Concrete Garage Floor

 
                         Before                                                                     After

Using a gel acid for etching concrete on a concrete garage floor is an effective surface prep solution. For years contractors and do it yourselfers have been using liquid acid solutions to profile a floor before applying coatings.

The problem with liquid acids is that they are not only dangerous but are ineffective because they over etch the low spots in a floor and under etch the high spots.

A gel acid is rolled on the floor with a 3/8" - 1/2" nap roller and the gel stays where it is applied, it does not flow to low spots.

Gel acids are also excellent for removing rust stains from concrete like in the photo above at the Harborview Marina and Yacht Club in Baltimore Maryland.

Your can find complete information about the gelled acids and their uses by visiting www.etchingconcrete.com

 

 

This project is a Minneapolis garage floor that started out in rough shape. The original surface had high spots causing water to pool and an improperly installed drain. The drain was higher than the surface preventing the drain from doing it's job.

Photos

 
1. Top left - photo shows how GF One Coatings notched out the concrete allowing water to drain. That solved one problem
2. Top right -  shows a level they used to determine the floor was perfectly flat. They ground the surface removing high spots that are a typical problem in garages
3. Lower Left - image where the owner is standing was a high spot. Water would travel beyond the high spot and settle adjacent to the wall. GF One Coatings removed the high spot creating a flat surface.
4. Lower Right - shows how the finished floor can easily be cleaned and water that may get on the floor easily moved to the drain with a squeegee.

GF One Coatings specializes in Minneapolis garage floor concrete repair and coatings application as well as industrial, retail, restaurant and dog kennels. For more information contact Joe Sheehan at 651-748-5999 or visit www.gfonecoatings.com.

Garage Stud is a new online  store featuring high quality interlocking floor tiles. The product line offers innovative designs, textures and colors for residential garages, workshops, stores, gyms and a host of other uses.

These floors are manufactured to be parked on by cars trucks and heavy objects. The patented designs are chemical resistant and simple to clean with a mop and mild soap.

They are ideal for making a softter surface than standing on a hard concrete garage floor all day.

For more information about ordering contact Rodney Fleming at 217-853-3275 or visit the web site at www.garagestud.com.

I just launched San Diego Garage, a local resource with information regarding the Southern California garage. The site features Concrete Solutions concrete garage floor coatings, how to fix cracks and properly prep floors.

There is a section featuring custom shelves and cabinets. Finally the site has a page dedicated to everything you need for cars, trucks and motorcycles including links to discount auto insurance, lease trading, garage floor mats and everything you need related to the garage and what goes in it.

This is the first site of 50 planned in every metro market in the United States.

 

Based in Central New Jersey, Duraamen run by Victor Pachade is a manufacturer of stained concrete floor products as well as specialty coatings and moisture remediation products.

Products include:

• Perdure MVT - Moisture remediation for flooring.
• Perdure AO3 - Acrylic sealer for long term protection of hard surfaces including pavers, masonry, brick and Saltillo tiles.
• Perdure U45 & U46 - polyurethane with high abrasion resistance
• Perdure P70 - High performance advanced techology coating with fast cure and rapid turnaround for all concrete surfaces.
• Endura - High performance epoxy coatings for garage floors, commercial kitchens, industrial flooring. 100% solids, high impact and chemical resistant.
• Sgraffino - decorative skim coats, can be stained and dyed.
• Pentimento - creates a high polished look. Unique high end finish for homes and commercial properties.
• Concrete Dyes - full line of stains and dyes

For more information about Duraamen or  if you need a skilled professional contact Victor Pachade at 1-866-835-6595 or Visit www.duraamen.com

In this project Minneapolis garage floor expert Joe Sheehan of GF One Coatings completed the resurfacing of a 10,000 sf floor outside Oklahoma City with David Owens a local concrete coatings professional.

The owner, a local entrepreneur, had a steel building built out  for his expanding auto collection. Joe Sheehan organized and ran the project to ensure the floor was perfectly ground smooth, all cracks  filled and floor resurfaced to showroom quality that will last years.

