Garage floors - tiles or epoxy?

iainw

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3,386
Looks fantastic John!
I suggest you knock down your neighbours house and use it as a car lot!
 

JonW

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3,259
So, in the interests of full disclosure, have ran into a bit of an issue.

The floor in the garage was meant to be a Matt Epoxy coating from Watco, which looks like this

IMG_1855.jpg

Unfortunately, for some reason still to be determined, we appear to have actually ended up with this, which appears to be a simple concrete floor paint...

IMG_1854.jpg

Not happy right now (and can't work out how to rotate the pics!)
 

Ewan

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6,757
Well, you can't apply a two-pack epoxy over a single-pack paint, so you're stuck with it now. Realistically your choice is to leave it as is (with maybe another coat or so to smooth it a bit) or to lay tiles over the top.
 

JonW

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3,259
Well, you can't apply a two-pack epoxy over a single-pack paint, so you're stuck with it now. Realistically your choice is to leave it as is (with maybe another coat or so to smooth it a bit) or to lay tiles over the top.

Is that right Ewan? I've been trying to look into that this evening, and it wasn't entirely clear... is that because the epoxy won't bond to a coated floor?
 

iainw

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3,386
What a numpty that guy is who did it for you. These tradesmen **** me right off. Nice
Of
Him to paint your floor for 990 pounds ... 'as a favour!' Hope
You
Gave him a piece of your mind...
 

JonW

Member
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3,259
What a numpty that guy is who did it for you. These tradesmen **** me right off. Nice
Of
Him to paint your floor for 990 pounds ... 'as a favour!' Hope
You
Gave him a piece of your mind...

Not so fast Iain - there is clearly a conversation to be had, but I'd rather have it when we both understand how this has happened, and we have agreed on what the fix is. The guy I used is someone I trust, and who I know takes massive pride in the quality of what his building firm does. As such, whilst I might think he's a numpty for not being able to spot it was the wrong paint, I suspect he feels sh1t about it as well and I'm hoping we'll work out a decent solution.

Have you thoughy about having it soda blasted and then start from scratch again ?

http://www.soda-blast.co.uk/sbsuk_042.htm

I know its more expense but i suspect its just going to bug you if you leave it as it is.

Thanks for this - not something I even knew was an option. We can't leave the floor as is, as the only reason I spotted the problem was that after the first night I parked the cars in the garage the back wheels of my Granturismo ripped up the paint. So we're going to have to do something... maybe I need to take Dave Walker up on his offer to come and tile the floor???
 

iainw

Member
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3,386
You are a nicer / calmer man than me Jon.

There is a whole world of difference between applying two layers of epoxy which have to be carefully levelled and have a totally different consistency and splashing a coat of paint on. Surely he should have read what was on the tin.

I agree the main priority is to think of a solution and to calmly find out what happened.
 

rockits

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9,167
I find it very difficult to comprehend how an experienced tradesman cannot tell the difference between floor paint and epoxy resin. Regardless of the tin labelling which is generally pretty clear. For me being in a technical industry it shows a lack of attention to detail and/or care at best. If I had made that mistake....which I wouldn't have done....it would be resolved at whatever cost. My name & reputation is what directly & indirectly generates my income. When I did all the work myself & would sign off all my work like an artist & could be proud of every job as I left.

I think you are being very calm & accommodating which is good...but I'd be pretty p1ssed & would be on the edge of losing my rag.

Mistakes & accidents happen and it how you get over them that matters. This shouldn't have happened & is a big one to get over. Silly really as a little time, care & attention & it wouldn't have happened.

A big difference in the cost of the materials as well is there not? I would be keen to find out for future reference & trust issues if this was a genuine mistake or someone trying to pull a fast one. I hope not & it could be very genuine but it does happen & I would want to know as that conscious act changes everything.
 

JonW

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3,259
You are a nicer / calmer man than me Jon.

There is a whole world of difference between applying two layers of epoxy which have to be carefully levelled and have a totally different consistency and splashing a coat of paint on. Surely he should have read what was on the tin.

I agree the main priority is to think of a solution and to calmly find out what happened.

I find it very difficult to comprehend how an experienced tradesman cannot tell the difference between floor paint and epoxy resin. Regardless of the tin labelling which is generally pretty clear. For me being in a technical industry it shows a lack of attention to detail and/or care at best. If I had made that mistake....which I wouldn't have done....it would be resolved at whatever cost. My name & reputation is what directly & indirectly generates my income. When I did all the work myself & would sign off all my work like an artist & could be proud of every job as I left.

I think you are being very calm & accommodating which is good...but I'd be pretty p1ssed & would be on the edge of losing my rag.

Mistakes & accidents happen and it how you get over them that matters. This shouldn't have happened & is a big one to get over. Silly really as a little time, care & attention & it wouldn't have happened.

A big difference in the cost of the materials as well is there not? I would be keen to find out for future reference & trust issues if this was a genuine mistake or someone trying to pull a fast one. I hope not & it could be very genuine but it does happen & I would want to know as that conscious act changes everything.

Trust me - I'm seriously pi$$ed off and last night it was only the fact that the guy doing this is the builder who did such a fantastic job on our house refurb that stopped me from going off on one.

I agree it's a stupid, ridiculous mistake to make, and is one I spottted immediately when I saw the paint tin that he had left after coming to touch up the floor. I also agree that the paint used is half the price of the epoxy that was meant to be used, so here is a small part of me that is questioning if it was an attempt to cut corners and make a tad more margin...

However, for now, I'm telling myself to believe it was a honest (numpty) mistake to make, and am hoping we can find a solution that I'm happy with...
 

Ewan

Member
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6,757
The epoxy would bond to the outer surface of the paint, but it will pull it up as you park/drive over it. The weak link in the chain is the paint - it simply isn't robust enough to withstand vehicular weight and traffic. So either it has to go (a messy sand/soda blasting job) or you simply tile over it (which will be far quicker and easier, and possibly cheaper).

As many of you know, I manufacture epoxy for a living, so if you do decide to clean the floor and go down the epoxy route, I can supply you at a discounted rate.

Obviously this is an annoying mistake, but it's not actually all that costly to tile a garage with modern click-together rubber tiles.
 

JonW

Member
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3,259
The epoxy would bond to the outer surface of the paint, but it will pull it up as you park/drive over it. The weak link in the chain is the paint - it simply isn't robust enough to withstand vehicular weight and traffic. So either it has to go (a messy sand/soda blasting job) or you simply tile over it (which will be far quicker and easier, and possibly cheaper).

As many of you know, I manufacture epoxy for a living, so if you do decide to clean the floor and go down the epoxy route, I can supply you at a discounted rate.

Obviously this is an annoying mistake, but it's not actually all that costly to tile a garage with modern click-together rubber tiles.

Thanks Ewan - appreciate the input from a professional who knows what they are talking about, and thanks for the offer re supplying epoxy if we decide to take up the paint and try again.

Part of my frustration is that I consciously decided I prefer the look and feel of an epoxy floor, rather than tiles. As such, whilst I can see that putting tiles on top of the paint would definitely be the easiest solution, it grates with me...

I may be grasping at straws, but this is the stuff I was meant to get on the floor, and in the TDS it says it can be used on top of other coatings, as long as painted surfaces have been thoroughly abraded...

http://cdn.watco.co.uk/media/products/technical/watco_uk/W091139_DS_1.pdf
 

Ewan

Member
Messages
6,757
Your best bet is to chat to Watco directly. Tell them exactly what was applied, to what and when, and ask their advice. If they confirm that their epoxy can be applied on top of their floor paint, happy days.