Epoxy floor question
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2001
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From: Barrington IL
Epoxy floor question
I have been told that concrete floors "sweat" and can cause parts to rust. If a concrete floor is painted with epoxy paint will this prevent the floor from sweating provided that the garage space is climate controlled? Thanks in advance.
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2004
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condensation etc
Concrete floors can actually pull up moisture from the ground underneath and wick it to the surface. One of the things causing all of the mold issues is the old practice of laying down plastic - then sand - then the concrete. essentially water can't pass out through the ground - and the concrete acts like a sponge. If you layed down the plastic vapor barrrier - then put down crushed or pea gravel - then the gravel isn't going to cappilary the water to the surface. I knowq all of the old concrete guys will throw a fit about this - but go look it up - on buildersscience.com - photos and a well layed out explanation.
I assume the epoxy would help stop the water from coming to the surface - but of course we are ignoring the other source of water - and that would be a cold floor and warm air making condensation. (you could cure this with radiant heat). If you are concerned about parts rusting just put em on wood pallets. Better yet - put em in your car!
Carl Johansson
I assume the epoxy would help stop the water from coming to the surface - but of course we are ignoring the other source of water - and that would be a cold floor and warm air making condensation. (you could cure this with radiant heat). If you are concerned about parts rusting just put em on wood pallets. Better yet - put em in your car!
Carl Johansson
Safety Car
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From: AnyTown NJ
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15
Or put down a plastic vapor barrier and this flooring system....that's what I did. 
http://www.motormat.com/main.html
http://www.motormat.com/main.html
Race Director
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From: Arlington Va Current ride 04 vert, previous vettes: 69 vert, 77 resto mod
Originally Posted by Carl Johansson
- but go look it up - on buildersscience.com - photos and a well layed out explanation.
Carl Johansson
Carl Johansson
can't find website can you give a better URL? i have a question about insulating my concrete garage using styrofoam board glued to the cinder blocks and i would like to do some research on this...to see if its feasible. thks bob
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2004
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From: North Alabama
When I built my garage this summer I went with 3 inch gravel base, then a plastic vapor barrier before the wire mesh went down and then the concrete was poured. After the concrete had cured I mopped on 2 coats of Thompsons concrete sealer before the epoxy paint was ever applied. Have had no problem with moisture to date... 
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 1999
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From: AnyTown NJ
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15
Originally Posted by bobs77vet
i have a question about insulating my concrete garage using styrofoam board glued to the cinder blocks and i would like to do some research on this...to see if its feasible. thks bob
Race Director
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From: Arlington Va Current ride 04 vert, previous vettes: 69 vert, 77 resto mod
Originally Posted by gq82
Don't know about the garage walls (might be difficult to glue to cinderblock) but I fitted/glued styrofoam to my garage door and taped the seams....works real good.
actually its so porous i would think it would be easy.....i can't pump enough heat into my garage it all gets sucked into the walls...and right out the other side..........
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2000
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From: Eastern Connecticut
Originally Posted by bobs77vet
i have a question about insulating my concrete garage using styrofoam board glued to the cinder blocks and i would like to do some research on this...to see if its feasible. thks bob
PS if you want, glue sheetrock over the styrofoam to finish the walls.
Pro
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 653
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From: Dickinson (Houston) Texas
I have 2 part epoxy on my garage floor, and have not had any moisture problems coming from the concrete.
The only time I do get moisture is if I open the doors on a cold rainy day, and the moisture comes from the air. On days like those, I leave my southern most door open, but keep my northern most door closed. Without the air flowing though the garage, the floor stays dry.
Personally, I would recommend using the 2 part epoxy!
www.bigdogvettes.com
The only time I do get moisture is if I open the doors on a cold rainy day, and the moisture comes from the air. On days like those, I leave my southern most door open, but keep my northern most door closed. Without the air flowing though the garage, the floor stays dry.
Personally, I would recommend using the 2 part epoxy!
www.bigdogvettes.com
Race Director
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From: Arlington Va Current ride 04 vert, previous vettes: 69 vert, 77 resto mod
Originally Posted by joe73vette
It won't be a problem, people use that method to insulate basements all the time. I suggest some of that water blocking paint on the concrete first. Then glue the styrofoam with Liquid Nails or something like that. You have to get latex adhesive, though, the usual stuff will dissolve the styrofoam. Joe
PS if you want, glue sheetrock over the styrofoam to finish the walls.
