Having Epoxy Floor Installed in Garage

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krafty81
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Having Epoxy Floor Installed in Garage

Post by krafty81 »

Looking at having this done by a reputable company here. Have narrowed it to three. They all have great Yelp reviews and offer a lifetime warranty. Any other tips before I pull the trigger? Tired of looking at ugly concrete in my otherwise nice garage.
JS-Elcano
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Re: Having Epoxy Floor Installed in Garage

Post by JS-Elcano »

I had it done 2 years ago for the same reason. It's outstanding. Make sure they grind the concrete properly before applying the material, that they measure if there's any moisture, and have the flooring material come up the walls for a few inches.

Don't be alarmed when the floor is a bit rough on the surface initially. I takes a bit for the color chips to wear off. My floor is very nice and smooth now, but I actually thought they had done something wrong when it was not smooth initially.

It still gets dirty from the tires, etc, but it cleans easily and I haven't seen any wear yet. I scrub it down twice a year and it looks like new.
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tetractys
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Re: Having Epoxy Floor Installed in Garage

Post by tetractys »

When I was on a ship rebuild in the 70’s this was brand new technology. It was used on the mess decks and was really nice. It had a soft touch on the shoe soles and gripped pretty well. It must have been well prepped. Even after a couple years I never noticed any bubbles, peels or cracks, and I never saw any repairs. That was on steel though, which can be ground and wire brushed; I’m sure concrete would have different requirements.
Mike83
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Re: Having Epoxy Floor Installed in Garage

Post by Mike83 »

I choose a mellow yellow with some light brown flakes mixed in. It looks nice and bright when clean. If I did it again I might choose a mid-level gray, maybe add some black flecks as well. Mud and drips may be less noticeable. There are some great black mats (Amazon - but not cheap) that cover the floor under the car, or just under the front end. They look sharp against the paint and allow most of the runoff to evaporate on them. Rinse off in place with a hose.

My installer used a grinder the size of a golf cart, followed by smaller machines. Used polyurethane, not epoxy. Sealed the outside perimeter of the garage that was slightly under grade in landscaped areas... you don't want moisture coming up from down under. Extended some downspout outlets away from the house as well.

I also got a bunch of rubber-backed plastic pads to put under shelving, bench legs, freezer etc so the new floor won't get gauged.
tesuzuki2002
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Re: Having Epoxy Floor Installed in Garage

Post by tesuzuki2002 »

Put a clear coat over the top of the basecoat. I did one of my garages in Michigan... 15 years ago.. and it still looks GREAT. There are a couple of chips about the size of a quarter but otherwise it looks new.

I'll probably sand it down and redo it in about 5 years...
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krafty81
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Re: Having Epoxy Floor Installed in Garage

Post by krafty81 »

Thanks all for the info!
dsmclone
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Re: Having Epoxy Floor Installed in Garage

Post by dsmclone »

Being from San Diego, you can probably ignore this but for others watching, if you live somewhere that gets snow, fill in your expansion joints before applying the epoxy. I've applied epoxy for my last two homes. The first one I didn't fill in the expansion joints and salt/sand got into those expansion joints and I had just a little wear near the joints after 5 years. With my current house, I filled them in and it's been 15 years with no issues.
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chickadee
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Re: Having Epoxy Floor Installed in Garage

Post by chickadee »

I had this professionally done 5 years ago or so. I’d definitely use someone who will grind the concrete vs just putting down acid. I chose a medium light grey with black, white and tan flecks added, and would do so again. Mine is smooth even with the chips. The chips are under the top clear coat I think.
senex
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Re: Having Epoxy Floor Installed in Garage

Post by senex »

Epoxy is great, but it will yellow upon very small exposures to direct sunlight.

If you ever leave your garage doors open, I recommend choosing a color that will look decent after yellowing. We chose a white/gray/black color that still looks great in the dark rear of the garage, but is now a sickly shade of yellow near the garage doors (which we occasionally leave open on weekends).

Apparently there are sealants that might delay the yellowing by a few months.
bluegill
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Re: Having Epoxy Floor Installed in Garage

Post by bluegill »

I used a polyurethane for my garage floor. It was painted on 3 years ago. I have no regrets. I would prefer Polyurethane over epoxy. I've seen epoxy peel. I bought my paint from National Coatings Inc.
Nowizard
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Re: Having Epoxy Floor Installed in Garage

Post by Nowizard »

Personally, it is one of the more economical home improvements that are enjoyed daily in our home. Do use a reputable company rather than the big box store kits. The preparation is a key, and the application is potentially messy. Easy clean-up, but if you tune up or gas up equipment such as lawn mowers in your garage, wipe up the solvents. You will enjoy the change of appearance in your garage for sure!

