Garage floor

[Dave_L]

Well done, looking good!

[47p2]

Thanks Dave, it was a big decision to make as to whether to do the job myself or not, but I saved more than 60% on the quotes I received so with the savings I made I can put them towards the driveway.

[worldofpaving]

Very well done, for a non-professional concrete layer that is a very good job and well done for following the expert advice, most people wouldn't and cut corners usually with disastrous effects.

Bet it was hard work though, still, you can cancel that gym membership!

Best,
WOP

[47p2]

Hi WOP, There's no point reading all the info and then cutting corners only to run into problems a few weeks, months or years down the line. I am one of these determined folk who likes to get it right first time. I hate spending good money and getting a bad service so I would rather do it myself.

This forum is a minefield of superb information and if anyone who is contemplating a paving project reads the relevant information and follows it to the word, they won't go far wrong. Thanks again everyone for their feedback, thoughts and assistance.

Well the good news is Building Control are more than happy with my first attempt at building a garage and said I can expect my Building Warrant through the post later this week.

[lutonlagerlout]

looks good,only thing i would mention is that you have a very long run of gutter there with an awful lot of water coming off the roof into 1 down pipe
i would have a downpipe each end and deep flow guttering

IMO that wont take heavy rain,as it is

other than that quality job,well done fella
LLL

[47p2]

Hi lutonlagerlout, thanks for the feedback, the gutter seems to be worling just fine as it is, the thunderstorms over the past few days have not caused any problems spillover whatever

[lutonlagerlout]

that run must be 13+ M?
where does the water go to from the downpipe?
whole job looks quality,
well done
LLL

[47p2]

10.5 metres LLL. The water goes around the corner and into a trap which connects to the main drain. Because the levels were wrong I had to keep the pipe above ground for most of it's run length and hide it behind a wall

[47p2]

This week I've been preparing the garage floor. The concrete has been down for about 7 months now and is unsealed so it's really dusty. My original plan was to polish it and clear coat it, then I thought about a 2 pack epoxy paint, now I am unsure, so guys I need your expert advice once again.

On Monday I hired an electric carborundum grinder and made a start, The top layer came off easily and as long as I swept up often there wasn't too much mess.
On Tuesday I hired a concrete planer to get into the edges, it looks like an angle grinder with a sole plate and has a cupped diamond tipped blade. This was the monster from hell, the dust was everywhere, thick to the point it choked my mask and I had to vacate the garage on several occasions just to breath, not a nice job.
On Wednesday I started on the floor again, using medium carborundum stones and I have to say that this will be as smooth as I will be going. I am just at the stage where the aggregate is starting to polish up. The edges and corners still have to be finished off by hand and for this I will use the carborundum stones to tidy it up.



Here are a few pictures I took on Wednesday



I knew the ramp would come in handy


This is the aggregate showing through.


and outside on Wednesday



I called a few companied who do concrete floors and was quoted £1500-£3000 for the work, depending on what was involved and I will hazard a guess it would be nearer £3k.
Doing it myself for the cost of hiring the equipment and the 2 pack epoxy undercoat and top coats it will cost me less than £600, so quite a saving. I have to say though, it's a heck of a lot harder to do than I ever imagined.

On Thursday I finished grinding the floor. Edges and corners tidied up by hand using a medium stone and the floor has been hosed down to remove the dust. Now I need to wait on it drying out and also for some slightly warmer weather before applying whatever I decide to coat it with.




Friday and I have just been out to the garage for a look and the more I see the floor the more I think that some sort of clear sealer/hardener would be the way to go





Advice, comments and recommendations please

[Pablo]

Not being abusive here but have you ever actually owned a Rover personally I'd rather stick a fork in my eye. The garage looks great whatever coating you put on will need to be thick to smooth out all the pitting otherwise it'll be very hard to keep clean. Maybe a clear latex.

[Tony McC]

We did a series of floors for a chain of MOT garages 15+ years ago and to achieve a super-smooth finish required we simply acid etched the concrete (which we had poured the previous month and finished to ±1.5mm, steel float) and then painted it with NitoFlor in 2, maybe 3, coats.

NitoFlor and similar are specialist epoxy floor paints. They ain't particularly cheap, but they really and truly bond to the substrate and they don't chip when some klutz drops a spanner.

[47p2]

Not being abusive here but have you ever actually owned a Rover personally I'd rather stick a fork in my eye. The garage looks great whatever coating you put on will need to be thick to smooth out all the pitting otherwise it'll be very hard to keep clean. Maybe a clear latex.

Oh Pablo, have you not had a good experience with Rover cars.

Maybe you should try a real car

This is my baby, she is 63 years old

[mickg]

thats a very nice looking car 47p2, i can see why you call it your baby

[lutonlagerlout]

I had a montego, very popular motor
mine had 16 previous owners
epic fail mechanically
sold it at an auction for a song then got picked up 4 weeks later for armed robbery
yes,you guessed it
the blaggers hadn't bothered to send off the log book
how thoughtless of them
It went fast down hill as i recall
LLL

[47p2]

So now all we need is to seal the floor so that my baby doesn't get covered in concrete dust