Before and Afters, Garage Floor Coatings

The Ultra Top Coat for Garage Floor Coatings

by Joe Sheehan

October 18, 2010

Question: How thick is your garage floor top coat? We hear this question all the time.

Answer: Every coating manufacture and blender has a recommendation for the thickness of the coating wear surface or D-F-T (Dried Film Thickness). This recommendation is minimal at best and is based on keeping the cost down for the applicator/contractor. We, at G-F One Coatings, know it’s simply not enough.

Result: We only apply, for our Minneapolis, Minnesota area customers, a top coat that has a D-F-T that is twice, 2 times or 100% MORE than the manufacture’s recommendation.

Conclusion: We add more value to our customer’s garage floor project by increasing the thickness of the top coat. Our customers can see the difference. Over time, we hear comments about their appreciation for the “rich, deep, thick top coat” and it’s long term performance.

So we, at G-F One Coatings, named our top coat “the ULTRA TOP COAT.” It’s on every garage floor we do. Call us anytime at 612.919.4414

Concrete Preparation, Garage Floor Coatings

What is a “Pop-out” in your Garage Floor?

by Joe Sheehan

October 15, 2010

By definition a “pop-out,” in concrete, is the breaking away of the concrete surface leaving a “shallow, conical, depression in the surface.” In Minnesota, it’s usually caused by freeze / thaw cycles, aggregate expansion (a stone in the concrete slab that may be close to the surface), and/or the constant salt attack (think DOT: winter road salts).

Scenario: The typical home owner is naturally concerned about these “pop-outs” in their concrete. They attract dirt, moisture, water, and every year they progressively worsen. Eventually, the owner goes to a store and buys repair material, such as caulk or bagged cement, with the anticipation of it working.

Question: Should you apply a garage coating over a repaired “pop-out?”

Answer: No. The repairs must be removed and replaced. Once a coating is applied, the concrete slab will equalize with moisture (RH – Relative humidity). Moisture over time will deteriorate the “do-it-yourself” repair at the bond point and “pop-out” again.

Question: How should they be repaired and what is the cost?

Answer: All of our repairs are based off industry standards, recommendations, processes and procedures – in layman’s terms, we jackhammer all the damage and repairs out, and fill them with material that is guaranteed to perform and last. The cost can vary based on damage from nothing to $100’s – pending on how much labor and material is required to bring the surface to our standards prior to coating. Every floor is different.

Conclusion: If the old repairs are left in, and the contractor coats over the repair, the failure (which is inevitable) is now the responsibility of the home owner – therefore nullifying any warranty the coating has.

At G-F One Coatings we remove ALL previous repairs, whether they are poured repairs, cement repairs, or caulked (do-it-yourself repairs).

Through years of experience, we have found that if our processes and procedures for repairing “pop-outs” are not properly executed, the failure factor will come to play and the floor will not last. By not following these guidelines, the garage floor coating is simply put at risk.

Feel free to contact us at 612.919.4414

Before and Afters, Concrete Preparation, Garage Floor Coatings

Epoxy Floors, Failure and Removal

by Joe Sheehan

October 12, 2010

In the past few years, we’ve experienced a sharp increase in the demand to remove failed epoxy garage floors in the metro area. After asking each and every one of our customers about why their previous floor failed – we got a variety of responses. Some of the floors lasted years, some of them months and some of them just days. Some of them blamed their applicators, some of them blamed the product. Some of them even blamed the neighbor who told them to do it in the first place. Regardless of who did it, or why it happen, one thing was clear – each epoxy floor had separated from the garage surface. The coating simply delaminated from the concrete.

On a positive note: each of the customers found value in having a garage coating. They appreciated the decorative colors that matched their houses or garage interior. They liked the way their vehicles looked parked on the floor. They appreciated the overall “neat / clean” look of the garage. They even noticed that they were less likely to fall on the floor due to the increased slip-resistance of the coating.

To avoid the failure factor – the formula is simple – the “Prep Perfect System,” polyurea / polyaspartic, and an experienced applicator.

Here are some of our finished floors – that are guaranteed to work long-term.

Questions? Comments? Feel free to give us a call at 612.919.4414

Before and Afters, Concrete Preparation, Garage Floor Coatings

Floor Drains and Minnesota Garage Floor Coatings

by Joe Sheehan

October 12, 2010

The History: This home was built in the early 90’s in an upscale development in Woodbury Minnesota. The garage floor was installed with a center floor drain. A handy and useful feature in any garage. Especially in Minnesota, where snow melts from vehicles in the winter.

The Challenge: However, in this case, the drain simply didn’t work. The reason being, the drain was set too high in the floor, which caused a large ponding area around the drain.

To show this, we placed a level between the drain and the surrounding floor. Surprisingly, this challenge is not that uncommon.

The Solution: The “old school” solution is to build up concrete or repair material around the floor drain so that water flows correctly. We’ve seen this attempted numerous times – generally, this solution is short-lived. Often times, the fill will delaminate due to moisture building up around the drain. Add in freeze / thaw cycles and road salts – delamination is inevitable.

