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

[joeyoder at completegarage.com]

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
>
________________________________________________________________________
> Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail!
> - http://mail.aol.com
> _______________________________________________
> S-CAR-List mailing list
> S-CAR-List at audifans.com
> http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/s-car-list
> 


Make April 15th just another day http://www.fairtax.org


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com