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Garage Flooring..


Joeman
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Currently my garage has a dusty old concrete floor so I was thinking of getting some self leveling compound to create a smooth surface, then painting it. Anyone else tried this? anyone recommend stuff to use? or should i get someone in who knows what they are doing?? lol

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I sealed mine (was very dusty previously) then painted with garage floor paint. Has a lovely finish and is quite tough. The only problem is putting the bike away in the wet. The bike tyres stick to the floor and crack bits off when I roll it back out.


If I was doing it again it buy some of the sheet material you can get from Costco - a bit more expensive though!!!

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For once!!! I used to be a floorlayer. Assuming your concrete block isn't damp proofed (false economy on a garage floor) you couldn't screed (self levelling compound) as it would break up due to the moisture content in the block.


I see three options.


Buy a primer, preferably the same make as the screed you buy, (don't B & Q it, find a flooring suppliers near you, it will be cheaper) then mix the primer as recommended on the bottle, use this to seal the dusty floor, and achieve a key for the next process. Then buy a two part epoxy DPM that you spread on the floor with a trowel, then use a paint roller to ensure uniform coverage. Prime this surface using neat primer and screed over the top, laybond screed master 2 should be suitable to use, but ask the supplier, latex screed dries harder than water based.


There is a product out there that is a screed and DPM in one, its not cheap, about £80 per 4.5m2 assuming no excessive undulations in the floor. This would still need priming, otherwise the screed will bond to the dusty surface and not the floor as a whole and break up.


Paint the floor. Cheaper by far.


If you attempt to screed without priming or DPMing and your opening a can of worms.


I used primer, DPM and screed for my grandads garage floor over 2 years ago and it's still going strong.


If you want a perfect job, buy a drill and whisk to ensure a perfect mix, and a spiked roller to remove trowel marks from your screed as you lay it

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For once!!! I used to be a floorlayer. Assuming your concrete block isn't damp proofed (false economy on a garage floor) you couldn't screed (self levelling compound) as it would break up due to the moisture content in the block.


I see three options.


Buy a primer, preferably the same make as the screed you buy, (don't B & Q it, find a flooring suppliers near you, it will be cheaper) then mix the primer as recommended on the bottle, use this to seal the dusty floor, and achieve a key for the next process. Then buy a two part epoxy DPM that you spread on the floor with a trowel, then use a paint roller to ensure uniform coverage. Prime this surface using neat primer and screed over the top, laybond screed master 2 should be suitable to use, but ask the supplier, latex screed dries harder than water based.


There is a product out there that is a screed and DPM in one, its not cheap, about £80 per 4.5m2 assuming no excessive undulations in the floor. This would still need priming, otherwise the screed will bond to the dusty surface and not the floor as a whole and break up.


Paint the floor. Cheaper by far.


If you attempt to screed without priming or DPMing and your opening a can of worms.


I used primer, DPM and screed for my grandads garage floor over 2 years ago and it's still going strong.


If you want a perfect job, buy a drill and whisk to ensure a perfect mix, and a spiked roller to remove trowel marks from your screed as you lay it

 

Thats some great info!! cheers :cheers:

Trouble is, it sounds a lot of work, and im fundamentally lazy :oops:

I was hoping i could just pour something over the top that would self level, seal, damp proof and colour the floor all in once hit.


Not sure if i have a DPM or not - guessing not. If i wanted to lay one, what thickness of screed would i need on top?

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It depends on how 'rough' your floor is. You can get away with a fall from one side to another, the flow of screed isn't that extreme, that it will shift to one side. You can also knock any peaks off with a hammer and bolster.


The DPM isn't essential, just when we were laying £5000 worth of Amtico that's guaranteed we couldn't take risks, as the company would have to take the fall finacially to replace it. you may get away with it, may not. The primer would be though, it will break up for sure. Been to so many jobs where a joiner or builder undertook a job he knew nothing about and we got called in to do a proper job.

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Also the self levelling compound is a term thrown around a lot, it doesn't actually do the job it's self, If you were to throw it in a trough with a 45 degree angled base it would find its own level. On a large flat surface you have to work it with a trowel, where are you based?


You can use diluted PVA as a primer if your floor isn't horrifically dusty. I would be inclined to test it first by scuffing your floor over a patch a few times and see of you can break through it..

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Also the self levelling compound is a term thrown around a lot, it doesn't actually do the job it's self, If you were to throw it in a trough with a 45 degree angled base it would find its own level. On a large flat surface you have to work it with a trowel, where are you based?


You can use diluted PVA as a primer if your floor isn't horrifically dusty. I would be inclined to test it first by scuffing your floor over a patch a few times and see of you can break through it..

 

I was wondering about using diluted PVA to stop the dust. I have a spare tub of the stuff so might try it on a patch and see how it works out.

Not wanting to spend a fortune on the floor - certainly not £5k!! so i was hoping "self levelling" compound would be a quick, inexpensive solution.

Ive also been looking at the interlocking rubber tiles. They look pretty good, but not cheap at about £30 per square metre. was thinking i could just lay a DPM under the rubber tiles (not sure if i would need it??)

The garage is about 5m wide by 6m long, so about 30 square metres so costs will soon add up!

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They sell something like this in Costco if you have one near you:


http://www.bltllc.com/commercial_industrial_floor.htm


I'd recommend that you seal it with a proper concrete sealer if possible- when I did mine I had some concrete sealer left over from when we did the tiles on the garden patio. Used it up in the garage and then finished off with PVA - can certainly tell a difference between the two different areas.


