Epoxy Garage Floors

Thanks to GRM for the timely (June '09) article on garage flooring. We're buying a house and I figure the time to sort out the garage floor is before I fill the garage full of crap.

Looking to go with an epoxy floor. I'm assuming that prepping the floor is going to be key to this project. The garage (and thus floor) is only a year or two old, and the floor appears to be spotless, so here's hoping thee prep work won't bee too ridiculous.

Anyone have any tips/stories/etc. to share?

I am in the same boat as you. There are lots of opinions on floors on www.garagejournal.com Some people on that site say wolverine is the best, but finding a supplier seems like a real pain. Right now I am leaning towards a PPG product called aquapon. I like being able to drive to the store and talk to a real person when I am dealing with products like floor coatings. Let me know what you decide!

I'm watching this one. I have my first garage as of last week, and I have big plans.

Okay, the big plans are insulation and drywall with some sort of shelf system, but still - my own garage, after living without one for 10 years is pretty exciting. Especially since we also have a shed and a basement, so I can banish all the miscellaneous crap elsewhere.

A good floor would be nice. Keep us posted.

In reply to alex:

I went with a professional installer for our epoxy coating; nearly 6 years later the finish is nearly flawless.

/Rich

THESE FOLKS have a section of their forum dedicated to garage flooring.

A friend of mine is a professional painter. They were doing an epoxy job at an industrial site, laid the epoxy down, and went home for the day while it settled. Next day, no epoxy on the floor. It seems the stuff moves around to get the smooth finish, and there were several unsealed cracks in the floor. The epoxy all went down the cracks.

Should you clean up any oil/stains on the concrete before applying epoxy, or just clean the area and apply?

the top dog accoding to GJ was sherwin wiliams at last check, I think all of the epoxy coating are pretty decent if prepped and applied correctly, U coat it allows you to coat the floor while wet making application a bit quicker

lowes has a 3 part system - rustoleum if Im not mistaken. Ive never tried it, but I think its 1. cleaner 2. Epoxy 3. sealer. It looked doable, but it looks liek it would take about 3-4 days. Thats a long time to have all your crud outside. I think if I do it, I will rent one of those "pods" onsite storage type deal. Anyway, Lowes has a pamphlet on it near the product. Its in the paint section. From what I saw, they made a big deal about MAKE SURE THE FLOOR IS CLEAN AND PREPPED yaddah yaddah...YMMV

evildky wrote: the top dog accoding to GJ was sherwin wiliams at last check, I think all of the epoxy coating are pretty decent if prepped and applied correctly, U coat it allows you to coat the floor while wet making application a bit quicker

Our SW sales rep had us use some of their stuff, and it was pretty good. I liked it more than the Lowe's stuff.

I usually clean the floors with TSP before I epoxy them. If they're really bad you may have to rent a sander and rough them up, which sucks.

Make sure the pets don't have access to the floor while it cures ...

4cylndrfury wrote: but it looks liek it would take about 3-4 days. Thats a long time to have all your crud outside.

That's why I want to do it now, right after buying the house/garage and before moving anything in.

bamalama wrote:

evildky wrote: the top dog accoding to GJ was sherwin wiliams at last check, I think all of the epoxy coating are pretty decent if prepped and applied correctly, U coat it allows you to coat the floor while wet making application a bit quicker

Our SW sales rep had us use some of their stuff, and it was pretty good. I liked it more than the Lowe's stuff. I usually clean the floors with TSP before I epoxy them. If they're really bad you may have to rent a sander and rough them up, which sucks.

Visually they look pretty good. Just re-checked today while out for the home inspection.

Go with a real industrial grade product if you want it to last -- not something from the hardware or paint store! A friend who professionally installs factory floors turned me on to the stuff he uses from Florock. Check them out at www.florock.net (800- 356-7625).

I'm actually interested in the polished concrete option- how much work really is it? Seems like if they can do a whole Costco, then a 320 sqft garage shouldn't be that difficult given the right tools. Its hard to find good info on the internet- primary reason is that I'm worried about burning through epoxy (I weld), and really like the look of polished concrete better than paint/epoxy- never have to worry about lifting etc. Our local tool rental place rents the grinders- I'd imagine with a weekend of grinding and a couple hundred in rental fees/grinding disks I'd be all set.

carguy12 wrote: Go with a real industrial grade product if you want it to last -- not something from the hardware or paint store! A friend who professionally installs factory floors turned me on to the stuff he uses from Florock. Check them out at www.florock.net (800- 356-7625).

Canoe tacked on to a year old thread?

possibly, but I'd like to hear more about this polished concrete option. A digression to be sure, especially since I own neither house nor garage, but something I feel is under-discussed...

There's lots of discussion of this on Garage Junkies Forum.

pigeon wrote:

carguy12 wrote: Go with a real industrial grade product if you want it to last -- not something from the hardware or paint store! A friend who professionally installs factory floors turned me on to the stuff he uses from Florock. Check them out at www.florock.net (800- 356-7625).

Canoe tacked on to a year old thread?

Another one?

Considering the three topics he's posted in have all been about epoxy flooring, I'd say yes...

kylaarmstrong wrote: We just have bought GarageLiving epoxy kit for flooring our new garage. I heard the flooring can be done by ourselves. If so please leave here the steps? Any additional materials or tools needed?

I think Woody meant this one.

I was actually referencing the canoe tag.