Garage Floor Coating

It dawned on me that when I get my Leaf, there won't be anything to "mess" my side of the garage, so I'm thinking about having my (entire) garage floor coated with an epoxy or epoxy/paint coating. Has anyone done this recently? What does it cost and how long does it last? I also like the idea that when they clean/prep the floor for application they repair/fill in any cracks as well.

Stanton said:

It dawned on me that when I get my Leaf, there won't be anything to "mess" my side of the garage, so I'm thinking about having my (entire) garage floor coated with an epoxy or epoxy/paint coating. Has anyone done this recently? What does it cost and how long does it last? I also like the idea that when they clean/prep the floor for application they repair/fill in any cracks as well.

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I was trying to get this done. Unfortunately, the vendor rejected (!) saying the ground is wet and the humidity is seeping up into the floor ... IIRC, I got the vendor number through Costco.

My epoxy garage floor lasted almost 10 years and failed. They said it was due to moisture. So now I have thousands of dime sized flakes all over the floor. I need to have it all removed. There are companies who can do that with a machine which grinds the failed epoxy off. I've been looking into concrete garage floor stains and also garage tiles. I wouldn't go with epoxy again.

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I have read that IF you have a moisture problem: don't do this. Having said that, I DON'T have a moisture problem. Anyone out there with a positive experience (and some $$ estimates)?

My epoxy lasted a few years. Installed by the homebuilder as an option. Failed in a few years so they fixed it under the original warranty. I paid for the upgrade to the granite look so I got a new five year warranty. 4.5 years and it has failed primarily where my truck tires sat each night. Currently the company is testing for moisture to see if it is possible to redo the epoxy. I will probably end up with a patch on the bad spots under warranty. Overall I really like it and I hope with the lighter LEAF the repair will hold up for at least ten years.

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Stanton said:

I have read that IF you have a moisture problem: don't do this. Having said that, I DON'T have a moisture problem. Anyone out there with a positive experience (and some $$ estimates)?

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I've done two cement garage floors with the epoxy kits available at Lowes/Home Depot. If I recall correctly, each uses a mild acetic acid mixture to etch the raw cement. The floor I'm still using has been solid for more than six years.

The only failure I've had has been from an old lead-acid car battery that sat on the floor too long - the epoxy lifted where the plastic battery case contacted the floor.

As with all painting, the quality happens during the cleaning/etching/pre-paint stage. I recommend knee pads.

I just recently coated a portion of my garage/workshop floor. Because of the expense involved I bought just one kit to try it out. The brand I got was from "Quikrete" sold at Home Depot. It is an epoxy that claims that it bonds to concrete stronger than concrete bonds to concrete. The kit cost about $75 and claims to cover about 250 sq. ft. I was able to get it to cover over 300 sq. ft. Now that I know more about it, I'll make it a little thicker and cover 250 sq. ft. I have been pleasantly surprised as to how well it holds up. I do some welding and the most I've seen is a little discoloration. I live in a dry climate so moisture is not a problem. Most items that I drag across the floor don't leave a mark. However, if the object is heavy enough and sharp enough to gouge concrete, then this stuff is gouged off too with the concrete.
The key to a good installation is getting the concrete extremely clean. There is a DVD that comes with it to show the steps. Our floor was recently poured and given over a year to cure as I built the garage. All spackling was scraped off. Then I used a floor polisher with a coarse mat and water. Then I mopped up the residue and then took the first step on the DVD. This is a product that you mix with water and scrub into the concrete. If it fizzes as you're scrubbing then you know you've got the concrete clean. If it doesn't or there is any type of sealer on the concrete, then it must be removed before proceeding. All went well and it rolled on easily.
I researched some other coatings on the internet and they were 3 to 4 more expensive than this stuff, so I have to say that for the price the Quikrete product works well.

hmm...interesting. i dont have any suggestions here, but wondering...having worked in a few manufacturing and factory situations with concrete floors that were painted.

now some paint jobs simply needed to be applied over and over, but others i have seen seemed to last a very long time and was a thick rubberized type of paint that took forklift traffic and other abuses.

only pushing pallets on the floor seemed to damage the finish eventually and it took a lot of pallets

I've had several experiences with painting concrete in my basement and garage, and I've found several key factors:

If you have a moisture problem or crumbing concrete, those problems must be fixed first, otherwise the paint won't stay on for long.

as others have said, prep is key - remove all old paint, and etch the clean,dry solid surface. My local hardware store rents a machine that is basically a drum sander for concrete. Like you were refinishing a hardwood floor, taking off the top layer to expose fresh bare concrete.

Commercial/industrial concrete paints are much better than the stuff you get at home depot and worth the price.

smkettner said:

failed primarily where my truck tires sat each night.

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This and the moisture-related failures are the two ones that I most heard about when I looked into this a few years back. I had thought of doing this to our garage, but even after doing a light etch of the floor and coating it with a concrete sealer, we still have a moisture seep issue likely associated with the adjacent patio.

You mention that moisture isn't an issue for you, but the one test I heard recommended over and over was to tape 2' x 2' piece of plastic to your floor and check underneath it after a day or two to see if there's any moisture on the underside.

Are there any economical but superior tiles that one can use on concrete?

oh there is no doubt that there is tile that would work...but cheap? to buy maybe, but the install i would imagine would be spendy.

i am surprised that so many of you in dry Southern CA are having moisture problems. in the rainy Northwest, i have built several garages that remained pretty dry with really a minimal amount of prep. here the moisture barrier was nothing really than heavy plastic laid directly on ground. concrete poured over it, then u go thru this (dont flame me for the non-technical terms) rubbing process that brings "cream" to the top which acts as a sealer and creates a surface that is easy to finish with one of those large circular buffer like things.

this last step is not required but recommended for easier clean up. but i had one garage that due to finances, was 2 years before i put a garage door on it. other than the very front due to blown in water, i never had a moisture problem. was dry as a bone all winter long