-stained
> floors
> are no problem.  The prep work is essential.  We acid wash and do it
> aggressively so that we microscopically groove the floor.  Many
> people
> abrade it with shot (steel balls) blasting or grinding with a sander.
>  My
> floor guys don't like either of these, particularly the grinding.   I
> think
> any of them when done by trained professionals work fine.  Most of
> the other
> floor guys shot blast; it saves a day in prep.   
> 
> 2.	100% pure epoxy is a good base, but that's just the beginning. 
> You
> can tell you're getting 100% pure stuff by its lack of smell.  If you
> have a
> lot of odor/VOC's, it's likely the installer has cut it (watered it
> down)
> with solvents to make it go further and set faster.  If there's
> little to no
> smell, you're getting a good product.  
> 
> 3.	There are two "chips" that we sell.  The most popular are vinyl
> (plastic) colored chips.  The most durable & expensive is actual
> quartz
> crystals (shavings).   There some differences.
> 
> A.  The vinyl chip is considered more attractive particularly by
> women.  It
> resembles granite counter tops.  It also can be much harder upon
> which to
> find a small part, and for this reason we don't recommend it to our
> serious
> DIY'ers.  We take 3 days to install vinyl chip. We get $5 per sq. ft.
> installed for this.   This floor winds up being 30 mils thick (30
> pieces of
> paper) and should have a 15-20 year life.   
> 
> B.  The quartz resembles emery paper.  It is twice as thick, 60 mils.
>  It
> has two layers of quartz and it should last 30-40 years.   Its
> texture makes
> it easier to find small parts.  It also has a bit higher impact and
> tear
> resistance.  We take 4 days to install quartz chip.  We get $6 per
> sq. ft.
> installed.  
> 
> We don't sell the single-color epoxy floors which are the cheapest. 
> They
> work well in garages where you never park hot or wet cars.  They
> don't have
> the body (thickness/texture) to withstand hot tires, particularly
> high
> performance tires that have a compound in them to increase their
> adhesion/traction numbers.  This chemical will literally glue the
> tire to
> the floor.  This is why we only sell floors with texture so the tire
> doesn't
> set flat on the floor.  You also don't want a single color floor if
> you ever
> park a wet car in the garage, particularly for women who wear shoes
> with
> leather soles/heels.  These smooth floors are very dangerous/slippery
> when
> wet.    
> 
> The floors that we install are considered total coverage floors.  We
> totally
> cover the base epoxy with chips so it has consistent texture,
> appearance and
> durability.  There are numerous chip floors out there where they
> sprinkle
> around some vinyl chips and call it a "chip" floor.  In reality, they
> are a
> colored epoxy floor with decorative chips.  These are not much better
> than
> single color epoxy floors.  
> 
> Curing time is a big issue and very hot topic.  There are some new
> "miracle"
> floors that can be laid in 1-2 days and be ready to use almost
> immediately.
> In a hot, dry environment like the desert, these may work, but if
> there's
> humidity like in Texas, these can be a problem.  We let our floors
> set for 2
> days before you can walk on them; another two before you can park on
> them.  
> 
> We've put both in serious car guys' garages and they love them.  Both
> can be
> hurt and repaired, although the repair is costly and time consuming
> (almost
> like relaying the floor).  
> 
> Hope this helps.  
> 
> 
> Joe Yoder
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: chris chambers [mailto:fastscirocco_2000 at yahoo.com] 
> Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 11:32 AM
> To: djdawson2 at aol.com; s-car-list at audifans.com;
> joeyoder at completegarage.com
> Subject: Re: [s-cars] Epoxy garage floor finishing (NAC)
> 
> Dave,
> 
> I'm going to copy this email to Joe Yoder, a gentleman
> on a 914 list I'm subscribed to who owns a company called
> complete garage.
> 
> He is in the know on everything for finishing off garages.
> 
> Hopefully he can help!
> Chris
> 
> 
> Joe,
> 
> Dave is on an Audi list I'm subscribed to, he is looking for
> a suitable floor finish for his garage.
> 
> I thought just maybe you could help him with information and product.
> 
> Thanks
> Chris
> 
> 
> 
> --- djdawson2 at aol.com wrote:
> 
> > OK... well I'm at the stage where I'm deciding on a floor finish
> for
> > my soon to be complete "dream car garage."? I've been looking
> around
> > for the right product.? It seems to be a generally accepted
> principle
> > that epoxies with 100% solids is the way to go.? However, what I'm
> > not seeing are any products with name brands associated with them
> > like one might expect.
> > 
> > So I'm wondering... anyone have knowledge or experience in this
> > area?? Any products to recommend?? This will be an install over new
> > concrete.
> > 
> > TIA,
> > Dave
> >
>
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> 
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