Our solution: instead of adding concrete around the drain, we create drain paths. By cutting notches in the cast iron drain bowl, and drainage paths in the surrounding concrete, our solution allows water to easily flow into the drain. Simple. Furthermore, we give our customers a surface that is easily cleanable, and with a soft double headed foam squeegee the customer can move water and debris to the drain in minutes. Leaving the surface bone-dry and ready for use.

garage floor drain

To prove that our thought-process and solution worked. We returned days later and flooded the floor with 10 gallons of water and gave our customer a squeegee and asked him politely to clean his floor. And as you can see from the pictures, it worked perfectly. The floor drain that was unusable for the last 15 years now worked as it should.

squeegee garage floor

Our customer’s comment: “It works!”

Comments? Questions? Call us at 612.919.4414

Before and Afters, Garage Floor Coatings

Joe’s Garage: A Unique Example of a Garage Done Right

by Joe Sheehan

October 11, 2010

Here’s the story: A pending kitchen remodel in 2003, forced us to move our kitchen temporarily into the garage. We built out the East Wall with a “pizza kitchen” with cabinets, refrigerator, microwave and sink. We also didn’t forget the stereo and TV. After eating our meals in the garage for so long (the kitchen remodel was a long process), we eventually coined the phrase “Garage Food.”

With winter fast approaching, we realized that in order to eat comfortably, we needed heat and ventilation. We installed patio doors for natural light along the North Wall and insulated the remaining walls.

With winter departing, still eating “garage food,” (the kitchen remodel had already been completed) the boat and four wheelers needed maintenance, along with the sleds in order to put them away for the season. So we installed a wall of shop cabinets and tool boxes (the tool crib) on the last remaining wall.

Then came the one thing that we at G-F One Coatings specialize in and will always have a passion for – garage floors. After some deliberation and planning, I had graphic inlays printed – a company logo, and a Dale Earnhardt Jr. race car. We prepped the concrete floor with “The Prep Perfect System” and then applied our polyurea/aspartic elastomeric full-chip, granite look (color: saddle tan) garage floor. Here are some of the pictures of the results.

What started out to be a place to eat, evolved into a garage restoration gone wild. Today, the primary use of the garage isn’t for parking cars. It’s my office, which allows me more time at home with my family. It’s our computer room, it’s where we catch Sunday’s big game, it’s where the family gatherings are held. In the winter, it becomes a game-room for the kids.

garage floor coating garage graphic inlay
Throughout the whole process, I could have never foreseen what this garage would end up being. And everyday, our customers echo similar sentiments. To me, the term “garage” no longer is just a place to park cars. On special occasions we still serve “garage food.”

Questions? Comments? Call us at 612.919.4414

Before and Afters, Concrete Crack Repair, Concrete Preparation, Garage Floor Coatings, Spancrete / Weatherproofing

Case Study: One Rough piece of Spancrete in Minneapolis

by Joe Sheehan

October 6, 2010

Here’s one for the record books.

This case study was designed to show you how we seal and coat a spancrete. Below are some pictures of the job.

History: The home was built in Roseville Minnesota in the late 60’s on a lake. Underneathe the spancrete garage they had built a theater and exercise room. Soon after they had completed the new rooms, the spancrete had begun to leak – causing considerable damage to the new investment.

The leaking had started in the late 80’s. At that time, there were no coating technologies available to correct the problem. The only solution at the time was to caulk shut all the cracks. After that, the coated the floor with a heavy layer of epoxy and glued directly to the epoxy “old-school,” heavy duty linoleum sheets. It lasted 20 years.

Challenges: The first step would be to remove the existing linoleum, epoxy and caulk. After which, the concrete had to be ground smooth. Once the material had been removed and the concrete ground, we then had to identify and repair any existing cracks.

Solution: The solution was to fill all the cracks with a flexible, “membrane-like,” vertical crack filler. Once the cracks had been filled and ground smooth, we had to apply our polyurea/aspartic, elastomeric coating system.

Conclusion: Harsh Minnesota winters and freeze / thaw cycles can wreak havoc on garage floors – including spancrete. Since spancrete tends to flex and move more than conventional garage floor, the choice of the coatings is absolutely critical to it’s longevity. G-F One Coatings has specialized in repairing, waterproofing and coating spancrete garage floor since 2005. See GFOneCoatings.com for more information or call us at 612.919.4414

Before and Afters, Cold Weather Applications, Concrete Preparation, Garage Floor Coatings

Installing Concrete Coatings in Cold Weather

by Joe Sheehan

June 19, 2010

Like many Minnesotans, many of the city dwellers have a cabin up north.

Here’s the story: a family had built a log style detached garage near their cabin about 100 miles north of Minneapolis. With Christmas on the way, the family wanted to have their garage coated before the holiday for a holiday gathering. This wouldn’t be a problem for us at G-F One Coatings. Our coatings can be applied anywhere from below freezing and as high as 100 degrees, something many garage floor contractors can’t do with their products.

To start, we ground the surface smooth to remove all the latents in the surface of the concrete garage floor. Once the concrete had been ground, we filled all of the cracks with our “flexible” vertical crack filler. We also repaired all spalling and pop-outs in the surface. Once the crack filler had cured in the repaired areas, we ground it smooth again.

Once the garage floor was completely smooth. We applied our polyurea/aspartic elastomeric coating material. Once the material was down on the floor, we threw in our decorative vinyl composite chip, which is available in a variety of color choices.

Once the base coat was dry, we collected the remaining chip and applied our long-term, ultra-wear resistant pure polyurea top-coat with slip-resistant additive. See G-F One Coatings for more information or call us at 651-748-5999