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

Spancrete / Weatherproofing

How Spancrete is Constructed – Why it Matters for Garage Coatings

by Joe Sheehan

October 6, 2010

Spancrete floors are common in Minnesota homes. They offer a great way to create additional living space at a low cost to the home-owner. The concept of spancrete is straightforward, however, older installations have considerable challenges, such as leaking and/or deterioration of the garage floor surface. This article is designed to give you a better understanding of how spancrete is constructed and how G-F One Coatings is able to permanently repair failing spancrete garage floors.

Step 1. Footings are poured and Walls are placed

Foundation Walls

Step 2. Spancrete planks are placed horitzontally across foundation walls

Placing Spancrete

Step 3. Spancrete waterproof membrane is installed (newer installations)

Spancrete Membrane

Step 4. Concrete is placed over spancrete planks and membrane

Pouring Concrete onto Spancrete

Step 5. Concrete is hand trawled or power trawled

Concrete Surface Finishing

Our Minnesota environment is devastating to a garage floor surface – especially spancrete. Freeze / thaw cycles, road salts, and constant moisture from snow melting and wet vehicles begin to break down and deteriorate the surface causing cracking, spalling and pop-outs.

G-F One Coatings specializes in repairing and protecting your spancrete garage floor. We do this by diamond grinding off the damaged surface, repairing all cracks and flaws and installing a pure polyurea/aspartic elastomeric (flexible) waterproofing surface membrane. We even offer highly decorative finishes. All backed by a long-term, no delamination warranty.

Visit GFOneCoatings.com for more information or call us at 612.919.4414