Shed concrete coating

[mac_man_luke]

Hello all

Looking for some advice for what to coat our new shed slab with.

Seems to be so many options, all with pros/cons.

Shed is approximately 80m2 with the slab being poured this week so i have a little bit of time to decide before it will be dry anyway.

Epoxy sounds ideal but is not cheap and if it gets damaged you basically have to repaint for it to look "good" again.

Clear sealer of some variety is an option but not sure how it will hold up to vehicle traffic

Other option seems to be some form of surface hardener but iv not really found any products from my searching.

Main purpose for the coating is to 1) waterproof (make it easier to sweep/fall water out - have a section where the boat will be washed) 2) prevent staining e.g. tyre marks etc 3) keep dust levels down.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

thanks
Luke

[johnc]

Paving paint, just recoat every few years.

[mac_man_luke]

single pack e.g. berger jet dry? or 2 pack?

[Boeing777]

We coated our studio floor at work in a dark grey berger jet dry (2 coats) about a year ago, it gets pretty heavy traffic and things dragged across it all the time and so far it's holding up well!

[Elite Crete]

Hi Luke,

Paving paint is a temporary solution that will cost you more money over time. An economical solution for your shed floor would be CSS Emulsion (http://elitecrete.com/PDFs/EliteCreteSystems_Product_Documents/TD.426%20-%20Technical%20Data%20-%20CSS%20Emulsion.pdf), which is a concentrated, clear, acrylic and methyl-methacrylate (MMA) sealer. CSS Emulsion will have no problems holding up to hot tyre traffic, petrochemicals, UV, etc. You can literally file a 20 cent piece on this coating. You are looking at under a few dollars a m2 to put this product down.

You need to be careful shopping for epoxies, there are many products on the market all varying in price and quality. You'll find that most of the cheaper and even some of the more expensive epoxies are solvent or waterborne. For example; if you use a product that has been "diluted" by the manufacturer with 50% solvents, after that solvent has flashed you are now left with 50% solids or half the volume of what you paid for. E100-PT4 (http://elitecrete.com/PDFs/EliteCreteSystems_Product_Documents/TD.463%20-%20Technical%20Data%20-%20E100-PT4%20Pigmented.pdf) is a true 100% solid, pigmented epoxy that has zero VOC's. Depending on the porosity of your concrete, you could install this epoxy system for under $7 a m2.

Specifying a flooring system takes a little work. There's a multitude of options depending on your specific needs; i.e. stain resistance, abrasion resistance, chemical containment, slip resistance or all of the above. The two systems I mentioned would cover your criteria. If you want more information you can checkout www.elitecreteaustralia.com (http://www.elitecreteaustralia.com)

[johnc]

single pack e.g. berger jet dry? or 2 pack?

Berger jet dry is the only one I've used, easy to apply, tyre traffic will wear it down. I use it in the shed and plenty of stuff gets dragged around on it and it seems to hold up well.

[sydneywide]

Hello all

Looking for some advice for what to coat our new shed slab with.

Seems to be so many options, all with pros/cons.

Shed is approximately 80m2 with the slab being poured this week so i have a little bit of time to decide before it will be dry anyway.

Epoxy sounds ideal but is not cheap and if it gets damaged you basically have to repaint for it to look "good" again.

Clear sealer of some variety is an option but not sure how it will hold up to vehicle traffic

Other option seems to be some form of surface hardener but iv not really found any products from my searching.

Main purpose for the coating is to 1) waterproof (make it easier to sweep/fall water out - have a section where the boat will be washed) 2) prevent staining e.g. tyre marks etc 3) keep dust levels down.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

thanks
Luke

Hi
I suggest trying a colour seal, it is a nice innovative product that protects your concrete from stains and sunshine and is made for high traffic areas such as driveways.
It is also very cheap $150 for a 20 l drum
Joe.
SYDNEYWIDE CONCRETING & LANDSCAPING

[ringtail]

Sorry to hijack but I'm in the same boat. I have 65 sq m under my house that is very bad concrete. A patchwork quilt with numerous holes, high spots, low spots, rough spots etc... I got a quote from 2 seamless expoxy companies and one was $ 70 a sqm and the other was $ 100 a sqm. I could cut that entire slab out with a wet saw and pour a new slab for half that amount - but I dont want to, as its just the dogs and laundry down there. So, can I buy that $ 7 a sqm expoy in Brisbane somewhere or can you recommend a product that will seal and bind crappy concrete and maybe take a paint flek with a clear over the top ?