Advice on carpeting an old garage - how to prep old concrete?

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jonathan18

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#2942079 15-Jul-2022 09:39

Useful ideas, thanks! I may also quiz the carpet place when I go pay for the carpet today about taping or not.

Last question - I'm thinking it may be a good idea to install the barrier as a 'U', ie two short pieces sitting between the main long piece and the garage wall to block water coming in the side (the main piece can't sit flush with the front garage wall as the base of the door sits further back, so there's a bit of a gap). Given their size/lack of stress on them, I probably wouldn't even need to dynabolt them in (got told by a carpet guy not to use nails as he said the concrete would fall apart!). Good idea or waste of time?

geoffwnz

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#2942081 15-Jul-2022 09:46

jonathan18:

Useful ideas, thanks! I may also quiz the carpet place when I go pay for the carpet today about taping or not.

Last question - I'm thinking it may be a good idea to install the barrier as a 'U', ie two short pieces sitting between the main long piece and the garage wall to block water coming in the side (the main piece can't sit flush with the front garage wall as the base of the door sits further back, so there's a bit of a gap). Given their size/lack of stress on them, I probably wouldn't even need to dynabolt them in (got told by a carpet guy not to use nails as he said the concrete would fall apart!). Good idea or waste of time?

Given the state of the concrete, yeah, seems likely that concrete nails might just blow out more of it. I dynabolted mine and all bar one held in correctly. Really depends on the state of the concrete at that location.

Looked back at your photo, and yep, either some "packers" between the main piece or if you are feeling keen, rip cut the door thickness out of the length of the piece. Personally I'd just go for well glued/sealed packers as it's less hassle. Oh, I see, you are meaning how to attach these bits, and yep, I think sealant etc would be more than adequate.

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jonathan18

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#2942083 15-Jul-2022 09:52

Thanks again - I was indeed asking both whether adding 'packers' was a good idea, as well as whether they could get away without being dynabolted - so you've answered both questions! Thanks so much for your help.

geoffwnz

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#2942087 15-Jul-2022 09:59

jonathan18:

Thanks again - I was indeed asking both whether adding 'packers' was a good idea, as well as whether they could get away without being dynabolted - so you've answered both questions! Thanks so much for your help.

Likewise as it's giving me ideas and a reason to think about how I want to approach further work on mine. And opening it up for others to contribute reasons for or against the ideas. :-)

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jonathan18

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#2948615 31-Jul-2022 17:07

Well, the job's finally done. Ended up spending $1067 all up, which is a bit cheaper than the $3k for the carpet company to do it (and that excluded stopping the water egress from under the front door). Thought I'd post some images to show how before/after, but also note the products we ended up using just in case anyone else finds themselves with a similar problem. Thanks for the replies to my questions, especially @geoffwnz. I think the new car will enjoy its renovated home...

Cleaned/scrubbed the floor with sodium percarbonate, then later filled the cracks in the concrete with a Cemix crack filler; just used standard concrete to fill in the big hole where the original door would have attached in the middle.
Painted the floor with Dunlop Dam Proof Waterproofing Membrane; brushed all dodgy/crazed bits then rolled two coats, the second laid at 90 degrees (was originally going to use Cemix No Damp but no stock available at the time). Really easy product to use, and thus far has done wonders with dealing with the damp (fingers crossed).
Attached the decking timber across the front (to stop water egress) using Sika Sikaflix 11FC and concrete screws (both these products were recommended by the builder building the house next door; he said they're now discouraged from using dynabolts in such situations).
Used lots of 3M outdoor carpet tape to get the #$@# carpet to sit close to ok; such a crooked and crap floor, so knew we couldn't expect miracles without it being ground or skimmed, so pretty pleased how it came out.

pih

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#2948620 31-Jul-2022 17:29

Looks fantastic, well done! Long may it stay that way.

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