# Garage floor painting/ patio concrete stain



## Ls181 (Apr 7, 2015)

I just purchased a home and have played with the idea of having my garage painted. There are some large cracks some very long and some small. My inspector said they were nothing to worry about, I also had a foundation company come out and look over the property and also got the got a similar answer from them. House is 15 years old and has a pt slab foundation. Here is where my concerns are, some parts of the crack are 1/8 of an inche and there are some that are 1/4 that are maybe 1" long at the most. I'm afraid the ecthing liquid could sip through the crack and some how reach the pt cables.. Don't know if this is a real concern or am I just over thinking it. Do I need to cover up the cracks ? 

I also have a 200sq ft patio that is attached to the back of the house and it also has some cracks. I had planned on doing a concrete acid stain on it. I guess I'm more concern about the patio than the garage, because acid eats up metal. Again, I beleive that if I do an acid stain, the acid will sip through the cracks and damage the pt cables. Anyone that has encountered or gone through this, I would appreciate any feedback .


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## nealtw (Apr 7, 2015)

THe only PT concrete I have seen is great slabs brout in and set in place with another 3 inches of concrete over that. And that was for suspended slab over living space. I wouldn't think they would spend that money on the garage or patio. And welcome to the site,


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## Ls181 (Apr 7, 2015)

I live in tx (Houston), most of the foundations here are post tension , or so I have read. Garage and patio are attached to the house.


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## nealtw (Apr 7, 2015)

Ls181 said:


> I live in tx (Houston), most of the foundations here are post tension , or so I have read. Garage and patio are attached to the house.



Sorry; I was thinking about pre-tension, I have no experience with post.


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## nealtw (Apr 7, 2015)

Ls181 said:


> I live in tx (Houston), most of the foundations here are post tension , or so I have read. Garage and patio are attached to the house.



Sorry; I was thinking about pre-tension or what ever they do for pre done slabs , I have no experience with post like yours.


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## bud16415 (Apr 7, 2015)

I know what you are worrying about and I&#8217;m far from an expert but I don&#8217;t think anything is going to eat thru the cables that fast before it is rinsed away. On the other hand I would think you would want to patch the cracks at some point before or after the etch. I would think if you pressure washed the whole surface to start and pay close attention to the cracks there should be a compatible crack filler recommended by the finish product manufacture that could be used before the etching solution. 

And welcome to the forum.


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## stadry (Apr 9, 2015)

most post tensioned cables are sheathed otherwise they couldn't be properly tensioned,,, repr the crks, properly prep the floor ( we NEVER etch - diamond grinding is so MUCH better ),,, coat the floor & stain the deck,,, only 1 caution:  IF you use wtr-based epoxy, service life is horrible impo,,, both will require urethane coating to protect the base mtl - uv-resistant sealers are usually recommended,,, probably best if you don't shop for mtls @ apron/vest stores


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## nealtw (Apr 9, 2015)

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNXoAOqLHeg[/ame]


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## Sparky617 (Apr 9, 2015)

I haven't met anyone that is happy with the Rustoleum epoxy products sold at the big box stores.  In garages hot tires tend to pull it off the concrete.


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## stadry (Apr 9, 2015)

hi, spark - ltns - hope you're well --- as you know, most h/o's & diy'ers believe anything the apron/vest stores sell is the cat's ***,,, generally too cheap to buy the good stuff OR properly 'tool up' to do the work correctly, they'll usually skimp on knowledge,,, the other side of the equation is enthusiastic acceptance of sub-par diy work.

speaking of par, think i'll go watch the masters  :trophy:  look fwd to your posts as always


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## Ls181 (Apr 30, 2015)

Can some one recommend a good product to repair the cracks?? 

Also a paint for the garage floor rather than the epoxy stuff   

Here are some pics of the cracks in the garage..


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## stadry (May 2, 2015)

lemme guess - no sawed/formed joint in your garage ?  those crks are from the conc relieving tension stress when it was 1st placed,,, cracks cannot be repaired w/o full-depth diamond sawing,,, after that, the crk might be able to be epoxy welded back together,,, i don't know of any h/o-diy products because we do this work for a living,,, this means we do NOT use apron/vest store mtls NOR anything from sher-wms

didn't i already post there's no satisfactory 'paint' for anyone's garage floor ?  far's epoxy, do what my neighbor does - epoxy coat his garage each yr as he never used good stuff OR does the right floor prep

as an aside, rustoleum's the defendant in a class action lawsuit based on their deck coating material,,, they bought a local co (synta) couple yrs ago,,, many posters think its due to lack of proper prep - we tried the stuff & prep is not the problem


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## Ls181 (May 3, 2015)

stadry said:


> lemme guess - no sawed/formed joint in your garage ?  those crks are from the conc relieving tension stress when it was 1st placed,,, cracks cannot be repaired w/o full-depth diamond sawing,,, after that, the crk might be able to be epoxy welded back together,,, i don't know of any h/o-diy products because we do this work for a living,,, this means we do NOT use apron/vest store mtls NOR anything from sher-wms
> 
> didn't i already post there's no satisfactory 'paint' for anyone's garage floor ?  far's epoxy, do what my neighbor does - epoxy coat his garage each yr as he never used good stuff OR does the right floor prep
> 
> as an aside, rustoleum's the defendant in a class action lawsuit based on their deck coating material,,, they bought a local co (synta) couple yrs ago,,, many posters think its due to lack of proper prep - we tried the stuff & prep is not the problem




Sorry for my lack of knowledge, but why do you mean by sawed/formed joint??

The garage is attached to the house, house has a postention foundation.


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## stadry (May 4, 2015)

do you see ANY straight lines in the floor OR are they all random cracks ?


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## Ls181 (May 5, 2015)

stadry said:


> do you see ANY straight lines in the floor OR are they all random cracks ?



No straight cracks at all just random ones..


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## stadry (May 6, 2015)

*that's what i thought & the primary reason you have the crks,,, conc likes to be square & slab size is primarily determined by thickness,,, your 'fix' is dia saw the crks 1/2"w x 3/8"d then seal them w/crk sealant according to mfg's instructions,,, i like self-leveling sikaflex or dow's 100% silicone*


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