PS if you want, glue sheetrock over the styrofoam to finish the walls.
thks any issues with mold growth?...all the concrete is above ground...also is this stuff flamamble so if i weld and a spark flys over there will i go poof and turn into dust?????? thks bob
Safety Car
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if the slab underneath is cold ,such as in winter, and there's warm air above, its gonna condensate,, just like your toilet tank sweats ,in the summer when the cold water in the tank is hitting warm air ,in the house, epoxy or no epoxy, the only way to stop this would be to insulate the floor, not allowing the warm air to contact the cold ground,,i did this on a foundation wall , in my crawl space,that always sweated in the winter, i had to stop the warm basement air from hitting the frozen wall(ground is frozen outside )--once i placed a foam barrier on the wall,,it stopped sweating,warm air no longer made contact with the frozen foundation wall,,,it sweated so bad it looked like water was running!!!,, i think in certain times of the year depending where you live you may get condensation on your epoxied floor, if it does it now ,it will still do it with the epoxy on it,, mine is usually damp in the spring,,then it goes away.
Last edited by carl a; Dec 27, 2004 at 02:40 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2000
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From: Eastern Connecticut
Mold shouldn't grow under there, as Carl A said you will have kept the moisture away so it won't be damp. Welding sparks might melt it a little but not catch on fire. Check with wherever you buy the foam to be sure - there are pink and blue versions, one might be flammable? Joe
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2004
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Originally Posted by gq82
Or put down a plastic vapor barrier and this flooring system....that's what I did.
http://www.motormat.com/main.html
http://www.motormat.com/main.html
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,638
Likes: 3
Url
Originally Posted by bobs77vet
can't find website can you give a better URL? i have a question about insulating my concrete garage using styrofoam board glued to the cinder blocks and i would like to do some research on this...to see if its feasible. thks bob
The fire protection would be an issue - glueing drywall to the foam wouldn't be very secure IMHO. My foam blocks have imbedded plastic bracing (webbing) that acts like wood studs - I just screw in drywall to the webbing. You could screw wood studs to the wall every 4 feet then foam around them - and use the stud to mount drywall for fireproofing - but you might get thermal striping from that set up.
as someone said - be very carefull of the glue you will use - anything with petrolium distilates will eat the foam - do a test first.
Heres the website -
http://www.buildingscience.com/resou...ns/default.htm
Race Director
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From: Arlington Va Current ride 04 vert, previous vettes: 69 vert, 77 resto mod
Originally Posted by Carl Johansson
Heres the website -
http://www.buildingscience.com/resou...ns/default.htm
http://www.buildingscience.com/resou...ns/default.htm
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 2,512
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From: Franklin IN
I have a commercial epoxy floor. It will sweat when there is big change in tempture with out heat in the building. The floor looks like it's covered in dew. Since it has been heated I have had NO condensation form. If you are considering doing this your self I can share several hints to make the job easier on you.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2004
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From: Knoxville Tennessee
Bob,
I used liquid nails and glued 3/4 inch pink styrofoam board to my cinderblock basement walls. It was a tremendous help keeping the block walls from sucking the heat from the basement. I then put up
2 X 4 stud walls on 16 inch centers and installed 3 1/2 insulation and sheetrocked the walls. Of course I ran outlets and other electrics as needed. But the styrofoam by itself was a tremendous improvement.
Bernie
I used liquid nails and glued 3/4 inch pink styrofoam board to my cinderblock basement walls. It was a tremendous help keeping the block walls from sucking the heat from the basement. I then put up
2 X 4 stud walls on 16 inch centers and installed 3 1/2 insulation and sheetrocked the walls. Of course I ran outlets and other electrics as needed. But the styrofoam by itself was a tremendous improvement.
Bernie
Race Director
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From: Arlington Va Current ride 04 vert, previous vettes: 69 vert, 77 resto mod
Originally Posted by BerniesVette
Bob,
I used liquid nails and glued 3/4 inch pink styrofoam board to my cinderblock basement walls. It was a tremendous help keeping the block walls from sucking the heat from the basement. I then put up
2 X 4 stud walls on 16 inch centers and installed 3 1/2 insulation and sheetrocked the walls. Of course I ran outlets and other electrics as needed. But the styrofoam by itself was a tremendous improvement.
Bernie
I used liquid nails and glued 3/4 inch pink styrofoam board to my cinderblock basement walls. It was a tremendous help keeping the block walls from sucking the heat from the basement. I then put up
2 X 4 stud walls on 16 inch centers and installed 3 1/2 insulation and sheetrocked the walls. Of course I ran outlets and other electrics as needed. But the styrofoam by itself was a tremendous improvement.
Bernie
thks i will be following your lead.....you will be happy to know you did it correctly from all i just read on that builderssciece web page....according to waht i read today....i can either look for a styroform board with a foil face made as a "finished" surface or glue a drywall to the unfinished styrofoam for a "finished surface"....it appears the purpose of the "finished" surface is for fire protection....thks bob
