Boatshop Floor

This is the place for information on various types of permanent and temporary boat shops and other project shelters.
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newt
Bottom Sanding Grunt
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Apr 11, 2009 11:26 pm
Location: Layton, Utah

Boatshop Floor

Post by newt »

This is a weird one, so my apologies early. My concrete floor on in my shop is warped. It collects water and is generally a pain. I was thinking of making a smooth contour with it the dependent area being the garage door opening. I really can't do it in concrete because it needs a very thin layer towards the door. I was thinking that fiberglass or maybe epoxy and glass would be the best way to go. I would then tile (garage tile) above that. What do you think?
BTW- I am a boat owner, heavily into DIY, just lurked here and never posted.
May the wind on your back not be your own.
s/v Faith
Rough Carpentry Apprentice
Posts: 64
Joined: Sun May 21, 2006 12:05 pm
Boat Name: s/v 'Faith'
Boat Type: 1964 Pearson Ariel (#226)
Location: Pensacola, FL

Re: Boatshop Floor

Post by s/v Faith »

Seems like a costly investment.

For the same price you would probably be able to have the floor leveled using levelite or something similar AND coat it with terazzo.

Sure would be a nice floor for a shop.
1964 Pearson Ariel #226
'Faith' (the Triton's little sister)

Referred by;

www.sailfar.net

and

www.pearsonariel.org
One Way David
Skilled Systems Installer
Posts: 183
Joined: Sat Aug 02, 2008 8:46 pm
Boat Type: Pearson Ensign
Location: Kansas

Re: Boatshop Floor

Post by One Way David »

Also consider how long you want this new floor to last. Waht are the details of construction of the existing floor? Why is it not level? Why is it buckling? I'll bet the answer to those questions will answer why you don't want to just resurface the floor. Then again, if it is a temporary fix... Over on garagejournal.com I read about a product that is like tamped sand but more durable. I don't recall the name or other details.

Another temp alternative is to put down treated wood decking. Give it a cozy cabin atmosphere. Make you wanna work there more ;)
Never finish all your projects or you'll be bored.
Quetzalsailor
Master of the Arcane
Posts: 1100
Joined: Fri Aug 26, 2005 9:53 am
Boat Name: Quetzal
Boat Type: LeComte North East 38
Location: Philadelphia, PA

Re: Boatshop Floor

Post by Quetzalsailor »

David's bang on; you've got to know: Why is it not level? Is it still moving? Bear in mind that a floor that was otherwise just fine but is sitting on damp, undrained soil will heave with freezing. Garages typically do not have a foundation across the door openings and also do not have the perimeter insulation that a heated structure would have these days.

That said, you can hop over to your local Home Despot and buy concrete fillers made for this purpose. They can be feathered to nothing and can be several inches thick. Just read the instructions on the various bags or on the display. I just did the reading but was looking for grout, not floor levelling stuff. One of the fillers has a latex modifier for better bonding.

As for the idea of laying a wood floor system, I would not do it. I would not want something that left the damp under the floor which would take forever to dry. It would be yuckey pretty quickly.

My 1850's barn's concrete floor is broken and not flat and is about dead level with the asphalt driveway outside which slopes down toward the barn. Additionally, there's no sill timber remaining and perhaps no foundation. My favorite cure idea is to lift the barn several inches and cast a new floor over the whole area. The new floor would be sloped to drain out the door and would be engineered to be a real slab-on-grade foundation. I'd add a trench drain in front of the doors as part of the regrading necessary to get up to the new floor elevation. I'd then rebuild the bottom of the walls and put the sills back in. It's been about 15 years and I have not yet thought of an easy way to phase the work (hard to lift the barn and cast the floor at the same time).
newt
Bottom Sanding Grunt
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Apr 11, 2009 11:26 pm
Location: Layton, Utah

Re: Boatshop Floor

Post by newt »

These are great ideas. My floor is not buckling ( I hope) it is a roof of a deep basement, and was poured on metal I-beams and sheet metal. The concrete eventually cracked, and the snowmelt off my cars is seeping down and rusting the sheet metal. I will take a look at the concrete fillers, one mixed with epoxy might be the material I am looking for. It is a big area- workshop and two cars...
Thank you for your ideas. I will post again if I have anything to say.
May the wind on your back not be your own.
Quetzalsailor
Master of the Arcane
Posts: 1100
Joined: Fri Aug 26, 2005 9:53 am
Boat Name: Quetzal
Boat Type: LeComte North East 38
Location: Philadelphia, PA

Re: Boatshop Floor

Post by Quetzalsailor »

I recommend that you ascertain whether your slab is one which is 'composite' with the metal deck or contains enough reinforcing to stay there even with the deck dropping away in chunks. Composite metal decking has deeper ribs, corrugations and the sides of the corrugations are vertically ridged, not smooth. My dad's garage is similar but was done that way to avoid a perimeter foundation which would have disturbed the roots of a very large tree. Its metal deck has almost completely rusted away and there is very little sign that the concrete and the rebar has deteriorated. Dad, a PE, designed the floor to slope to drains, so that's a plus.

Even if the deck is normally reinforced, you need to be aware of the condition of the rebar. If the concrete's spalling and the bar is exposed, it's very bad.

There are endless problems with concrete parking garage decks caused by salt water from snowmelt. Water is bad enough, but the salt destroys the concrete as well as promotes corrosion in the rebar. The green rebar you see on road and bridge work is epoxy coated for corrosion resistance. All concrete cracks while it cures; that's why it's such a lousy material for exposed applications. A very useful thing to do after you repair damage and get a grip on the puddling, would be to apply a waterproof coating. There are lots of products for folks trying to eke a few more years out of their parking garages. Some of these products are sold with various kinds of scrim reinforcement meant to keep the coating intact across cracks. (I'm an architect working(!) in Philly, PA.)
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