Garage floor rehab... epoxy vs polyaspartic

[Tom]

First - not doing this myself. Products take experience, the job takes time I don't really have and by the time I rent grinders and whatnot I'm not exactly saving money - not to mention I probably don't have access to the best materials. So I have a 50 year old or so unheated garage with a cement floor that was never coated so it has significant salt pitting. At some point I don't want to park the cars in a salt pond anymore so I'm costing out getting it ground down and coated. Two materials are pitched - epoxy and polyaspartic. The latter comes in about 1.4x the price. Interestingly, the epoxy contractors warranty for 2-4 years, the polyaspartic contractor has a 20 year warranty.

Anybody do the epoxy and wish they hadn't? It's enough of a price delta that I don't immediately go with the more expensive option and I haven't yet found any reading that is impartial one way or another.

[ides1056]

I'd check out Resource Conservation Technology. They sell an acrylic roofing membrane that you could apply yourself. Power wash the floor to remove the loose stuff, and paint. I had to waterproof several thousand feet of interior space some years back, and used this instead of the epoxy recommended by the GC, which would really have put a damper on the restaurant on the ground floor. Stuff is heavier than air, and nasty toxic. This material is very durable, bonds to almost anything, and can be used in a chemical environment. Give them a call.

[thollandpe]

Have you looked at any of the BASF Masterseal coatings?

These are often used on parking structures to repair salt and moisture damage, I’m not sure which formula.

TH

[dashDustin]

The Epic Showdown - Epoxy Coatings vs. Polyaspartic Coatings - Penncoat Inc

I’ve got an epoxy floor coating in my garage. It’s slick when wet. Very slick. 3 days to apply, 7 days to cure. I could see the VOCs floating around (not really, but that stuff was potent). We have applied it in a lot of high traffic industrial environments. The stuff is strong. And will chalk in the sun, if exposed often. It’s perfect for warehouses. Not perfect for office buildings surrounded by glass windows. ASK ME HOW I KNOW. Just kidding. Don’t ask me. Let’s just say the GC thought they knew better.

Part of me wishes I would’ve just gone with a more basic acrylic sealer. No muss, no fuss. No VOCs, either. And much, much cheaper. Just not as pleasing to the eye (my garage has ArmourSeal 8100 in dark grey...looks killer.)

[ides1056]

this: Waterproofing - Acrylic Roofing

[Too Tall]

this: Waterproofing - Acrylic Roofing

I don't even need this and am digging the above.

[ides1056]

the stuff works incredibly well

[giordana93]

don't use a product indicated for roofing on a concrete floor. concrete is permeable and will allow the salts and humidity of the substrate to pass through, so whatever works best in your location may vary. I would vote to choose the guys who have the most experience --and a flooring material designed specifically for old unsealed concrete

[Tom]

The stuff for floors is mixed up to resist being pulled off by hot tires, bear weight, resist abrasion and stuff. I plan to stick with one or the other of the floor compounds. One thing that is important with epoxy is the first coat needs to be an effective water vapor barrier. Apparently polyaspartic does it itself. At least that's what I gather from reading.