Tim
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Re: Having Epoxy Floor Installed in Garage

Post by heyyou »

Do search for other threads here on the topic.
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krafty81
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Re: Having Epoxy Floor Installed in Garage

Post by krafty81 »

I checked with several companies and found one that was highly recommended. Did the epoxy in a custom color I picked. It really does look great, very solid and I enjoy looking at it every day. Thanks all for the advice!
2Scoops
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Re: Having Epoxy Floor Installed in Garage

Post by 2Scoops »

I had mine done when we built our house by a reputable company. One of the better decisions we made. The only caution that I would talk to the installer about is how they plan to make it as anti-slip as possible. Mine gets quite slick when it's wet.
Chardo
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Re: Having Epoxy Floor Installed in Garage

Post by Chardo »

Nowizard wrote: Fri Dec 03, 2021 8:24 am Personally, it is one of the more economical home improvements that are enjoyed daily in our home. Do use a reputable company rather than the big box store kits. The preparation is a key, and the application is potentially messy. Easy clean-up, but if you tune up or gas up equipment such as lawn mowers in your garage, wipe up the solvents. You will enjoy the change of appearance in your garage for sure!

Tim
Economical? I admittedly know little about it, but an epoxy garage seems rather frivolous to me, and from the descriptions above, sounds like it would be expensive.
mcamp18
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Re: Having Epoxy Floor Installed in Garage

Post by mcamp18 »

I would highly suggest visiting a concrete supply company that actually sells the products. There are newer coatings that will not yellow when subjected to the sun. More importantly there are other chip options that are really an improvement over the average bland and basic ones you see on most floors. And these newer chips have a tiny upcharge over the basic chips. Visiting a concrete supply company you can visualize all of your options with samples they have applied on the showroom floor. There are many awesome staining products that you may desire over the standard chips and epoxy. The concrete supply company allowed me to take home samples similar to a carpet company allowing you to take carpet or hardwood flooring samples into your home.
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Sandtrap
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Re: Having Epoxy Floor Installed in Garage

Post by Sandtrap »

krafty81 wrote: Sun Apr 17, 2022 1:58 am I checked with several companies and found one that was highly recommended. Did the epoxy in a custom color I picked. It really does look great, very solid and I enjoy looking at it every day. Thanks all for the advice!
Thanks for the update.

any pics?

j :D
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A-Commoner
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Re: Having Epoxy Floor Installed in Garage

Post by A-Commoner »

I’m planning to do the same for our concrete garage floor. What’s stopping me for now is the prep work that apparently involves “grinding” the concrete floor. There is a warning on our floor from the builder stating that cutting into the concrete slab is not recommended since this is a post tension slab.

Is the prep work of “grinding” tantamount to cutting into the slab , causing damage?
Old Guy
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Re: Having Epoxy Floor Installed in Garage

Post by Old Guy »

This company uses polyurea, which they say is better than epoxy. http://innovativeconcretecoatings.com/e ... age-floor/.

Opinions?
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Go Blue 99
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Re: Having Epoxy Floor Installed in Garage

Post by Go Blue 99 »

We did ours last year through a company that a few friends used. It wasn't cheap ($3600 for a 3 car garage), but we are happy with how it looks. I wouldn't say it's a must-have, but it's a nice upgrade to have.
av111
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Re: Having Epoxy Floor Installed in Garage

Post by av111 »

Go Blue 99 wrote: Sun Apr 17, 2022 10:31 am We did ours last year through a company that a few friends used. It wasn't cheap ($3600 for a 3 car garage), but we are happy with how it looks. I wouldn't say it's a must-have, but it's a nice upgrade to have.
Thanks for sharing the numbers. 3600 for a 3 car garage translates to about $6 per Sq ft. Right? Is that 3600 for epoxy or polyurethane?

From the link in the post above, epoxy can blister or peel rather easily. It may just be a FUD so what is the experience from people who have had epoxy for 5 years or more
AV111
Normchad
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Re: Having Epoxy Floor Installed in Garage

Post by Normchad »

A-Commoner wrote: Sun Apr 17, 2022 9:58 am I’m planning to do the same for our concrete garage floor. What’s stopping me for now is the prep work that apparently involves “grinding” the concrete floor. There is a warning on our floor from the builder stating that cutting into the concrete slab is not recommended since this is a post tension slab.

Is the prep work of “grinding” tantamount to cutting into the slab , causing damage?
Nope. Grinding is just roughing up the surface of the concrete to improve adhesion.

I did my own garage floor years ago, using a kit from Lowes. I did not bring the floor. I used muriatic acid ( per instructions) to prepare the surface. The only hard part about the entire job is getting everything out of the garage for 3 days.

It was something like this: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Rust-Oleum-Epo ... lsrc=aw.ds

Note that it didn’t cover nearly as much area as the box claims, and I used two full kits for a standard 2 car garage.
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Go Blue 99
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Re: Having Epoxy Floor Installed in Garage

Post by Go Blue 99 »

av111 wrote: Sun Apr 17, 2022 10:59 am
Go Blue 99 wrote: Sun Apr 17, 2022 10:31 am We did ours last year through a company that a few friends used. It wasn't cheap ($3600 for a 3 car garage), but we are happy with how it looks. I wouldn't say it's a must-have, but it's a nice upgrade to have.
Thanks for sharing the numbers. 3600 for a 3 car garage translates to about $6 per Sq ft. Right? Is that 3600 for epoxy or polyurethane?

From the link in the post above, epoxy can blister or peel rather easily. It may just be a FUD so what is the experience from people who have had epoxy for 5 years or more
The quote says $5.50 per sq foot for Epoxy Granite:Charcoal 1/4", Includes UVS Polyaspartic Protective Clear Coat. And $4.50 per sq foot for stemwalls. This was March 2021.
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