Garage Floor Repair or Replace?
#1
07-30-08, 06:15 AM
Garage Floor Repair or Replace?
House is 40 years old with attached two car garage in a Northern climate.
The floor is badly scoured. I think it was probably a bad mix of concrete. The center of the floor where the car was parked is particulaly bad.
If I were to use some kind of epoxy to fix it I am sure the epoxy would have to be up to two inches thick in some places. I don't even know if such a product exists?
I am thinking of cutting out the center section and just re-pouring it. I don't know if that is a good idea. What furure problems might I encounter if I do that? Could I end up with an uneven floor with the the new section rising or dropping beneath the old?
The final option would be to replace the whole floor.
The floor is badly scoured. I think it was probably a bad mix of concrete. The center of the floor where the car was parked is particulaly bad.
If I were to use some kind of epoxy to fix it I am sure the epoxy would have to be up to two inches thick in some places. I don't even know if such a product exists?
I am thinking of cutting out the center section and just re-pouring it. I don't know if that is a good idea. What furure problems might I encounter if I do that? Could I end up with an uneven floor with the the new section rising or dropping beneath the old?
The final option would be to replace the whole floor.
#2
07-30-08, 02:46 PM
Tear it all out and repour.
First, I don't think any epoxy will go on 2 inches thick, at least none you'll find locally at a big box store. Second, real epoxy is expensive. 2 inches of it would cost more than the cost of total replacement. Third, even if you could find it cheap enough somewhere, there's always the fairly high probability that it will delaminate. Fourth, without some type of aggregate in it, it would be slicker than snot when wet.
As to only tearing out the center and repouring...why? You'd be left with essentially 3 different slabs next to each other all doing their own thing. it would actually be harder to tear out a section than to demo the whole thing, because to only tear out the center section would require sawing entirely through the old slab, and then being very careful not to break the areas you want to keep.
A typical 2 car garage is about 24 x 24, so the cost of the replacement concrete would be about $700 or so, (concrete cost only, figured at about $100 per yard.) If you do it yourself, that's pretty cheap for what you want to accomplish.
As to the deterioration of the old concrete, it was most likely not a bad mix. 40 years is old for about any concrete, good or bad. Since you're in a northern climate, my guess would be that the salt your car is carrying in off the streets in the winter is eating your concrete. Good luck.
Pecos
First, I don't think any epoxy will go on 2 inches thick, at least none you'll find locally at a big box store. Second, real epoxy is expensive. 2 inches of it would cost more than the cost of total replacement. Third, even if you could find it cheap enough somewhere, there's always the fairly high probability that it will delaminate. Fourth, without some type of aggregate in it, it would be slicker than snot when wet.
As to only tearing out the center and repouring...why? You'd be left with essentially 3 different slabs next to each other all doing their own thing. it would actually be harder to tear out a section than to demo the whole thing, because to only tear out the center section would require sawing entirely through the old slab, and then being very careful not to break the areas you want to keep.
A typical 2 car garage is about 24 x 24, so the cost of the replacement concrete would be about $700 or so, (concrete cost only, figured at about $100 per yard.) If you do it yourself, that's pretty cheap for what you want to accomplish.
As to the deterioration of the old concrete, it was most likely not a bad mix. 40 years is old for about any concrete, good or bad. Since you're in a northern climate, my guess would be that the salt your car is carrying in off the streets in the winter is eating your concrete. Good luck.
Pecos
