How To Float A Garage Floor

Spalling or concrete surface failure on a garage floor is caused by residual water in the concrete expanding and contracting during freeze thaw cycles.

How to float a garage floor.

To begin cleaning you should clear and tidy the floor. A floating floor is simply a floor that does not need to be nailed or glued to the floor underneath it. Use a de greaser to remove oil from the surface. Installing one might appear to be a frightening task but with proper preparation and planning any home improvement diyer can do it.

If you have the height to raise the concrete floor 1 5 inches you can use a pea stone concrete mix and pour a new floor over the existing one. First the floor may be so out of level that the garage floor does not meet the bottom edge of the door. A clean garage floor can help prevent oils and residues from being tracked into your home and regular maintenance of your floor will increase its lifespan. The cost of resurfacer for a two car garage is typically less than 200.

A garage floor should have enough slope for it to drain but it should not have low spots that allow water to puddle. If you need to level low spots on your floor use a concrete patching compound. Use a wire brush or a grinder or an acid substitute to prepare the concrete. How do you fix low spots in garage floor concrete.

Cleaning and resurfacing the floor usually takes one day on the other hand clearing out your garage so you can work may take weeks. Pretreat any oil grease or rust stains before mopping the floor. Insulating concrete garage floors begins with covering the entire floor with 6 mil polyethylene which will serve as a vapor barrier. Trowel a patch kit onto the surface.

Run the polyethylene up the sides of the walls 3 to 4 inches and secure to the walls with construction tape. For large areas use a floor buffer with a grinding attachment. Second and far more critical is when the garage floor has begun to tilt backward toward the house. Vacuum up loose material.

How to fix a spalling garage concrete floor. Overlap the seams about 6 to 8 inches and seal the seams with waterproof construction tape. You ll also need to buy or rent some special tools so expect your total cost to be about 300 for this how to resurface concrete project. I would find the highest point of the existing concrete floor go 1 5 inches over that then raise the back of the floor enough to get pitch away from the house and to the garage doors.

The garage conversion requires the floor to be raised to match the house so first job is to build a suspended floor.