Transforming Concrete for Decorative Elegance and Functionality

Concrete floor transformation has become simple and effective with hi-build, self-levelling floor coatings in a variety of attractive colours, plus unique sealers for stain resistance, easy cleaning, and a non-slip surface when wet. It's a practical way to turn a plain garage floor into a functional, good-looking room.

From garage to living space

Turning a garage floor into a functional lounge, office or playroom floor takes only a number of straightforward steps. The simplified application techniques mean DIY enthusiasts and small business contractors alike can get superb results, provided the Samson system is faithfully followed.

Two real examples: a Cape Town homeowner transformed his garage into an attractive lounge, and a Northriding homeowner converted a cracked, delaminated garage floor into an attractive, light grey, non-staining, slip-proof multi-functional room.

Various substrates can be successfully transformed without undue chipping and removal of sound surfaces, including well-bonded ceramic tiles. The floor coating is slightly flexible, so construction joints aren't needed except to mirror existing joints already in the concrete floor.

Suitable substrates

The system is designed for thin-set application over sound concrete. Some alternative surfaces are suitable too, such as well-bonded ceramic tiles, but surfaces that don't give sufficient support to the new, strong coating (for example, weak, porous screed) should be avoided.

Preparation

Cracked, delaminated or otherwise degraded concrete needs special preparation: detailed crack injection systems are available from Samson. Some concrete is only weak in the top few millimetres, in which case scarifying down to sound concrete is what's needed (the deeper preparation required for urethane or epoxy toppings isn't necessary here).

The surface should be dust- and oil-free with no contaminants likely to cause de-bonding. A light sandpapering, vacuuming and pre-soak is all that's required. Samson can advise on curing compound removal where needed; wax-based products in particular are difficult to remove. The moisture condition of the floor should be saturated but surface-damp, with no standing water.

A light application of acrylic emulsion bonding agent is recommended over sound, prepared surfaces. It must stay damp and tacky when the floor coat goes on; if it's allowed to dry first, bond won't be achieved.

Application

Floor Coat is packaged in 12.5kg bags for the preparation of 10L of liquid coating: place 5L of water into a bucket, then, while agitating with a paint mixer, add the powder into the vortex until the full 12.5kg is in and the mix is smooth and lump-free. It's then ready for application by brush or steel trowel: an experienced painter can do a good job with a large paintbrush, though a trained artisan with a steel trowel will often achieve the best results.

Colours available

Floor Coat is available in various shades of grey (light grey to charcoal), shades of ivory to light and dark browns, and terracotta. Custom colours can be developed for large projects, and standard colour charts are available on request.

Next step

Browse our decorative coatings range to see the full colour range, or request a quote for your floor transformation project.