I’m contemplating installing epoxy flooring in my single car garage. Has anyone successfully applied epoxy sealant and liked how it turned out?

My floor is 18 years old with plenty of oil and crap.

I haven’t compared the cost of doing it myself vs paying to have it done. If I’m successful, I’ll do the two car garage too.

Thoughts?

Yep, did it in a 6x6 mud room. Right up there with spackling dry wall. I can't do that either. This was a poured epoxy floor not a paint on sealant. Just no knack for that kind of stuff. On the plus side, any water on the floor always rolls to the same spot.

I did a paint/epoxy to my garage floor but it is not as good as a self leveling epoxy. If you don't prep the surface properly, it will peal and be of no use to you.

My mother just had her garage floor and porch floor done by a local professional/neighbor and it is worth the money to pay them to do it. It comes out right and if anything happens to it, they come back and fix it. It only took 2 days to do her floors and having the proper equipment-concrete sanders/grinders, vacuum, etc., which you will need, can cost a bit to rent and if you don't do it right, can cost you more in the end in repairs.

The company did the self leveling epoxy along with the flake and top coat. It filled in the cracks and is now water/chemical proof. Looks amazing and makes the place look like a million bucks. She was only charged $5/sq.ft., which is pretty good where she is located.

The metallic epoxies are nothing short of amazing. The designs and overall look does not compare to anything else, in my opinion. With that in mind, it will be more costly but adds a cool, personalized touch to your home.

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I did a paint/epoxy to my garage floor but it is not as good as a self leveling epoxy. If you don't prep the surface properly, it will peal and be of no use to you.

Yes, I did it and followed the recommendations for floor prep and it peeled up. It’s harder to remove when not done properly than to have it done right. I’d pay the freight and have it done professionally if I ever get around to doing it in this current house.

The pros use a commercial grinder to remove most of the stains and rough up the surface to promote adhesion of the coating.

Personally I would let the pros do it on an older stained floor.

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My floor is 18 years old with plenty of oil and crap.

With any paint job, surface prep is as much or more important than the quality of application or paint. This may be a stumbling block. The best job in the world does no good if it won't even stick.

If you work on your vehicles a lot, be sure your chosen paint or whatever is resistant to brake fluid. It makes for a great paint remover.

I've done the two part epoxy three different times. Generally pretty good results. Preparation is the key as you really have to start with is surface that will adhere with the epoxy. Your listed oil stains will likely cause you some issues unless you can properly remove them. (the epoxy will not adhere in those areas, leaving bubbles/bare spots)
I recently used a product called "Chomp" to remove oil stains from concrete pavers. It did an excellent job of removing the oil. Getting the oil up with that first before you do the remaining preparation may do the trick but I don't have any experience with that plan.

A family friend who is a very good longstanding contractor did his own. I guess the final product turned out ok but apparently he had some issue with his respirator or lack thereof and ended up in the icu for a while because of the fumes. I mentioned doing my own here and my family vetoed that idea. His incident was a while ago and maybe the products have changed but that’s another factor to consider in my opinion.

The paint on does not work well. We have been replacing it, as needed, with trowel on - and this was on virgin concrete with a company rep at the install.

(Same company later said it’s failing because the prep wasn’t done correctly…)

I just don’t think paint on works. Just human traffic has worn it off, in some places, and it was supposed to be forklift rated.

Timely thread as I was just considering putting lines down on the floor for use a parking guides. I want to be more exact because it's a tight fit and unless we get it exactly right, we can't get the garbage bins out w/o moving the cars.

I was thinking colored epoxy or paint but sounds like it's more complicated prep otherwise it will just peel off, especially if the wheels ride on it.

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pros use a commercial grinder

THIS is why doing it yourself isn't a great idea, especially for the condition you described.

Like anything prep is critical, but with floors like this doubly so.

Yosef does great work.

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Originally posted by trapper189:
Yosef does great work.

Yes, but yoself is much cheaper.

I did factor in renting the diamond blade grinder from Home Depot. $200/day.

I just measured - 250sf in the single garage and 350sf in the 2-car garage. Kits are $400-1500, depending upon how fancy I want to get.

I may get some professional estimates. I'm guessing $3000-5000 for both garages. Ouch

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Originally posted by konata88:
putting lines down on the floor for use a parking guides

Maybe try suspending something from the ceiling? My folks hung a plastic whiffle ball on a string from the garage ceiling and when the car windshield touched the ball, it was time to stop.

I want to say this was $1,800 to have done, but it was new concrete:



They wear spiked shoes while spreading the epoxy and sprinkling the flakes on.

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Originally posted by joel9507:
Maybe try suspending something from the ceiling? My folks hung a plastic whiffle ball on a string from the garage ceiling and when the car windshield touched the ball, it was time to stop.

This. Growing up, my folks had tennis balls hanging from nylon string. They were set so you’d line up the tennis ball with a specific spot. From memory, on one car it was the end of the wiper arm. I think the other was a crease on the hood. In any case, the balls were set to provide side to side alignment as well as depth.

Edited to fix typos. By now I should know better than to post from my phone. Sigh…

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Originally posted by trapper189:
I want to say this was $1,800 to have done, but it was new concrete:



They wear spiked shoes while spreading the epoxy and sprinkling the flakes on.

$1800! wow that's a hell of a deal, neighbor just paid $3000 for a two car garage...

To the OP, I did it on a new garage, and the heat from the tires pulled it up, it was a mess to get rid of but it came out, if I did it again it would be a pro's job

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Originally posted by Georgeair:

quote:

pros use a commercial grinder

THIS is why doing it yourself isn't a great idea, especially for the condition you described.

Like anything prep is critical, but with floors like this doubly so.

^^^^ THIS ^^^^

I did my garage, but it was brand new, and it was 13-14 years ago.
Removing all the oil / stains is crucial.
It’s also a pain in the ass on an older floor.
You can only etch it so much with acid. And good preparation is key!

The newer epoxy is great! Depending on your talent level, you can really do some “artsy” stuff!


You’re also in Sacramento, so one thing you don’t have to worry about is freezing temperatures.
When epoxy gets cold, it gets slippery. Like “ice rink” slippery!
I was warned about this when my friend did his garage, so I tripled up on the silica sand to make it more gritty/less slippery.
Yeah, it was a pain to stir up, but in the end, well worth it!

If you have someone (a pro) doing it, you’re going to pay $$ to $$$!

First estimate is $3800-4000 for the two garages. Yikes. This is certainly more of a want than a need unfortunately.

Yipes! Even if it's half that for 1 garage, still too expensive for me.

I may just trying paint. I can repaint many times for that price.... All I really need are 4 lines....