Smoothing my garage floor!
 

The surface in our garage is rough/rippled concrete - I want it SMOOTH so I can work on my car in there and keep the place relatively clean.

Anyone done some garage smoothing? Whats it's called, screeding? I don't even know that much - but I could do with some advice on best aproach. I want it to be perfect of course but I'd rather not pay some random warrior to come do it unless I know they're ace, and cheap haha.

So yeah - what do I need, and how do I do it? The surface is good - garage is probably about 15 years old or less and lightly used. no oil or any of that madness I can see. I guess it'd need washing / sweeping out but any other prep?


help!

Do what I've done and carpet it, much more comfortable when working on your car :thumbsup:

Hi Jimmy

That "glass" like concrete finish has to be done from new. It`s called a power floated finish. They use a bit of kit that looks like a propellar ina cage that floats the surface off to a sheen before it hardens fully.

As far as im aware, youll have to just use industrial floor paint to get it smooth. Take professional advice before you use the wrong paint though and it all flakes off. you will probably need to seal it first. You can get self levelling screed thats normally used before you lay vinyl flooring or such like but i dont know if you can get any thats good enough for a car to run on.

Rich

Was looking into that myself a while back for the bikes but never got round to it, my lad was never home to do it.
Usefull info here inc interlocking tiles you can remove if you ever move house again.
http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/garagefloors.htm

Ideally you want a self leveling screed Jimmy, they come in various colours.

Yep it would need cleaning off loose debris obviously prevents adhersion.

Generally a good brushing followed by the application of the relevant bonding agent does the job.

You could go for a sand/cement type screed though its not as clinical (still get surface break up/dust etc) and you can start running into issues with cracking and lifting/seperation easier than you will with a proper floor screed.

Not sure on price to do it yourslelf but i dont think your looking at more that say £250-300 for the materials.

As usual if you plan on doing it yourslef google should provide the direction needed.

If you want a pro company to do it let me know i should be able to source someone easy enough

:thumbsup:

epoxy self leveling compound available from any good diy store works sweet

Ah yeah, I'd hoped for that super smooth finish - like vickys parents garage or indeed to a lesser degree my parents old garage but I know both of those were made from new that way.

This self leveling latex business, am I likely to get a nearly super smooth finish with that? Our garage is pretty big - double length, so I guess it'll be a big job.
I've done minimal plastering before and managed a nice finish with that but doing an entire floor with a trowel would kill my back.

yeah the power floated finish is nice !

Mine was rough - painted it with about 4 coats of thick industrial grey floor paint and its not come off anywhere. Easy to keep clean. I`d avoid the cheap stuff that you can buy from Pikeys knocking on your door though :lol:

i got mine online from an industrial supplier but i cant remember where from - applied with a roller on a broom handle.

You only need to float it over the reqired area then it self levels to some degree
this is one of my trades...but i have seen some diy jobs go wrong
if you are not confident get a tradesman in
most self levellers have a max depth also so this is something to be aware of ...i take it your floor is tamp finish?

did our conservatory with the self levelling stuff before laying the stone tiles,cost me about £200 if i recall for the stuff.

just a case of mixing it up and filling in the deep holes first to get it something like.

Jimmy just be aware some of the self leveling stuff will lift of not bonded well or u use trolley jacks etc. As for paint get a good two pack where u get the paint then a hardener/activater
Other things to look at would be a rescreed if you can cope with an extra few inches of floor. Or you can get industrial. Sanders

You really dont need to waste your money on the above stuff. I bought a 5 gallon container of green floor paint for my garage a few years back which cost me £30. The garage was in everyday use as it was my business workshop and 2 years on, numerous trolley jacks, engine hoists e.t.c didn't rub it off. Just make sure the surface is clean and dry, and roller it on, job done.

Only thing with self leveling is keep it thin if your gonna use a trolley jack on it. It has a tendency to crack if laid too thick.

Jamie..........

