[alkyaltered]

FINALLY Breaking ground next Sat. for my new 30x56 Future Steel bldg.

Man it's been a long time from a two car enclosed carport to the real shop.

My little altered won't know how to act.

Picked up a lotta tips from this site(thanks guy's) from buying a welder to finishing the floor (still not sure about that) but i can make an informed decision when the time comes.

[Kevin45]

Alkyaltered....make sure you keep us informed with pics along the way. One thing to do is when you get the concrete poured and they power trowel it...make sure they kind of burnish the finish. The smoother it is the less it will let oil etc, stain. Also, and you can do it however you like, but where they will be cutting control joints, lay rebar across these areas every 1 1/2' or 2' apart. This will keep the concrrete from seperating after it cracks in the joint. Also where the control joint comes to an edge, lay a piece of rebar in that area across the joint end. I am a very firm believe in using rebar over the wire fencing or over the fiberglass reinforced concrete. The wire fence will stretch and the fiberglass reinforced will crack just as bad as concrete that doesn't have it. I poured about 100' of sidewalk 5 years ago and still do not have any cracks in the control joints due to the rebar holding it tight. If it does decide to crack, it will still crack in the joint though. Anyways...looking forward to the new garage build pics.

Kevin

[Beenaway2long]

Kevin,
I poured my 30x40 polebarn floor 4" thick, and the only cracks are at the control joints (where they're supposed to be) over 2 years ago. I even have drains, and no cracks! I just used 3000# mix with air and fiberglass fibers. No other reinforcing whatsoever. I did one on my garage addition 8 years ago that was 26x20, with NO control joints, and (2) drains. No cracks there either. And we get WICKED temp extremes. -35 to 100 degrees. I'm sold on the fiberglass fiber reinforcement.

THE ONLY DRAWBACK- As you finish it, you get the fibers popping up. They wear off after some time.

NOTE: Talk to your concrete guy if you plan of painting the floor. Using "cure & seal" will require shot blasting, or sandblasting the floor, or the paint won't stick. Muriatic acid won't wash the suspended silicas from cure & seal. Currently talking to a couple paint mfrs about it now. I have these isues now. I have to shotblast thee floor, so I can paint it, and have it "Stay" painted. I tried the Behr "Epoxy" floor coatings on one floor(26x20), after using muriatic acid, flushing it over an hour, let it dry 3 days, and the paint started lifting 4 months after painting it. Cure and seal was the cause.

[grouch]

Was there a vapor barrier under the floor where the paint lifted? I've been reading about epoxy coatings but the only garage nearby that has one is a service station. It has a very thick, red epoxy coating but that floor has never had a moisture problem. So far I've been too chicken to gamble on mine.

Hope you find a fix.

[speede5]

I am hoping to be building a big shop in the near future and was toying with dying the concrete rather than painting it. They painted the hangars I work in a few years ago and used the best stuff available and it still is susseptable to chiping. Don't get me wrong the stuff is awesome but not the be all end all. Plus it is incredibly slippery. I mean deadly! the way I spill stuff in my garage Watch out! Have any of you guys seen dyed concrete? It looks pretty good. Anyway if you do paint it don't fool around. Buy the absolute best stuff you can find. Talk to the pros and see if you can get the same materials they use. Anything you buy at the local hardware store probably wont cut it for long.

[OneMoreTime]

Yup have seen that...we used that years ago..it came in a red and green and I think a black as far as I know and was mixed into a sort of mud that the concrete finishers troweled onto the fresh poured concrete..looks great when done..

The best finish I have ever found for a garage floor is one of the penetrating clear sealers..Seems to be the most durable of all of the stuff out there..

And yes any kind of "slick trowel" finish can be real slippery if there is any grease, water or oil on the floor..So that is a consideration..

Iwould reccomend that you get all your materials from your local redi-mix outfit as they service contractors and builders and they know what you need and works in your area..

OMT

[Beenaway2long]

Grouch-
Vapor barriers on both! Steel blade power trowel finish. You ought to see ball bearings roll......

Its the cure & seal. Its down in the pores, and needs to be shot blast, or sandblasted off. Only REAL answer, unfortunatly. Acid didn't work.



Dying concrete will only color it. It doesn't make it easier to clean, or eliminate "dusting" like epoxy paint will. Also, you will need more light on a darker floor. I would rather have it natural,before dying, but thats just me.
Chips in the paint are inevitable. Battle scars....Arrrrrruuuuuuuuuuu!!!! Permanatly pretty floors just prove you don't work hard enough. Right?

[grouch]

I read a whole long page of caveats and cautions about epoxy on some supplier's web site. The worst problem they found was moisture coming up through the concrete and their biggest warning was that if paint lifts from your floor, the epoxy will, too. They sold something to soak down into the concrete to block the moisture and give the epoxy something to 'bite', but even then they said it didn't work for every floor.

Ah, found it. http://www.epoxyproducts.com/garage4u.html

Beenaway2long:
One of the warnings they give fits right in with what you were saying --

"If your concrete has been treated with some sort of cement sealer (typically a waxy or silicon based sealer) no paint will stick to it."

[Beenaway2long]

I always thought muriatic was OK, so i guess I learned something! Good website!!! Good to read for ANYONE with concrete!

Jeff

[grouch]

Beenaway2long:
I like the fact that they don't give a big pitch like, "You too can have a showroom floor for just 99 EASY payments...!" Instead, they tell you the ways that the coating or paint could fail and how to test for many of them before you buy.

alkyaltered:
Good luck on your new garage! Is that a pre-engineered steel building? I used to put those up, from farm buildings to commercial ones. A small crew (3 to 5 men) should be able to erect one that size in a day and have it finished in no more than three.

[alkyaltered]

Murphy's law strikes again,as we were preparing to excavate a question arose about the property line.

My neighbor said he thought the line was off approx 60' towards him.

I asked him what did his deed say and he said he hadn't had his land surveyed.

When i bought the property eight years ago he showed me where the lines were and i took it he had had his surveyed and knew now this comes up.

Oh well the surveyer was here today and will finish up tomorrow,i will know for sure as he is doing our property lines,we own nine acres but the ideal spot is within that 60'.

The building is a steel kit i hope it goes up well.

Does anyone have any ideas bout insulation.

Thanks guy's you've been a big help.

[grouch]

I'm not familiar with the Future brand. Is it all steel, girts and purlins spanning pre-engineered trusses or post and beam? The buildings I helped erect were insulated with big rolls of vinyl-backed fiberglass. These were unrolled across the frame before the skin was screwed on.

Here's a guide from General Steel Corporation (never dealt with any of their buildings, either, but the procedure is all too familiar looking):

http://www.gensteel.com/steel_buildi..._manual_29.htm