Shop floor options

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Grandpop

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Was searching old threads but not finding what I was looking for, so will start anew one. Apologies if this is not correct forum.

I just built a 12 x 40 garage addition onto existing side of a one car garage, the back 16 ft are my new workspace (12 x 36 lathe, 8 x 32 mill, 6 x 12 surface grinder, 4 x 6 saw, welder, etc.). Walls/ceilings are insulated, drywalled, and now painted, with 6 220 outlets and a dozen double 120 outlets, new lights, so ready to move the machines in. Last thing I was wondering about was coating the concrete floor with epoxy or clear sealer. I want something that will stand up to the hot chips, the truck parked in front of the machine area, and will be easy to sweep (or maybe even mop) up.

Was even toying with idea of peal/stick vinyl tiles, but afraid the hot truck tires or casters (with the small space everything is on wheels) would mess them up.

What have you done to your shop floor and did it hold up?
 
I painted my concrete floor with dulux durebuild ste been 2 years and nothing will even touch it, I acid etched it twice degreased it and water blasted it then let it dry for a week, I've dragged 1 ton of weight on some bots and it didn't touch the paint the only time it comes up is when concrete is removed!

It is starting to wear in front of the lathe where I've beeen standing on chips

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Agree with above,plain polished cement.been around auto shops since I could stand,nothing holds up and it just looks horrible when it fails.cement sweep it up and done.
 
I would seal it, I hate concrete dust.
I have a wood shop primarily and one shop for metal. I put down the square VCT tiles. mainly because if I dropped a chisel I didn't want my tool chipping. I wanted the tile chipping. It has done that well.
If I had a garage shop, I would seal the floor with a cement sealer, or paint it. So much easier to get the oils off, but more slippery if not done right. So do it right.
 
Let it be as that is easy to maintain and cheap.

Get a bag of cheapest cat litter for oil spills and it will draw oil out well.



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I'm planning doing a light grind on my new 2100 sf floor and applying a penetrating sealer to keep down dust and prevent oil stains. Epoxy and paint WILL eventually chip under hard use. I should be able to get 2 coats for under $500, and if you do end up having heavy wear in a hard use area, you can re-coat without extensive prep work. Here's a blurb on the product: By using a penetrating, impregnating sealer that densifies and hardens concrete and also provides a hydrophobic surface barrier you can ensure a fully waterproofed substrate. One of our favorite concrete water-proofers is Lithi-Tek LS 9500. This sealer is an invisible, penetrating concrete sealer that will not only densify concrete, but it will waterproof and help to prevent deleterious organic growth. The chemically reactive and active ingredients seal the pores within the substrate adequately blocking surface moisture while still maintaining the concretes ability to breathe. It will not significantly modify substrate appearance or traction and will only wear away if the concrete surface itself wears away. New or existing concrete can be treated and performance can be improved in as little as two applications. The concentrated nature of the sealer allows for 1000 sq. ft. of coverage per coat from 1 gallon (two coats are recommended so each gallon will yield 500 square feet worth of coverage) and it is now readily available at HomeDepot.com and Lowes.com. This sealer only costs about $0.10 per square foot per application; considering the cost to replace concrete is about $7.00 per square foot, sealing concrete with the 9500 is a worthwhile investment. Mike
 
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