The floor in my shop sweats pretty badly. Is there a sealer I can treat it with that will stop it?
Concrete sealer
- Thread starter RustyRatRod
- Start date
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EDMOPAR
Well-Known Member
Hi, I used a sealer from Sherwin-Williams, and then I put a two-part epoxy paint on mind, you can also get the sealer from Ace Hardware, My thoughts are buy something good if you are going to have more than foot traffic on the floor
In my experience concrete 'sweating' is more the cold concrete drawing moisture from the air, not coming out of the slab. Sealing it probably wouldn't change that, and might be slippery unless you add some grit. I have epoxied floors, but they need to be fully cured and very clean and dry or it won't adhere well. It will stop it from absorbing moisture, so it can be dried quicker with a little heat and circulation. Just keeping a fan circulating in there might solve your problem.
IF you decide to go with a Clear coating ... make sure that the clear is the type that gets absored in cement prior to curing and does not just cure on surface of cement ... NOT as SLIPPERY ! look up "DIAMOND CLEAR" cement coating ...
Oklacarcollecto
Life is an experiment
This is what happens in my unheated shop. My concrete has a commercial grade sealer that was put down when the concrete was poured and it does well on oil not penetrating the concrete but I have condensation on the surface.
I still get condensation on my floors at certain times of the year. Drastic temp and humidity changes and the like. Mine are sealed with two part epoxy , and they are a great barrier to chemicals and petroleum product spills. Mine are going on 14 years now. Only drawback is in the main work bay. Dropping heavy tools and parts WILL chip the surface/finish.
Did mine myself while the concrete was still new. Scrubbed it and acid washed it first. Put two coats on 1500 sq ft for a cost of around $400. Shop floor is 30 X 50.
Not cheap anyway you look at it, but in addition to materials cost
older floors will probably need a lot more prep (degrease, acid wash, abraded surface, fill gouges,prime coat) ie - labor = $$$
66Dvert
Working on my custom car parts again!
I used the stuff you get from Lowes. (65.00 per kit) 5 kits did it With extra for touch ups on a 30x40. It came with the flakes and all. It has lasted since 2003 till now but it has issues with stains from harsh chemicals I used and that purple PVC cleaner does not come out ever! it will chip if you drop heavy stuff on it, but normal tool drops and stuff won't hurt it at all.
these pictures were the only time you could see the floor
I filled it up right away. I moved all my stuff from my old garage in Michigan(45 years accumulation) Now I'm in the process of insulating it and re-organizing the garage.It'll get re-coated in sections and coated with clear that has grit added near the doorways and walkways to get to the work office.View attachment my Garage yeah!! 021.jpg
View attachment my Garage yeah!! 022.jpg
it has since grown 11 x 40 for the office and storage area and I wanted bigger but couldn't afford it for a total of 41 x 40 (those areas will get expoxied as I remove stuff from that area and get it back into the main garage after it's insulated and dry-walled.) dang it's a lot of stuff to move!
PREP is the key in new or old concrete. bad prep bad experience. I worked a guy that skimped on prep,saying it would be good. NOT! re-doing it from scratch is a #$%@$Bear!
On my newly added on portion. the concrete was an outside slab(8 years) that had been poured in anticipation of expansion I will have to use(lots of it) muratic acid to prep it instead of the stuff that came in the kit. tree sap and other goodies just don't come off easy. I still have my trusty old pushbroom that i used for the original floor, of course the bristles are a lot shorter now from the acids, but it should last for the new part of the floor after I insulate the rest of the garage.
Jo Diesel
My other car is a Dodge
Try a dehumidifier. I am going to use mine
As my floor sweats like mad especially in
The spring
As my floor sweats like mad especially in
The spring
69B-Cuda
Well-Known Member
I would agree with condensation.... and, keep a fan going in there to move air around and you will probably not have an issue. My basement has the same issue... normally in the summer when it is dry (no rain so should not be ground water). Middle of winter raining every day, no issues! Fan blowing across the floor works wonders... (so does a wood stove!)
MIne usually sweats in the spring when the snow melts but ground temperature is still way below the air temperature. Otherwise, mine stays dry. Mine just has the typical spray on sealer that I put on a few days after the cement had fully cured. Holds up well to most things except brake parts cleaner
bighammer
Well-Known Member
Whatever product you are considering using, better make sure the moisture is not coming up from below, or the coating will fail. A known test is to lay plastic sheeting down on the slab, check in 24 hours.
I don't know of any coating that will perform well if the moisture is coming from below. You just can't stop it, regardless of it being epoxy or anything else.
Hopefully your original slab was poured over 6 mil plastic sheeting, if so, you're golden
I don't know of any coating that will perform well if the moisture is coming from below. You just can't stop it, regardless of it being epoxy or anything else.
Hopefully your original slab was poured over 6 mil plastic sheeting, if so, you're golden
BarryC
'74 Duster 360
Only way I was told to prevent this was to put plastic down before the concrete was poured. Sorry for the info.ops:
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