Garage Floor - What to paint

[sparton_SPA]

I have a new build (David Wilson) with a double garage.
We've had the house for 1.5 years now so the floor etc is all settled now.

The flooring in the garage is concrete, so not the best to keep the area clean. What is the recommendations to get the dust layer off and paint to seal?

 

[Scuzi]

Epoxy resin would be my initial suggestion.

What sort of use does the garage get? Anything that might put particular demands on the floor.

 

[sparton_SPA]

It has got the usual gardening equipment on it, one fridge freezer and other light boxes.
The only heavy use that it might see from time to time is my car being parked there on very cold winter months.
For the most part, the car is kept on the driveway.

 

[Scuzi]

In that case any generic floor paint will do, but epoxy is harder wearing and will last longer.

If dust is a concern you may wish to also seal the external brickwork assuming it is a single skin red brick wall. Efflorescence can result in a lot of dust accumulation as I’m finding out.

 

[krisboats]

I'd vote for epoxy resin too. Last time i checked resincoat garage epoxies were half price as well.

 

[Roadrunner_668]

another suggest for resin here
just dont get a light colour if you plan on doing work in there cos it will get very mucky !

 

[sovietspybob]

If you're not driving a car in and out or dragging stuff across the floor i'd say any concrete floor paint would be good.

I'd recommend a light colour as it makes the garage feel a lot brighter when you're in there.

For getting the concrete dust off, ideally you need to get as much lose dust off as possible first so i'd try and wash it with a hosepipe if that's practical then let it completely dry before painting.

 

[sparton_SPA]

Thanks - didn't quite appreciate that you can just jetwash/hose pipe the floor to get the concrete dust off. Will do that this weekend in preparation (if the weather picks up again)
Frustratingly it has just hammered it down overnight.

Side question - We have found, especially in Winter, the garage is very damp ridden. Anything that was mdf (like shelving) was completely covered in mold by the end of the Winter.
Anything I can do to prevent soo much damp entering the garage?
Unfortunately the garage doors are no where near weather sealed and will be hard to seal off given the type of up and over door they are.

 

[GravyMonster]

If you cba with the prep required for a resin floor (filling/grinding, cleaning, cleaning some more, then cleaning again and then etch primer and sealant) then you could just throw some interlocking flooring tiles down. That's what I ended up doing. Plus it also raises the floor up, so if you butt it up against the garage door it'll give it a better seal to help with your damp problem. Couple that with some weatherstripping around the door itself, and job's a good'un.

 

[sovietspybob]

Something like this is good for the bottom of the door, you can get brush stuff to go around the other edges.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/19626849...CChhzGyZcLbuZnY9sasUh9Ww==|tkp:BlBMULbLmeTuYw

 

[sparton_SPA]

Something like this is good for the bottom of the door, you can get brush stuff to go around the other edges.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/196268498392?itmmeta=01HXV46CP50BJ75QRZRHV8TSN9&hash=item2db2839dd8:g:mFQAAOSwlzhl-rqK&itmprp=enc:AQAJAAAAwNCRh+O/pII8ZnGsgxx7ndj2ujyTBeT+xFC52b30Xk6Y4uYFyz65tNefKjO6abSaJiK2j3aV50mX87YqcEk4skVDrs1RWW3qyhB+ggYOKwlnSVJ+xLSTxxd76U3FmGmFbnCLwK1aZ8TkohfzSLZmEc3Qo5j+g5TxDlSZoZkDkCmlWZv8x7gtJX3Hz8xdyODT6Wav0vSEqwBKNiga6l7STfO82O0LDfrtXktCbwDS9vCChhzGyZcLbuZnY9sasUh9Ww==|tkp:BlBMULbLmeTuYw

Thanks! Going to order this actually.

Does it just sit on the floor or is there a way of fixing it to the ground/door?

 

[Scuzi]

Most of the moisture issues are probably due to the single skin walls. Treating the outer walls with something like Storm Dry will reduce the amount of water coming through the external walls.

Stormdry Masonry Protection Cream

• Waterproofs brick, stone and more• Highly vapour permeable • Single-coat application • 25 year effective lifetime • BBA approved and EST verified• Coverage per litre of 5m²Stormdry® Masonry Protection Cream is a deeply penetrating water-repellent silicone cream for the protection of...

www.toolstation.com

If any of your shelving is up against external walls, move it away from the wall by about 50mm, or if it is attached to the wall, put a layer of DPM between it and the wall otherwise it will just absorb the water from the bricks like a sponge.

