Garage floor ideas

lg13mza

I'll try and be brief.  We've got a double garage, 5.5x6m.  The rippled concrete base was really rough when we moved in (deviations of around 1").  We had quotes at the time for it levelled but it was going to be expensive.  So I sealed the concrete and boarded it with 11mm OSB screwed down well.  It looks fine and has been fine for the last 3 years.  But rain does get blown under the garage doors a little, and now the kids are older they bring wet bikes into the garage.  So, I'm worried about the long-term life of the OSB.  So I want to try and make it water-proof.  I was going to paint it with floor paint, but I'm worried that the OSB will have some movement in it when taking the cars in and out and I don't want the paint to crack.  I then thought about a one piece floor covering.  Cheap vinyl flooring was one thought, but I'd need a joint (which could be done away from the doors).  I then thought about an EPDM roof or pond membrane.  That's my best option at the minute I think as I could glue it down and seal the edge.  That will still cost a few hundred.  Anyone got any other suggestions for a cost effective solution.

Doozergirl

Self levelling compound or just a better concrete screed? You're kind of learning that if you want to do something then it's better to do it once properly than have to keep redoing something periodically.

I'm trying to work out why the garage needs to be perfectly level.

stuart45

A lot of garage floors were a tamp finish and had roughly an inch fall to the door to allow for easy hosing down.

kev2009

Just a thought but is there not some kind of resin you could put down to level it out and then perhaps paint after?

Kev

Kiran

You say deviations of 1", are you referring to low sports or do you mean there's a fall from front to back for example? If you want a liquid screed or self leveller you need to make sure its suitable for being used as a wearing surface and not just for laying a new floor over. Something like Ardex K301 is suitable for internal and external use but this largely depends on what your 1" description refers to.

onomatopoeia99

Doozergirl said:

I'm trying to work out why the garage needs to be perfectly level.

If you want to set suspension geometry or do corner weights then you need a perfectly level surface.

If you're just bunging an old Flymo and some boxes full of random stuff that you never look at from one year to the next in there then it's not so important.

lg13mza

The 1" is low spots, not just a fall.  Basically its all over the place.  It was impossible to sweep it was that lumpy.  It doesn't need to be perfectly level, but smooth would be nice!

Davesnave

lg13mza said:

The 1" is low spots, not just a fall.  Basically its all over the place.  It was impossible to sweep it was that lumpy.  It doesn't need to be perfectly level, but smooth would be nice!

Self-levelling compound then, and then maybe paint it. See Kiran's comment. That's what we did in the bog in our barn. No suspension geometry necessary there!

lg13mza

Davesnave said:

lg13mza said:

The 1" is low spots, not just a fall.  Basically its all over the place.  It was impossible to sweep it was that lumpy.  It doesn't need to be perfectly level, but smooth would be nice!

Self-levelling compound then, and then maybe paint it. See Kiran's comment. That's what we did in the bog in our barn. No suspension geometry necessary there!

I realise that self-levelling would have been the best solution.  I reckon that's going to be about £1200 in materials for Ardex K301.  I'm looking for an 'money saving' solution for a floor covering.  I'm happy to take the responsibility for it not being done 'properly'.  The OSB III is sound at the minute, I just want to preempt any future issues.

GDB2222

Quite frankly, a bit of paint sounds okay to me. The worst is that it cracks a bit, in which case you're no worse off than now. 

Can you use self-levelling compound to fill holes up to 1"? That sounds all wrong to me. I thought it's meant to be a couple of mm.   If I were ripping out the OSB, I'd try levelling the floor with a bit of sharp sand and cement. But, I'm no expert.

Davesnave

GDB2222 said:

Can you use self-levelling compound to fill holes up to 1"? That sounds all wrong to me. I thought it's meant to be a couple of mm.  

Yes, some compounds are suitable for that depth. I've just filled a hole that deep. Don't expect much heavy vehicular traffic into the dressing room though!