Workshop floor surface coating

O

Osmium Gus

Joined
Mar 26, 2015
Messages
8
Help please!
My workshop is an enclosed section of my barn. It's a concrete slab floor and I need to seal it because these has been some moisture coming through from below during heavy rain events. Not much, but enough moisture in the concrete to want to do something about it.

There are plenty of PU and epoxy roll on floor sealers.
But hey, it's a metalwork workshop... so I have two key issues:

1. Sharp metal and swarf (grit) from angle grinding/drilling/belt grinding, so I need a sufficiently hard/abrasion resistant surface to be able to sweep this up without destroying the surface/seal.

2. Hot metal/abrasives From grinding and welding spatter that can be very HOT when it hits the floor, so the surface coating needs to cope with high temperature spatter without melting or burning/charing. This seems to pretty much rule out the roll on PU coatings...

I've spoken to numerous suppliers, they have said "that's a very specialised application, you could TRY product ...". But none of the suggested products have met the criteria.

Can anyone recommend a floor coating that will do the job for me?

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks
Gus
 
If all you want is to seal the concrete, why not put on something like Thompson's Waterseal?

I plan on putting down an two-part floor coat in the new shop to seal and make cleaning easier. Some of the shop floor coatings are tough as heck.
 
If it's actually coming up through the concrete, I'd get a penetrating, silicate sealer like those used for radon mitigation. They seep into the pores of the concrete and cure as a silicate, effectively blocking off the pores. Since it's actually internal to the concrete, you don't have to worry about it wearing off.

J-
 
My shop has a two part epoxy coating and it has withheld the 3 years we've been there with ease. The only real trouble (and this hasn't been a problem) is that if you spill acetone on it, it starts to eat it up.
 
If it's seeping up that much, think about digging trenches around the walls and filling with rock for better drainage, or grading so the water runs away, or something like that.
 
Yeah........................ if you're having that serious a moisture problem I'd be thinking about my tools starting to rust and how to mitigate that before it starts. It's one thing when you can see the rust but altogether a worse one when you can't -> meaning the bearings might be impacted. That would REALLY suck....................... ask me how I know this.

Corey "synthesist" Gimbel
 
Never seal concrete to deal with a moisture problem! The moisture will have nowhere to go and that is really bad news.

Deal with the underlying moisture problem. Especially, if you can't get to the outside surface like with a floor(you can seal basement walls from the outside). If it is a poured slab on grade, it can be as easy as trenching around your barn to redirect water. After your concrete is dry and remains dry through heavy rain/snow you can seal it to protect it from spills. IMO, concrete is a porous material and NEEDS to breath. Unless you poured a floating pad on polystyrene, there will always be(and by necessity) some moisture transfer.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys,
Fiddleback - do you remember the two part epoxy or supplier you used?
Stacy - is there a particular two part epoxy or supplier you are looking at or intending to use?

Synthesist - yes, it's to avoid moisture in the workshop affecting the tools and equipment, and my steel and timber stores. I want to sort it out before it sorts me out.

1-10 - yes, I'm improving drainage and installing a retaining wall and improving capacity of diversion drains for surface waters. The three heaviest rain events in living memory have occured in the past two years. Reminded me of the tropical monsoon. We had localised flooding all over the region.

Rick (apologies, missed your comment) - medium clay soil over shalerock, the subsurface movement of water is a key issue for me, I have discovered that I cannot avoid the clay soil from becoming wet during protracted heavy rains. The recent extraordinary weather events overwhelmed drainage systems throughout the region, but as above I am also addressing this.

I'll have also have a look at Thompsons Waterseal (thanks Stacy), and the penetrating silicate sealer (thanks Homebru)
 
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I can't comment on the sealant, but once sealed the epoxy floor paint they sell at big box stores seems to work well enough. You won't be damaging it by sweeping metal bits over it. I like it because it oil wipes right up. But it does get slippery when covered with sawdust.
 
I've checked the info and data sheet for Thompson's (Bondall) Water Seal.
It says it is for application to external surfaces to prevent ingress of moisture, does not mention application to internal surfaces as a moisture barrier. This is the problem with some of the two part epoxy surfacing materials, they offer the abrasion resistant surface but don't work as an internal moisture barrier.

Still looking for a product that meets all the criteria.

I've sent off an enquiry directly to Bondall, will report the response.

See: http://www.bondall.com/titerange/thompsons_water_seal.html

Thanks,
Gus
 
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HomeBru said:
If it's actually coming up through the concrete, I'd get a penetrating, silicate sealer like those used for radon mitigation. They seep into the pores of the concrete and cure as a silicate, effectively blocking off the pores. Since it's actually internal to the concrete, you don't have to worry about it wearing off.
J-
Click to expand...

I think I have a winner, and a local supplier.
Applied as a spray on, absorbs up to 8" deep into the concrete and reacts with calcium hydroxide (in the concrete) to fill cracks and pores to "occlude" or completely block the passage of moisture.

As Homebru suggests, because it is IN the concrete it won't wear off and any hot metal landing on the surface won't affect the seal and UV stability is a non issue.

I'm just waiting for advice on compatibility with galvanised steel (the structural framing of the building) and how to get it into the concrete below the internal/external clad walls.

I'm going to try this product and see how it performs. I will report back to this thread on my experience and on performance after we have heavy rainfall.

Thanks to everyone,
Gus

FYI, this is a supplier in southern Sydney in Australia, could be a rebranded product from elsewhere and the same or equivalent product could well be sold under a different product/brand names elsewhere.

The supplier claims the following benefits:
- hardens concrete, minimizing surface dusting, pitting, spalling and hairline cracking
- seals against seepage below grade (i.e. from hydrostatic head)
- stops capillary action
- inhibits water seepage and saponification
- resists acid, alkali and salt and oil attack
- ejects grease and oils which have penetrated concrete. SEAL-A-CRETE emulsifies such materials and floats them to the surface – resists such further penetration
- prepares concrete surfaces for subsequent applications of paint, stains or adhesives specifically formulated for use on concrete surfaces – a test area should be tried before proceeding with any large areas of seamless materials – moisture testing is often used in this determination
- promotes greater paint durability by helping to resist peeling, cracking or crumbling – increases bonding strength of latex and poly-vinyl paints

See: http://www.sealacrete.com.au
 
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