There is a coating you can get, kind of a paint or something, that prevents oil and such from getting into the concrete and staining it. Its worth it. There is an epoxy that is almost bulletproof, but it aint cheap.
smooth is my vote the one i worked on was rough and it is hard on anything that slides on it or comes in contact with it.
thanks all .. if anyone has a pic. and some info. on the diff. coatings and paints i would like to see a pic. ...frank...
i am in "sticker shock" at the moment. i went and priced the same building of diff. materials and got prices for a (24'x36') from...$6,865 - $7,871 (30'x40') $9,523- $12,200 - $24,240...the last one was "stick" built. all of these prices were with me getting the "slab" ready and me finishing out the inside...frank...
welcome to the real world frank. i was the same way. got about $30k in mine, course i had it built and it includes concrete slab and concrete to the road. that's why i got mine done before i retired.
Frank, do google search on pre fab steel buildings. Sometimes you can find sales of overstocks and odd sizes or buildings that somebody canceled the order on. Some of them run specials, too. There are some that you can put together yourself or let a contractor put together. If I ever get ahead enough, thats what I want to do, pour the floor myself and then assemble the building kit....
thanks, i had an offer today on a building...40'x80'...$7,000...doors windows and elect. was more building than i need...frank...
I bought my house with a rough floor, but did an "etch/clean" with muriatic acid, and applied the epoxy coating from Lowes. Would have really liked a smoother floor, but the epoxy filled in much of the grooves. Cleans up real nice and easy, and the only some really harsh chemicals have damaged it (bottle of clorox busted open and sat in a corner for a few weeks before I tracked down where it came from, and it etched the floor (really just discolored it), but it is still water/oil proof). It was cheap, I think $18 per gallon, and took about 6 gallons to do a 3-thin layer application with paint rollers. My garage is one of those "2-car garages" that will only fit 2 small toyotas, and you will still have to crawl out the window once they are parked. I cannot close the garage door on my Ram 1500, too short. But perfect size for a rollaway toolbox, a 6' tall air compressor, some rolling shelves, and a Maverick! If I was starting from scratch, I would do a smoother concrete floor and similar expoxy, but maybe 4-5 coats. Keep some around in gallon containers in case of serious damage, like dropping an engine block and scratching the coating, or for that chemical discoloration/etching.
Some of the epoxy coatings can't handle the contact stress of a car or cherry picker. Just make sure you get the heavy duty stuff and it won't be a problem. A friend of mine has the light duty on his floor, because it came that way, and it chips where his cars sit and he has to touch it up every now and again. The only down side to them is like scooper was talking about with the acid etch, because it absolutely will not stick to a dirty floor or one with oil soaked into it. I would use it on a new floor without a doubt. No matter how many times I clean my cement it still feels oily. On the other hand, all of the shops that I've been in that have the coating clean up so nice, and you'd never even know something was spilled there. Plus you can use a mop to clean up instead of a brush and hose. It's sooooooooo much better. On an off note, I know people have mentioned radiant heat before in the cement. This is another must in my opinion.
Radiant heat is great.....but it is not for the "occasional" use.........as it will take awhile to fire up and heat an entire room/space. You really have to leave it "on" all the time. A forced air furnace is great for occasional use and you can fire it up and in less than an hour your garage will be warm and toasty (but your tools will still be cold )
i'm building this shop in "Georgia" if it gets "cool" in there i will go in the house.... ... now are there any suggestions on how to "cool" it??? "smooth and cool" that's it...remindes me of me in the 60s ...frank...
Frank lives down in Macon. "slick" is the correct term in Macon. Definately need a smooth floor. Our old house up in Flowery Branch had a smooth floor and I spent a great deal of time in the laying on that floor helping my dad in the 90's. Compareing that to working on my car in the driveway where I live now, the smooth floor was definately much nicer. If I ever build a garage, I'll either dig a big hole and put it underground or build it into the side of a hill. Sounds stupid, but our old garage was about 90% under ground (house was built on a hill) and even in the middle of summer it was always nice and cool in there with no A/C.
