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, 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