The owner chose the One Day Floors polyaspartic system for the following reasons:

1. Quick Application - rapid cure enabled floor to be completed in 3 days.
2. Non Slip Floor Coating - non slip aggregate built into each layer not just the surface coat. Exceeds OSHA  and ADA non-slip guidelines.
3. Non-Yellowing - polyaspartics don't yellow providing a surface that looks showroom condition for years
4. Moisture Proof - One Day Floors polyaspartic coatings don't just stick to the surface, they absorb into the concrete becoming part of the floor and a moisture barrier.
5. Recoating Ability - polyaspartics can be lightly sanded, resurfaced and put back to use years later if they wear.
6. Ease of Maintenance - polyaspartics don't trap dirt and are easy to maintain.
7. Warranty - Long Term Warranty provided.

Joe Sheehan, owner of GF One Coatings, is based in Minneapolis providing concrete repair and resurfacing locally for residential garage floors  and commercial projects. He travels nationwide working on commercial projects with his rapidly expanding One Day Floors network. 

Joe can be reached at 651-748-5999 or visit www.gfonecoatings.com

San Diego based Concrete Solutions has a two day concrete garage floor coating system available in a pigmented or clear coat.

Ultra Surface color system can be applied with or without a topical epoxy moisture barrier. A clear coat can be added over a stained concrete floor opening up the opportunity to create an artistic decorative floor with an extremely durable non-slip finish.

The clear system can be used on a garage floor and withstand the abrasion of hot tires, chemicals, dirt or sand. It's also a superb system for high traffic retail stores, restaurants, commercial kitchens, air plane hangars or warehouses.

Concrete Solutions provides training or you can purchase their instructional DVD on the website www.concretesolutions.com For additional information or for the appropriate contractor for your project contact Gerry Sadler at 619-987-4721

This is a concrete garage floor restoration completed in the Minneapolis Minnesota area, the kind that GF One Coatings completes 3 times per week all year round.

With the right equipment, experience and armed with a One Day Floor polyaspartic coating, many of GF One projects are completed in one day.

The process starts by grinding the concrete and removing old coatings. Cracks and chips in the concrete are filled. The surface preperation is the most important. Once the floor is ready which typically takes 4-6 hours for a 2 car garage, the coatings are applied.

Polyaspartic coatings have a rapid cure process typically drying in about 1 hour. This allows for 6 hours of surface prep and 3-5 hours for coatings application. It sounds easy but requires a large expense for the proper equipment, years of grinding experience to get good and the right coatings. What you don't see is late nights fixing equipment so they are ready for the next days job.

For information about restoring concrete garage floor surfaces with a polyaspartic contact Joe Sheehan at 651-748-5999 or visit www.gfonecoatings.com

 


In this project in the Stowe Vermont area, Jake Loeffler restored a concrete garage floor with a combination of surface grinding and a polyaspartic coating.

The 600 square foot floor had an inexpensive epoxy coating applied which delaminated within a year. Jake, the owner of Garage Outfitters of Vermont, grinded the floor with his dustless vacuum system to a smooth level surface. The grinding process removed the old coating and removed the thin, top layer of concrete. This opened up the pores of the concrete allowing the first polyaspartic coat to absorb into the floor.

Then decorative chips were added followed by the top coats with abuilt in non slip aggregate. The final product will not delaminate and is resists de-icing salts, hot tire wear and chemicals while waterproofing the concrete.

Garage Outfitters of Vermont provides concrete restoration on garage floor, industrial and commercial floors statewide. Jake can be reached at 802-777-3343 or visit www.garageoutfittersvt.com

  
  Applying Polyaspartic to Concrete Dyes          Finished With Exposed Aggregate

Joe Sheehan of GF One Coatings has numerous decorative options for a Minneapolis garage floor.

In this project Joe ground the concrete to a smooth level finish with his diamond grinding and dustless vacuum system. The grinding process also removes all blemishes and reveals cracks that initially were naked to the eye.

