Eliminating garage floor oil and odors

[crholliday]

I am going to be opening a cafe in a space that used to be an auto repair garage. Naturally the floor is covered in a garageesque patina and the place smells great for a workshop but not great for a cafe. I'm looking for the least expensive method of getting rid of the floor grease and odor that is permanent. We have looked at pouring a 1.5" concrete cap on top of the existing floor. Are there any alternatives?

Chris

 

[rutbeer]

There is a local chain of pizza joints in Atlanta called Fellini's. They always buy up old garages and use the roll up doors for the open air dining. Best I can recall, they used 12" terra cotta tiles on the floors of every one of those.

 

[PAToyota]

I'd check with the local health department or whoever will be doing your inspections. They may have specific requirements beyond what would be suggested here.

 

[D'Animal]

I'd check with the local health department or whoever will be doing your inspections. They may have specific requirements beyond what would be suggested here.

I agree.

Where and When food is prepaired and served to the public, fall under some strict guidlines.

 

[97 FZJ80]

We cleaned up our shop using power washer follow by a does of muratic acid will take off 50 years of oil stains. The color looked like new concrete after we were done - although the chips and pits were still there. We ended up putting two-part epoxy floor paint down for less than $0.25 per sq ft.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/workshop-home-improvement/373890-my-new-garage-floor.html

 

[crholliday]

What is the temp rating of those tiles?

 

[KLF]

We took over an old dog grooming shop at work, converted it into a computer/CAD teaching room. The wet dog smell was in everything, we had to R&R all the sheetrock, new ceiling, and epoxy the floor prior to carpeting.

 

[Weedhopper]

If you have oil on or in concrete you can grind in speedy dry (cat litter) with your feet. Keep doing it and you will be surprised how well it works. I learned that when we changed our oil burner.

 

[97 FZJ80]

What is the temp rating of those tiles?

Normal temperature I guess. We tried putting a forced-air kerosene heater and it melted the surface of the tile near the exhaust. We ended up propping the heater up on a box.