The other issue is in British winters, a cold spell which cools down everything in the garage, followed by a mass of warm moist air coming in will result in the moisture condensing on all the cold surfaces. The only fix is insulation & heating, or dehumidification. Ventilation doesn’t work. Search for my thread in this forum on the subject.

 

[sovietspybob]

Thanks! Going to order this actually.

Does it just sit on the floor or is there a way of fixing it to the ground/door?

The one i bought came with a tube of adhesive, it wasn't the best quality though so i'd probably buy a tube of no more nails type stuff and use that.

 

[Reuben klang]

If you cba with the prep required for a resin floor (filling/grinding, cleaning, cleaning some more, then cleaning again and then etch primer and sealant) then you could just throw some interlocking flooring tiles down. That's what I ended up doing. Plus it also raises the floor up, so if you butt it up against the garage door it'll give it a better seal to help with your damp problem. Couple that with some weatherstripping around the door itself, and job's a good'un.

This is what I done as well, didn’t take that long at all either. I just put two tiles together and used a track saw with a multi blade on it to have a square edge.

There loads of sites you can even get a picture in the middle if that floats your boat.

 

[sparton_SPA]

Most of the moisture issues are probably due to the single skin walls. Treating the outer walls with something like Storm Dry will reduce the amount of water coming through the external walls.

Stormdry Masonry Protection Cream

• Waterproofs brick, stone and more• Highly vapour permeable • Single-coat application • 25 year effective lifetime • BBA approved and EST verified• Coverage per litre of 5m²Stormdry® Masonry Protection Cream is a deeply penetrating water-repellent silicone cream for the protection of...

www.toolstation.com

If any of your shelving is up against external walls, move it away from the wall by about 50mm, or if it is attached to the wall, put a layer of DPM between it and the wall otherwise it will just absorb the water from the bricks like a sponge.

The other issue is in British winters, a cold spell which cools down everything in the garage, followed by a mass of warm moist air coming in will result in the moisture condensing on all the cold surfaces. The only fix is insulation & heating, or dehumidification. Ventilation doesn’t work. Search for my thread in this forum on the subject.

Thanks for this - it is very interesting. 2 out of the three walls I can treat externally, unforunately the main wall of concern is only accessed from the neighbours side.

Do you know if this product is possible to apply on the internal skin of the walls?

 

[Scuzi]

Thanks for this - it is very interesting. 2 out of the three walls I can treat externally, unforunately the main wall of concern is only accessed from the neighbours side.

Do you know if this product is possible to apply on the internal skin of the walls?

I don’t know about internal application but my setup is similar to yours (DWH garage). I just asked my neighbour if I could get in for an hour to paint the wall and they were completely fine with it.

 

[sparton_SPA]

Yeah good idea - the wall that I cannot access is actually for the show home, so that should be easier to convince the site manager to get access to paint.

Does anyone feel that this level of damp is something that DWH should rectify in terms of the 2year warranty?

 

[Scuzi]

Yeah good idea - the wall that I cannot access is actually for the show home, so that should be easier to convince the site manager to get access to paint.

Does anyone feel that this level of damp is something that DWH should rectify in terms of the 2year warranty?

If the builders are still on site you might even be able to get them to fork out for it.
I complained about the amount of water that was coming through the walls and pooling on the garage floor. They took the line that it is not supposed to be water tight and is only for storage of a vehicle. I had a motorbike in the garage and told them it was soaking wet and rusting. Only then did they sort it by putting some acco drains along the front of the door and they dropped off a tub of storm dry for me to apply to the walls.

 

[sparton_SPA]

If the builders are still on site you might even be able to get them to fork out for it.
I complained about the amount of water that was coming through the walls and pooling on the garage floor. They took the line that it is not supposed to be water tight and is only for storage of a vehicle. I had a motorbike in the garage and told them it was soaking wet and rusting. Only then did they sort it by putting some acco drains along the front of the door and they dropped off a tub of storm dry for me to apply to the walls.

Did the storm dry help significantly?

 

[Scuzi]

Did the storm dry help significantly?

Yes. Before application the wall facing the prevailing wind would have water dripping down the inside during heavy rain. It was soaked through. After application it just doesn’t happen at all.