Working with Concrete

[Bob Jenkins]

Hey All,

Long time lurker - first time poster. I'm getting ready to build a shop in the basement, not my first, though this house is being built as we speak and I am worried about the concrete in the basement.

Originally I planned on Sealing the floor with TileClad II Epoxy before I get my machines in. Though I read in a book regarding basements it said that I should wait at least two years before I seal the floor! Is this true? I live in the Chicagoland Area and the time between the concrete being poored and time to being sealed is only going to be about 120 days. I did plan on doing the "mositure test" to see where I was at, but I really wanted to seal the floor before anything was in. I sealed the floor in my last shop AFTER I moved in and it was a real pain. Any recommendations on sealing the floor and it's time frame?

I planned on sealing the walls as well, but have not read anything regarding a time frame? Last time I sealed the walls with multiple coats of DryLok and two coats of white semi gloss. When I applied the DryLok direct to the concrete it seemed like I wased ALOT with the porous-ness of the poured walls. This time I was thinking of putting a good coat of block filler in first. This way I could cut down on my DryLok costs and get a more consistant spread from it. Though I thought this may defeat the purpose of the sealing aggent in the DryLok. Any ideas on this one?

Thanks

[Ed Labadie]

Bob, welcome to the "Creek".

I'm not familar with the product you are considering for the floor in your basement.
This week I did have a Sherwin Willians rep in my shop to look at the floor as I was considering an epoxy coating for it.
I learned a lot! :eek:
The most important thing with the SW coatings is having a rough surface for the coating to adhere to. This may be accomplished by an acid etch (usually 2 appliactions) or by shotblasting the floor with steel shot.
The preferred & best method is to have a broom finish on the floor when it's poured. The rep said the roughness should be about 1/8" deep for ideal adhesion.
Coating prices ranged from $35 to $100 per gallon, dependent on the solids content.
I decided against doing anything in my shop. I frequently do welding, hot metal & epoxy coatings don't play well together.
You might want to consult with a rep on the product you are planning on using.

Hope this helps.

Ed

[Chris Padilla]

Bob,

Welcome to the Creek! Take a look at www.ucoatit.com (http://www.ucoatit.com) and see if they are of any help for you. The products there are WONDERFUL (if not a tad pricey) for garage floors but dunno about a basement floor.

I think it is a good idea to do the concrete moisture test (simple enough to do) but I'm unsure of how long concrete needs to cure. I sure would think 120 days is plenty as I've heard/read for "concrete paint products", that at least 2 months is recommended for new concrete to cure.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I think these folks have a solution:
http://www.epoxysystems.com/
Call and ask.

[Kyle Kraft]

Bob,

I am currently in the middle of a 2 year paint & concrete odyssey. Check out vaportest.com for info on a good vapor emission test kit. The Pittsburgh rep I'm working with says not more than 3lbs per 1000sq.ft. per 24 hours for paint coating. According to a table I found on the net, concrete with a 1.0 water-cement ratio 4" thick poured directly on a vapor barrier should reach 3.0lbs in 195 days after pouring.

If I had to do it all over again, I think I would have put on a clear sealer from the concrete company and skip all the agony I have been dealing with.

[John W. Willis]

Clear concrete floor sealer..... I worked in a paint/janitorial supply store for years and always had trouble getting most paint products to adhere. The clear concrete floor sealer from the janitorial side worked better and produced very few complaints.

I found that most failures were from unexpected incidents (spills, heat, water, etc.) and human nature in not following recommended procedure and particularly side stepping or ignoring them all together. (I'm as guilty here as the next person)

The clear will penetrate somewhat and seals the pores so that sweeping is easier and that spills don't penetrate.