THE HOMESHOP home
 
The Floor
The floor in the shed was of very poor quality finishing. There were a lot of lumps and cracks in the concrete and it was far from level. The surface was very soft, despite the fact that ist was concrete. There was always dust on the floor, even immidiately after sweeping the floor.
The first plan was to paint the floor with an epoxy coating. But this would be a waste of time and money. Only the dusting problem would be solved. Therefore it was decided that a new 45 mm sand-cement layer would be applied in the shop. The top of this new floor shall be finished with an epoxy coating.
1 preparing the underground

 
The surface has to be cleared of old stains, fat, oil and loose pieces. The best method is to roughen the floor with a special tool. floor sanding
It's absolute neccessary to wear protection against the quartz particles in the dust. floor sanding with dust

This is the resulting pattern where the top layer is beaten off. I went from 4 different directions over the floor, intersecting at 45 degree angles.

sanded floor
2 fabrication of the floor

 

The ingredients are:
- sand (very coarse)
- cement
- fiberglass reinforcement
- granite grains

These materials are mixed in a mixer-pump. In each batch goes a handfull of fiberglass. Not to much, otherwise it clutters.

 floor materials

First there is some kind of chemical adhesive layer applied on the floor, after that some pure cement-water mixture is brushed on the floor. This is also a sort of bonding layer between the old and new floor.
The mixture is transported through a highpressure-rubberhose. It looks like it is fluid but it isn't. Its a rather dry mixture of moisturised sand-cement.

 putting on the concrete

In the top layer is enriched with extra granite grains. This gives more resistance against wear and extra strength against falling objects damaging the floor.
At the end there is a dark slurry of pure cement spread over the floor. This slurry is wiped off, until the top is complete flat and equalised.
After completion the floor has to strengthen, 28 days to maximum strength. After that the drying process continues because the epoxy coating needs the concrete to be fully cured and dry. There is a week drying time for each cm floor thickness (in the optimal circumstances). That means in a rainy autumn it takes 8 weeks to dry.

floor almost ready
3 coating

The floor coating is HIMfloor FC130. It's an 2-component epoxy coating.