Once the floor is ground and repaired Joe and his GF One Coatings team applied concrete dyes with a polyaspartic top coat.

As you can see from the photo the polyaspartics intensify the color. Once the coating dries the color settles down but remains rich.

You can read more about the GF One Coatings processes in their Case Study section at www.gfonecoatings.com
Joe Sheehan
651-748-5999

 

 

GF One Coatings run by Joe Sheehan specializes in Minneapolis garage floor coatings and concrete restoration.

Joe, a local entrepreneur has been in the construction and property business for 25 years and the concrete floor restoration business for the past 10. Initially GF One Coatings started with epoxy applications and switched to application of polyaspartic coatings in 2006.

They found that when a floor is properly ground to a smooth flat finish and cracks are repaired, polyasrtic coatings provided extraordinary results.

Polyasrtic coatings are a thinner system than epoxies but with high performance features. They provide hot tire and chemical resistance with flexability and are non slip. As a thinner system surface preparation becomes critical to avoid blemishes from bleeding through.  Meticulous attention to restoring garage floor concrete has led to surface preparation for all kinds of flooring and coatings removal. 

For more information contac Joe Sheehan at 651-748-5999 or Visit www.gfonecoatings.com

  
Concrete Solutions based in San Diego manufactures high performance concrete garage floor epoxy coatings. Their system is called Ultra Surface Color Flake which is resistant to hot tires, chemicals and is moisture proof.

Decorative finishes give the appearance of granite or terrazzo and with their clear coat can be applied directly over a stained concrete surface like in the photo above.

How To DVD's are available providing the step by step process to surface preparation, crack repair and application of top coats.

For more information contact Gerry Sadler at 619-987-4721 or visit www.concretesolutions.com

 

 
In these photos GF One Coatings applied a polyaspartic coating to a Minneapolis Garage Floor in the middle of winter.

GF One applied epoxy coatings until 2006 when they discovered Polyaspartics and their unique ability to be applied in all conditions from -30 to over 100 degrees. This opened up an opportunity to resurface refrigerated rooms without the expense of down time from emptying and warming a cold room.

This also enabled GF One Coatings to resurface garage floors and keep their business running 12 months a year.

Weather does not impact the high performance capabilities of a polyaspartic coating.
for more information contact Joe Sheehan at 651-748-5999 or Visit www.gfonecoatings.com

 
Decorative Concrete Supply a Dallas concrete garage floor product distributor carries a full line of options for residential homes and commercial properties.

Options include pigmented or clear urethane and epoxy systems. Decorative chips can be added or apply over a stained floor.

Systems are non slip, scratch, chemical and hot tire resistant.

For more information contact Decorative Concrete Supply in Dallas at 866-854-8881 or visit www.decorativecs.com

 
Stardek based in Tampa holds workshops each week teaching how to stain concrete floors, apply overlays, epoxy systems, stamped overlays and non slip floor coatings.

Stardek has been in the decorative concrete business for almost 40 years with more trained applicators than any company I know of.

The training covers not just prduct knowledge and application techniques but how to build a business as well. The busniess opportunities are vast with products that apply to virtually every type of real estate.

Opportunities exist in the expanding garage floor market, swimming pools, restaurant floor and wall applications, retail stores, arenas, theme parks and public buildings like schools and hospitals.

There is a small training fee that is applied to the first order of product. For more information contact Lou at 800-282-1599 or visit www.stardek.com

 
One of the big issues with a Vermont concrete garage floor is ground moisture which results in epoxy repair.

If you have had an epoxy coating applied to your flooring and it's starting to chip and delaminate, the cause is likely extreme moisture vaport pressure pushing upwards though the air holes and capillaries in your concrete.

Moisture pressure will push salts in concrete to the surface. If your floor has an epoxy coating and it's becoming problematic this is why.

Jake Loeffler of Garage Outfitters in Burlington Vermont travels statewide grinding failed epoxies off the floor and resurfacing with a "Pure Bred" polyaspartic, an advanced technology coating. These unique concrete garage floor coaings were developed by Bayer Material Sciences originally for coating steel over 20 years ago. In recent years they found extraordinary results on concrete.