Aye want to use trolly jack and axle stands in there - just wanted to get it ready for all that. definitely don't want it cracking and peeling off the top layer :bored::bored:

It has horizontal lines front to back down the length of the garage - I guess that's 'tamp finish' ?? It's not THAT bad, but I would like it smooth. Rich - is this paint you used, did it level it slightly or is it not that thick?

use the two pack stuff, apply it as per instructions in multiple thin layers,

Would a strong but watery compo mix work? Something like 2 sand to 1 cement? Make it sloppy to level off

screed and paint
 

floor screed is pretty good stuff you mix it with laytex and float it like plaster. however under the pressure of a car jack or axle stands it will crack and shatter still. concrete is the answer if you want to do anything heavy.. you could screed then carpet or lino it which may help.
on the paint side of things . use the 2 pack floor paint, this is desighned for factory floors that have stacker trucks driving on it so it wont crack under pressure. mix up. cut in roll out........swiftly
to be honest i would say roll out some cheap carpet or lino. cheap and easy and warmer to even if its a bit lumpy. or just work on ya car/bike in the front room like i do. and put ya parts in the dishwasher to clean em.
i do have a very understanding girlfriend though:wub

Jim,

If you're wanting to paint the garage out after you've levelled it, I work for Johnstones so if you're wanting to get an hold of a single or 2pk coating give me a shout fella.

Mike P.

Wouldn't it be much easier to use a roll of vinyl floor covering, a quick Google came up with this --> http://www.ronhazelton.com/archives/...-covering.shtm

I'm sure there are lots of similar products you could get and you won't have the fear of making a mess of it all like you could with using a screed.

To put vinyl down on a rough floor, you would need to screed it anyway.

If you do screed it, make sure you have knee pads on, as rough concrete floors kill! (I've done it before!

Depending on how professional you want the finish as you could put down a layer of chipboard prior to laying the vinyl instead.

Hi Jimmy

My paint wasnt that thick but the floor was reasonably level to start with - three coats and its smooth enough to sweep up without trapping dust in the ridges.

Mr Johnstones sounds to be the man to speak to IMO. :thumbsup:

How ruff is it, do you have a piccy. Concrete screed will need to be a minimum of 40mm (preferably 60-70), and thats only if you use the correct additives like SBR or fibres to bond to to geither and seal the floor.

Be careful with self levelling anything, garage floors are designed to fall away from the house area, so if oil/fuel leak from a vehicle its away from the house.

Depends on hoe ruff it is, i would paint it with floor paint,it may take a few coats to get it nice and smooth :).

Jimmy man!!
Tile the bloody thing and have done with it all

Best suggestion yet i reckon Jimmy ! Tiled floor, Lotus banner on the wall :wub

Jimmy, your garage sounds HUGE !

So.. Stay away from DIY self levelling scree stuff. I did out outside loo, only tiny but it was a nightmare, the stuff didn't self-level itself at all and I ended up having to level it all by hand after it set.... Big garage would be a nightmare.

Get someone in to do it for you if you go down that route. I just painted my garage floor with proper floor paint and it's lasted well...

Alternatively, get Vicky to do it :)

mmmmm, black and white chequred tiled garage:thumbsup:
saw a pic somewhere of a guy who had his garage made of glass protruding into his lounge so he could always see his car!
there's an idea for you jim;)

paint the floor to seal it, easy to sweep and clean up the odd oil spill:blush:, then lay on bits of cardbord:thumbsup:.....Ok so I work on tractors:lol:

Jimmy, if you really want it dead smooth then you'll need to use a self-levelling compound. Google 'F Ball' and have a look at their products. I'd imagine you'd need something like their Stopgap 300HD product for your application, but if you give their technical department a call I'm sure they'll help you out. You need to work out what the variation in your floor is, you can usually get around 3-10mm using a self-levelling compound applied with a trowel, if your floor is more uneven than that you might need to get it pump applied. Also, you will need some decent floor paint as these sort of compounds are not designed to be a wearing surface. I used to work for a flooring contractor and can still just about remember the technical stuff... :)

Heres a close up of the floor. Yeah it's not super rough or anything but I just wanted it smooth / easier to clean and maintain. Maybe painting it would be the best way?

http://www.oople.com/rc/photos/misc/garage.jpg

For my next trick - I'll ask if anyone knows someone who does kerb / pavement lowering - I can't even get my car on the driveway as it stands. :cry:
http://www.oople.com/rc/photos/misc/garage/jpg

Seal it and paint dude, trolley jack and crawler board will work fine on that. :thumbsup:

Think you,ve got to get local council permission to do that.

And pay for it.

Its about the same as mine - paint will smooth that enough to work on and keep clean. Depends what your budget is doesnt it and how fussy you are !