Smoothing my garage floor!

[jimmy]

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!

[wacattack]

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

[Rich D]

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

[bodgit]

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

[bigred5765]

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

[jimmy]

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.

[Rich D]

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

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

[Rebelrc]

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?

[shanks]

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

Originally Posted by jimmy

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!