Then, if you can afford it, go for the vinyl coverings as above link or the interlocking panels you mentioned.


If like me you go for the painted option you'll only end up getting frustrated every time you put your bike away with wet tyres and you wheel it out to find it lifts a bit of the paint up :-(

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They sell something like this in Costco if you have one near you:


http://www.bltllc.com/commercial_industrial_floor.htm


I'd recommend that you seal it with a proper concrete sealer if possible- when I did mine I had some concrete sealer left over from when we did the tiles on the garden patio. Used it up in the garage and then finished off with PVA - can certainly tell a difference between the two different areas.


Then, if you can afford it, go for the vinyl coverings as above link or the interlocking panels you mentioned.


If like me you go for the painted option you'll only end up getting frustrated every time you put your bike away with wet tyres and you wheel it out to find it lifts a bit of the paint up :-(

 

This stuff you mean??

http://www.costco.co.uk/view/product/uk ... 8.1/565749


2 rolls of this would do the job, although its only thin, would need to make sure surface was flat before laying it else it might split..

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That's the stuff joeman!!! Good find.


Nice idea with the carpet - I tried to convince the mrs that putting the old sofa in the garage was a good idea too - she didn't agree :-(

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If your garage floor is level enough to loose lay those rubber tiles on top I'd do that to be fair, the only reason for DPM is the screed can break up in a high moisture content and adhesives are water based, so when laying a floor covering over a wet floor the adhesive emulsifies and the tiles/vinyl will come up..


Screed isn't that hard to work with, a decent trowel to spread it out, then one of these http://www.decoratingdirect.co.uk/viewprod/f/FDDAIRR/

Removes trowel marks

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That's the stuff joeman!!! Good find.


Nice idea with the carpet - I tried to convince the mrs that putting the old sofa in the garage was a good idea too - she didn't agree :-(

My garage is my zone was planning to install Helgar the Swedish blond large chested mechanic to pick up my nuts when I drop them but Mrs nogin said it was a step to far!


So I'll stick with my work bench, tools and my chair. I was going to paint garage floor but after reading what has been said, I may look at other options!

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That's the stuff joeman!!! Good find.


Nice idea with the carpet - I tried to convince the mrs that putting the old sofa in the garage was a good idea too - she didn't agree :-(

 


After we'd put the most recent lot of carpet down (whenever a mate is getting a new carpet, we remove their old one for them :) ) we had some offcuts so she carpeted some sections of the walls too. That way it doesn't matter how close we get the bikes when we park them, we're not gonna scrape/scratch the exhaust, mirrors, etc etc



I've told her that when we get the new TV for the front room, the 50" will go in the bedroom and the bedroom TV (42") will be going in the garage. That way I can watch the Moto GP or the F1 while I tinker with the bikes, rather than having to split my time between the two :)

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Have you a link to the rubber tiles? Depends what you mean, if they are dovetailed and interlocking like what I have in mind you won't even need to seal.

 

I initially thought those dovetail style rubber tiles would work out quite expensive, thats why i was looking at a DIY screed/epoxy/painted floor as I figured it might be cheaper.

However, from what you've said, pouring a new floor might be a huge amount of effort, so when i compare the price of rubber tiles with the cost of paying some blokes to pour me a new floor, the rubber tiles might work out the cheaper options..



These PlasFloor tiles are about 18squid per sqm:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Plasfloor-PVC ... 119&_uhb=1

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I asked for some samples of the PlasFloor tiles.. they arrived yesterday..

First impressions - they are very good quality, made from tough plastic, and plenty hard wearing for garage floor use... they are smaller than i expected, i think its 25 to 1sqm (5x5)

its not going to be cheap, but i think it will give a good quality, hard wearing, long lasting finish without the bother of pouring screed, and getting messy with paint etc, so i may well be ordering some soon!...


Oh, and as you can see from the photo, my crazy Labrador puppy got hold of them.. they survived well, so they must be tough!! :cheers:


EDIT: just noticed, this is the back of the tiles, the top surface has the PlasFloor logo in the middle.

1264035158_garagefloortiles.jpg.b2fa494efbeff998289bd62c52a634aa.jpg

Floor tiles eaten by lab puppy.

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I took a different approach and just carpeted my garage floor.



Helps insulate the garage, makes it nice and warm/comfy when I sit or lie on the floor to work on the bike.

 

Same here - Got the carpet from the local recycling facility (tip) as a 'freebee'.


Just one tip - lay newspaper under the carpet and lift/replace every 4-6 months. Keeps the carpet from rotting.


PS. Get free newspapers every week so total cost = nil! Result!


:cheers:

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I took a different approach and just carpeted my garage floor.

Helps insulate the garage, makes it nice and warm/comfy when I sit or lie on the floor to work on the bike.

Have a certain amount of carpeting in our garage too.

as you mentioned, it helps when sitting or laying on the floor, and in my case, helps to reduce the amount of scuffing or chipping of the concrete floor when parking the bike on the side stand, or centre stand.

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Also seems to work really well at keeping the dust down (as it gets trapped in the carpet, then you just hoover it up)


As well as being good thermal and sound insulation etc. Also better on your bike tyres if the bikes stay parked up for long periods.



Yeah - and free. Free is good.

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