One of the most outstanding characteristcis is their ability to be absorbed into concrete and becomes part of the floor rather than being stuck to the surface. This substantially reduces failure, even with extreme mositure pressure.

For more information contact Jake Loeffler at 802-777-3143  or visit their website www.garageoutfittersvt.com

 

 
Fernando Franco based in Englewood New Jersey specializes in concrete garage foor resurfacing for both residential and commercial properties. The photos of a few of his completed projects shown here are epoxy coatings.

If you're looking for something unique for your car collection or a simple functional floor for high traffic everday use, Fernando has numerous options.

Your options include decorative chip or quartz, or like the photos below which are metallic epoxy coatings. Metallic epoxies have a unique style and are a "Green" alternative to staining concrete floors.

For more information about concrete garage floor coatings in Bergen County New Jersey you can reach Fernando at 866-568-5611 or visit his website www.garageandbeyond.com

 

Here is a concrete garage floor project in Alpine New Jersey completed by Fernando Franco www.garageandbeyond.com .

Unfinished floors really look bad. They feel cold and dark. They attract dirt and trap moisture. Garage and Beyond resurfaces all kinds of concrete surfaces in commercial properties and residential homes. As you can see in the photos they completely transform ugly floors into clean, bright highly durable surfaces.

These are all professional jobs. They prep the floor, fix all the cracks and holes, apply a moisture barrier and a high performance epoxy system that withstands hot tire wear and resists chemicals and grease. The final non slip coating is reflective brightening up your space.

The photos below are completed concrete garage floor projects in their portfolio. Fernando Franco can be reached directly at 866-568-5611

   
Belle Mead New Jersey            Skillman New Jersey                 Armonk New York

The photo above shows a 4 inch crack through a Minneapolis concrete garage floor. The yellow arrows point to the filled crack and the black identifies the pattern. Notice how the crack is filled to the bottom.

The pink arrows ponit to a void in the surface that GF One chipped out and filled.

To fill a crack properly you need a polyurea that has enough fluidity to flow to the bottom and will cure below the surface. Too many times I see cracks that are an afterthought, as if just sticking anything in a crack solves the problem. Most of the time cracks are filled only at the top and fill only the top 1 inch.  This is wrong.

GF One Coatings polyurea flows to the bottom, is absorbed into the walls of the crack, cures below the surface and reacts positively to moisture. Cracks are like air vents for moisture pressure. If the crack is filled properly it stops moisture pressure from having an adverse affect on coatings, tile, carpet or hardwood.

For more information about how GF One Coatings restores a cracked Minneapolis concrete garage floor contact Joe Sheehan at 651-748-5999 or visit their website www.gfonecoatings.com

Joe Sheehan

 
                  Blemish in Floor                                       Blemish After Being Chipped

 
        Chipping Out All Blemishes                                      Before Filling Holes

 
                  Repairing Cracks                                              Grinding Smooth

 
                   Flat and Level                                                  A Perfect Floor

GF One applies polyaspartic coatings to all their Minneapolis concrete garage floor projects. Polyaspartics are an advanced technology high preformance coating but thinner than an epoxy. Epoxies have a self leveling characteristic. As a result, due to high and low spots in a floor, epoxies are thicker in some areas than another.

Polyaspartics require a perfect floor otherwise blemishes will bleed through the final decorative coating. This is not acceptable.

GF One Coatings has solved this problem with their "Prep Perfect System". After the cracks and holes in the floor are filled with their polyurea filler, the floor is grinded to a smooth, level surface. They take care to remove the high spots. Especially over expension joints which are typically higher than the main floor. The reason is that air flow at expansion joints caused a faster cure rate then the main floor. This curing process raises the height at expansion joints.

Once the floor is grinded smooth and flat it is ready for the polyaspartic coatings. It's amamzing how this system, use of the right equipment and experience can remediate a floor that looks like it has no hope. For more information contact Joe Sheehan at 651-748-5999 or visit www.gfonecoatings.com