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Does anyone have any experience with the two-part epoxy systems for garages that they sell at Lowe's and Home Depot? My shop is located in a room, in my basement and since I am in the middle of doing some renovations to the shop, I was thinking I would apply this stuff to the floor. My thinking was that it would help maintain the humidity in the shop by preventing any moisture coming up through the slab floor. I am concerned the when I am moving around my 15" planer, which is very heavey and doesn't turn well, that it would dig through this material.

Thanks,
Scott

I helped a friend put that down awhile back (maybe 3 years). I don't know if he's had any problems with it, but I haven't heard him complain since. I remember it being pretty easy to work with.

Did he use it in his shop or Garage? Just curious.

My dad was interested in doing the same thing in his shop (the one I use), but when he asked the sales person at Aboff's they told him that the basement floor will probably crack because the epoxy is preventing the moisture from rising. It might be better to find out at a paint store or something.

Another option is moisture cured polyurethane. I have used it on a number of wood floors and it is bullet proof. I had some left over and used it on the concrete floor in the de hum room in my shop. It seems to be doing well although it doesn't see the traffic the rest of my shop sees. I'm pretty sure though that there are few finishes as tough. The downfall, pretty toxic when applying. It cures quickly seems to have little odour after it's gone off though. It seems to me that it does say on the can "for concrete" also.

Good Luck!

I used a grey two part epoxy on my shop floor 20 years ago. I put down 3 coats with a roller and stick and high quality chemical vapor mask with the proper filter I got from the local industrial safety supply. There is no way I could have done it without the proper mask. The stuff will blow you down but in 5 days is completely odorless and considered food grade.
The floor is still in great condition and I can slide tools such as a jointer or freestanding drill press over it with barely a mark. I don't know which brand I used but it wasn't cheap. I used what was considered and industrial product.

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http://goatrockukulele.com

I was going to put down some of this in my garage about a year ago. After I totaled up the cost to do the job right (two base coats, flakes, clear coat, supplies) it got to be sort of expensive.

The thing is I didn’t want to invest that kind of money into the house and have the fear that the flooring system would fail. Then, as Filippo says, what do you do?

I ended up putting down Vinyl Composite Tile that I got at lowes. It was easy to put down, is easy to clean\sweep, can be repaired, and looks good when it is waxed. It is basically the material they use for flooring in stores and hospitals. I am very pleased with it. I don’t know if the glue provides any sort of vapor barrier like you are looking for, but as a shop flooring material, this stuff is great.

Oh and shortly after I put the floor down, my wife’s brother brought over this huge antique safe to put in our garage and it got slid\dragged across the floor. I think this would have damaged the epoxy look, but I can just mop a bit of wax over the tile and it will be fine.

It was actually in his unfinished basement. It was the first thing he did to it. I'm about do to give him a phone call. I'll ask him what he thinks of it now.

I weighed all my options and went with a sort of expensive do-it-yourself two part epoxy / two part urethane product made by "Ucoat It". I think the price was about $800 for a 600sq ft space but that was including everything: prep stuff, rollers, special caulking and filler for cracks, etc... Two coats of colored epoxy over a wetted floor (if you can believe it) multi-colored flecks on top of that and then a two part urethane sealer. The stuff is bomb proof. Only mistake I made was not hosing all the muriatic acid off the floor well enough and some places have some yellow cast because of it. You can drag heavy machinery across the stuff and it will not flake off and this was a 50 year old garage floor with oil stains and everything.. Lot of work but it's a great product. I personally wouldn't waste my time with a cheaper alternative because once it's down, no matter what it is, you're stuck with it... you can't overcoat a cheaper product with a better product...

A nice feature of these coatings is that it cleans up wonderfully and once sealed, the concrete does not give up a constant supply of dust or moisture..

Regards, Peter Z

Thanks guys. I am going to have to reconsider my options. I'd hope to figure it out soon so I can reassemble my shop and get going again.

Thanks,
Scott

On old concrete you need to do a good acid wash and a good rinse, which is near impossible in a basement unless there is a floor drain with the capacity to drain the rinse.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.