Floor Finish

I used Ghost Shield densifier and sealer. My shop gets a lot of hard use, and my experience with epoxy is under tough use it will eventually chip. The densifier penetrates the concrete, and strengthens the surface (also greatly reduces the amount of sealer required). Then the sealer is applied, after a 7 day wait to allow the densifer to chemically bond to the concrete. When all completed your concrete looks exactly like it did when you started, but any spills instantly bead up and there is no dust like a conventional floor. If your looking for something showy this may not work for you, but for a working shop, I really like it. Mike
 
White metal for the walls.
 
What is "White Metal"?

Shop will be pretty much hidden so I'm not worried about the drain. I will have to get a permit for the building but the builder handles that.
 
The ribbed metal for interiors of buildings they sell now. And run your electrical exposed in conduit. Yes it's a little more work but better in the long run. I really regret not doing it now.

Joe Hynes
 
MattM said:
What is "White Metal"?

Shop will be pretty much hidden so I'm not worried about the drain. I will have to get a permit for the building but the builder handles that.
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Yes, white steel panels similar to what they put on the outside of pole barns and steel buildings, it goes over the insulation. Look into skylights too, natural light is a nice thing to have also windows. Good tip on running electrical in conduit on the surface of the wall, that way changes are easy later on.

John
 
I plan to use conduit for all three electrical services; 120, 220,& 3phase, and I plan on installing skylights.

Is it easy to hang things on that white metal?
 
White steel looks great but is a PITA to hang stuff off of. You want to put cabinets up? Need to build stand-offs an inch deep to go over the ribs on the metal.

I am just completing my new shop. 36x36. Did not put a drain in it because anything I plan on doing that would require a drain (wash cars for example) will be done in my attached garage. I have heated floors in the attached garage so that is where most of that work is done.

I also installed in-floor heat in the new shop. Wall height is 10'6" and I put 5/8" plywood on the walls that I coated with a clear stain and two coats of lacquer. I can hang pretty much anything on that 5/8" plywood and not worry about hitting a stud. The bottom 36" of the wall is going to be galvanized steel panels. Since I don't hang anything that low, the corrugations will not be an issue. It also prevents sparks from getting up against the plywood and it will give it that rather cool industrial look.

Cement is troweled very smooth and acid stained and then just clear coated with a sealer. My old shop had an epoxy coated floor and it held up ok, but it does chip if you drop something heavy on it. I wanted to do my new shop in epoxy with a metalic copper color but it was going to be $2500 or more to do that.
 
All those concrete "Densifier & Hardeners" are is a Sodium Silicate solution, which can be purchased much cheaper (about $10 gal.) than the brand name products. Plenty of info out there on how to use it. Yes it works.
 
I signed the contract for the building. I specified plywood for the interior, not sure how thick. It will be easy to hang stuff. I'll probably finish it clear. I like the idea of the metal wainscotting

The concrete guy said he could put color right in the mix and it wouldn't need any finish. Does that make sense?

Site prep next week. Hopefully not more than a day or two for the large excavator. I want to get the site ready before the weather turns.
 
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