It may be time to give your old well-used garage floor a makeover. It may have been perfect years ago when it was just you and your wife/husband living at home. Now with a couple of kids, a couple of pets, and new tools hanging everywhere, it may be time for a change.
After all, not everyone can move to a bigger home at a drop of a hat. The solution to your lack of space is a garage makeover. That’s because garage remodeling is one easy way to integrate additional square feet into your living space.
Just think about it, that space has existed all along so you don’t have to build anything. You will also be adding value to your home in the long run. Your garage can be turned conveniently into any space you like.
Those spaces can be a workshop, storage space, home office, laundry room, or gym. All that is possible simply because you have wiring, heat, air, and plumbing access and because your garage is attached. When the time comes to sell your home, you will be able to sell it for a higher value due to the made-over garage.
When planning the transformation of your garage, it would be good to consider putting in an epoxy garage floor. As you probably know, epoxy isn’t used only for gluing these days. Fantastic options are available to make your garage floor cleaner, stronger, and more attractive.
Or maybe you are just tired of that plain concrete in your garage. Maybe it’s been stained by oil and you think it’s time to straighten it up. Maybe sweeping up salt in the winter is hard on your cracked floor. Regardless of the reason, epoxy floor coating is a cost-effective method to spiff up your garage and make cleaning it much easier!
Begin by preparing the space
Before anything else, you need to make a decision regarding exactly what you want to transform your garage into. Next, decide where you will be able to park your cars.
If you live in a climate that has weather conditions that prevent you from leaving your car outside, you need to implement storage solutions that will give your car space, as well as all your tools. You can also organize it in such a way that you have space for a gym, office, or a “man cave.”
If you decide to renovate your garage to create more living room space, go through all the items in your garage and only keep what is necessary. This will eliminate your clutter and free up some space.
Decide on flooring as epoxy comes in many colors and styles these days. It is good enough to be used in every living space even when professionals do the coating.
Usually, garage floors are made of basic cement that probably has cracks and stains. You will need to cover up the concrete with a brand new floor system and a coat of industrial-strength sealer. Garage floor coating industries have current developments that have created durable and decorative topcoats.
There are many kinds of products on the market for floor coating, I picked epoxy for this article for its resistance to chemicals, water, and mechanical stress. Epoxy is a harder coating than urethane for example, even if it can compete with it and is better at some places like those that have great changes in temperature. So if you decide to bring your vehicles in for maintenance or for other things the flooring can handle it.
Epoxy floor adds beauty and protection
For about $150 you can get a kit that includes a base coat, a topcoat, and color chip flakes for a one-car garage. The cost doubles for a two-car garage and it triples for a three-car garage. Remember that these are just examples, a lot depends on what you like and how much you really want to put into this.
Applying the epoxy coating to the floor is relatively simple. Most people who sell this type of product have directions for how to do it posted online. In case of problems, you might want to buy from someone who will let you call in for advice.
One more thing: don’t just buy the epoxy floor coating for your garage. You should test your garage for moisture before you get started. The epoxy may not dry well if your garage is too moist. You can save a lot of time, money, and hassle if you find out ahead of time that your garage floor is not well suited for an epoxy covering.
Ultimately, when you have an epoxy garage floor coating it will be protected from stains, chemicals, and wear and tear. In addition, it will improve the sale value of your home by improving the look of your garage as it is a lot easier to clean than porous concrete where everything sticks.
5 steps for epoxy flooring your garage successfully
As stated before, garage floor epoxy coatings are an essential part of your garage if you want your floor to look good and last for a long time. It can be as easy as painting a regular floor to apply as long as you use the right products and follow the proper instructions. There are many options for you to choose from with garage floor coatings, like using flakes on the surface or combining various colors as pros do.
In applying a garage floor epoxy coating, you must never forget the primary step of preparing the surface. This would be about fixing up cracks and filling up holes. One of the leading reasons why a lot of coating fails is due to the absence of proper surface preparation. To be successful on this, you must do the following steps.
Step 1: To etch a solid garage floor needs some gel acid. Acid etching is the usual process that even expert contractors do in resurfacing. Liquid acid has always been an all-time recommendation by a lot of manufacturers.
And as modern times come, the gel has been combined with acid to make it easier to roll in the concrete floor. Liquid acids emerged to be more troubling due to their being diluted. Many consumers are not even aware that they are buying mere water instead of a genuine acid solution.
Step 2: Fix the cracks and holes in the floor. Do not buy a crack filler that is much too thick. If it doesn’t inject well into the crack, you will only get to fill the top portion of the crack and it is useless. This process is what you call bridging the crack. So for the best options to use as crack fillers, you need to go for the more modern polyureas.
Step 3: Choose the right coatings for your floor. Do not settle for instant home improvement epoxy kits, since they would only look good on the same day that you apply them. You must only go for the high-quality and high-performance coatings to make it last for years.
Step 4: Deal with any moisture issues. You need to use some tools to measure the content of moisture on the floor. You can place a rubber floor mat or tape plastic on it.
If after 3 to 4 days, you have stumbled upon some moisture underneath, then it is time you buy a waterproof epoxy which will be applied first before you apply the embellishing system of epoxy. You can also apply a sealer for added protection after you are done applying the epoxy.
As you follow these steps and choose the ideal garage floor epoxy, you can be sure to make your garage floors looking new as ever.
Step 5: Now it’s time to do the epoxy flooring. If you’re interested in doing the epoxy floor yourself, here is a guide for that.
Conclusion
After the flooring has been applied, you can look for organizational systems and décor for your garage. Shelving and cabinets make your life easier and you may not have to throw out as much stuff as you originally thought you had. Due to the demand of homeowners making over their garage, companies have come up with organizational systems, especially for garages.