Dusty concrete floor sealed with PVA

Steve111111 · 1 May 2021

I got a steel shed in the garden last year. It has a concrete floor. I heard that these concrete floors can get crumbly and dusty, so when the floor was being laid I asked the builder if he had any recommendations on how seal the floor to help keep the dust down. He said to wait 2 months and then add 2 coats of PVA. I did this but I still found the surface was crumbly and dusty.
I thought maybe I hadn't added enough PVA last year, so a few weeks ago I decided to add another 2 coats. I think I made the Water

VA ratio to be 4:1 (whatever it said on the tub to use as a sealant). These additional coats definitely made an improvement as there is a visible surface PVA layer that is keeping the dust down.
However a problem I have is that if it is raining and the ground outside is wet, the rainwater on my shoes causes that surface PVA layer to stick to my shoes and come off. I have patches with no surface PVA layer around the floor from where I walked with my wet shoes. It seems that the PVA is reacting to the water.
I'm wondering if there is an alternative solution to this problem (maybe something to put over the PVA) as I often need to go into the shed on wet days.

Ryan_The_Bodge · 1 May 2021

Steve111111 said:
I got a steel shed in the garden last year. It has a concrete floor. I heard that these concrete floors can get crumbly and dusty, so when the floor was being laid I asked the builder if he had any recommendations on how seal the floor to help keep the dust down. He said to wait 2 months and then add 2 coats of PVA. I did this but I still found the surface was crumbly and dusty.
I thought maybe I hadn't added enough PVA last year, so a few weeks ago I decided to add another 2 coats. I think I made the WaterVA ratio to be 4:1 (whatever it said on the tub to use as a sealant). These additional coats definitely made an improvement as there is a visible surface PVA layer that is keeping the dust down.
However a problem I have is that if it is raining and the ground outside is wet, the rainwater on my shoes causes that surface PVA layer to stick to my shoes and come off. I have patches with no surface PVA layer around the floor from where I walked with my wet shoes. It seems that the PVA is reacting to the water.
I'm wondering if there is an alternative solution to this problem (maybe something to put over the PVA) as I often need to go into the shed on wet days.

I'm about to seal my floor with this. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Everbuild-...0GJRHJ2CNT5&psc=1&refRID=T8J8ZBSPX0GJRHJ2CNT5

Deleted member 174758 · 2 May 2021

Either concrete sealer like Ryan recommends, or better still (albeit more expensive) epoxy floor paint. I've had several workshops in the past where I put downepoxy paint and it cured the problem.of concrete dust coming off the floor for two or more years in even the higher traffic areas. In a hone shed I'd have thought that two costs would last until judgement day

Alastairreid · 2 May 2021

Bad advice from your builder as pva is not waterproof.

JohnD · 2 May 2021

unfortunately the PVA will form a barrier layer that prevents a better coating from contacting the concretre.

you might be able to blast it off with a jetwasher if you suck it up or rinse it away. If you just leave it to dry it will just reform.

IMO the epoxy is the best treatment.

foxhole · 2 May 2021

When using pva to seal dust down it requires a very weak solution , think you used too strong a mix which left a skin on top .

Mike13 · 3 May 2021

once you have the pva off then "waterglass" will seal the concrete, I suspect that amazon stuff is just that.

Steve111111 · 4 May 2021

Thanks for the suggestions.
I was chatting to a guy in work who has a concrete shed floor and used a floor paint on it. He said his floor was flaking really bad so was advising me not to use floor paint. He said it was a few years ago when he put the paint down and can't remember what type of paint he used other than it being a concrete floor paint (recommended by a guy in the paint store he bought it from). I Googled floor paint and it seems that there are latex and epoxy types. Does it sound like he used a latex paint and I won't see this issue using an epoxy paint?

Nozzle · 4 May 2021

It's 2 pack floor paint you need, the single pack stuff is okay for foot traffic though. Acid-etch the concrete first

Check out regal paints (no affiliation)

nozzle

Steve111111 · 10 May 2021

Anyone know how much epoxy required for a 3m x 3m (10ft x 10ft) floor?

Steve111111 · 16 May 2021

I was chatting to a guy who told me removing the PVA would be an absolute nightmare. He said to instead pour down some self levelling compound. With SLC you need to prime it beforehand and can prime it with PVA, so no need to remove the PVA. I think I might go with this option. I never asked him how thick I need to make the SLC? Any recommendations?

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Dusty concrete floor sealed with PVA

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