slab surface grinding

[a2mfk]

OK, not a very technical question, but for those with experience with slab grinding its an easy one.

I'm personally renting a concrete grinder to remove surface contaminants (old vinyl flooring adhesive, slab imperfections, small pieces of thin set mortar, etc) and to open up the pore structure of a slab in order to put down an epoxy coating. The epoxy coating mfr suggested this as the best prep for their product. I want the floor to last as long as possible, and they have a warranty if I prep the slab correctly.

The tool rental guy said the stand up grinder I am renting has a shop vac attachment. This is indoors, in a condo, and I want to keep the dust down as much as possible. Does the shop vac do a good job? What about pre-wetting the slab a bit to help with dust control? Or will this just make a bigger mess? Of course the object is to open up the pores of the slab, so maybe the water is a bad idea, the dust will come up easiest dry? I can let the slab dry out and vac it later too...

Yes, I will be wearing all the correct protective stuff, I know whatever is in the dust is or could be very nasty stuff for my lungs.

 

[nuche1973]

If it is an actuall ShopVac brand, then you can buy bags and filters for your vacuum. I have one and it works quite well. You could try to dampen the slab prior to. Drywallers call it "wet sanding" If you do that then, you'll need a larger grit for your grinder. As for protection, if it's wet then a mask should do. If not then maybe a canister filter. Good luck, sounds like fun.

During my hiatus from work, I had so much fun working on our house, I thought about going back into the field. The first 100deg day we had changed that idea.

There are days when I wake up feeling like the dumbest man on the planet, then there are days when I confirm it.

 

[Brad805]

a2, I would compare the shroud around the base of the unit to some of the ones Hilti has. A hilti grinder combined with their vacuums can be virtually dustless. The europeans have strict safety rules, so there tools usually come with good dust collection.

A good shop vac with a 2 1/2" port and the yellow bags, work fairly well, but if the base of the machine is a poor design, its pretty tough to generate enough suction for the system to work effectively.

Brad

 

[a2mfk]

Thanks guys.. Brad- it'll be whatever they have at home depot. If it gets too dusty I will dampen the slab a bit, then just come back and do a good job cleaning which I have to do anyway.

Nuche- I feel ya, this is in Florida but near the beach, report is for 90 but I plan on getting this done early. At least it is in the shade. Its been miserable hot with some reports of 100s and this is no "dry heat" like out west, even though we are having a really bad drought it is still pretty muggy. Its a race to the car to get the AC going if you have somewhere to go where you are dressed nice. Have to outdoor inspections today so I better get going...