If you didn’t know, concrete is a porous material. That means, your garage floor is going to have a certain amount of moisture seeping through. The problem with too much garage floor moisture is when you want to apply epoxy on your floor. The team here at Neighborhood Garage Door Service of Seattle, WA has a few tips to help you find out if your floor is too damp to consider epoxy.
There are two simple ways to check the amount of moisture coming through your concrete.
1. Use a Plastic Sheet or Aluminum Foil
A plastic sheet is a low-cost way of determining how much water is coming in. This is not necessarily the best test to decide if you should use an epoxy coating on your garage floor. But, it will give you some idea of where water is coming in.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Duct tape
- Plastic or foil
- Scissors
Start by cutting the foil or plastic into squares that are about 20 inches wide. Then, place pieces throughout your garage. Tape down the squares on all sides so that no air can get underneath.
After a few days, check the underside of the squares. If it is wet, then you know water is seeping in through the concrete. Squares that are wet on top indicate high humidity in your garage. If there is moisture on both sides, then it means you’ve got water coming through plus humidity.
Consider Running a Dehumidifier
You might consider running a dehumidifier in your garage to cut down on the moisture. If there is a lot of humidity in the room, it can cause mold to grow. Most dehumidifiers have a place where you can hook a hose up to it so it will drain. If you have a drain for your water heater or somewhere else in the garage, you can run a hose to it. Otherwise, you will need to remember to empty the drawer that collects the water.
2. Calcium-Chloride Moisture Test
If you are serious about applying epoxy to your floor, you should consider doing a calcium-chloride moisture test. This is usually done by professionals before they apply a coating to garage floors.
You can order the test online and do it yourself. Follow the instructions on the kit you purchase. You may need to prepare the floor in order to perform the test. This could include grinding the surface of the concrete.
If you have a two-car garage, then you will need to set out three test kits. The kits will need to stay in place for a few days. Make sure that you set them in a place where they will be out of the way.
How Much Moisture is Too Much?
After you conduct the Calcium-Chloride Moisture test, you will need to determine if there is too much water on your slab. If you find that there are more than 3 lbs of water vapor in 1,000 square feet, then you should not apply epoxy to your floor.
The team here at Neighborhood Garage Door Service of Seattle, Washington is always looking for ways to help our customers. If you need help with your garage door, be sure to let us know. We’ll come out and take care of it for you right away.
