Garage Floor coating

I recently bought a house and I’ll be moving next month. I was considering having an epoxy shield coat professionally installed since I intend to be there long term. Has anyone had this done to their garage floor recently, and how much did you pay for it to have done? The one I am looking at is approximately $4100 and comes with a 20 year warranty for a 3-car garage that has approximately 600 sq feet. This price includes surface preparation of the existing concrete since the house is not brand new.

Thanks

I do this alot on the side. If you want to save about 3k do it your self. It’s as easy as cleaning the floor and the pouring it on and squeegee material around. Should take the company just a few hours. 4100 seems pretty steep. Or I don’t charge near enough.
What is the material they use ? And what is the fine print in the warranty.

Figuring right at $10/SF for removal and replacement of a garage floor puts you at about $6,000 for replacing the floor. What kind of shape is the concrete in? Seems awfully expensive for a coating. Looks like you can get a DIY kit for about $100 per garage stall for the epoxy. If it was me, I’d save that money and eventually replace the floor. Or epoxy it myself.

rjthehunter wrote:

Figuring right at $10/SF for removal and replacement of a garage floor puts you at about $6,000 for replacing the floor. What kind of shape is the concrete in? Seems awfully expensive for a coating. Looks like you can get a DIY kit for about $100 per garage stall for the epoxy. If it was me, I’d save that money and eventually replace the floor. Or epoxy it myself.

Why replace a floor that isn’t damaged ? Damn sales people

I know everyone says its not that bad to do it yourself. I find myself paying for a lot more to have someone do things, I will say I did a auto shop floor many years ago that was probably three to four times the size of what your talking about. I think at the time we spent maybe $500.00 on materials. You need to start with etching the floor and then you mix the epoxy and paint together, if you try it make sure it is well ventilated “free buzz” that stuff is nasty. If it is an empty space you might want to look into cost of goods now a days and tackle it yourself. Sherwin Williams is where is did and would go for that.

Bearcat89 wrote:

I do this alot on the side. If you want to save about 3k do it your self. It’s as easy as cleaning the floor and the pouring it on and squeegee material around. Should take the company just a few hours. 4100 seems pretty steep. Or I don’t charge near enough

I remember this coming up a while ago. At my current house (that I’ll be leaving next month), I had self installed concrete floor paint. It was not a permanent solution and eventually it would wear out, especially where the cars were parked. It was very cheap and easy for me to do and the primary reason I went that route was because I wasn’t intending to be there long term.

The company that has done an estimate for me indicated that there is some surface preparation prior to applying the epoxy coat. They have very good reviews. I really like the 20 year warranty they have. If I did it myself, there’s no freaking way it would last that long.

rjthehunter wrote:

What kind of shape is the concrete in? Seems awfully expensive for a coating.

I honestly can’t say how good or bad of shape the garage floor is in. When I viewed the house, I didn’t remember to look that close at it. Its obviously easier to apply an epoxy coat BEFORE I move my stuff in there which is why I’m already formulating ideas on this.

We had really bad cracks in our floor and had ours done. They seal all of the cracks and then coat the floor. I would not do the epoxy and find a company that uses the polyurea coating. Tough as nails and looks great…plus it cleans up super easily. I am amazed at how good it looks compared to what our old floor looked like. It literally looks like they coated a brand new garage floor. We have had ours for 3 years now…and all of the salt/winter grime/mud you name it just hoses right off. We have a 2.5 car garage and it was $3200 to have it done. If I had to do it over again tomorrow I wouldn’t even hesitate. IMO one of the best things we have done investing in our home…and we have done a lot.

We are in Omaha…but here is who did ours.

https://www.mwconcretecoatings.com/garage-coatings?msclkid=da888eadbaa011ecae6bdb028f156ae5

It is hard to see on the old flooring…but it is the only picture that I have of it. The other is when the floor was done. Still looks that good today.

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The epoxy is a very good coating to do, I like it alot. It looks really good and seals the floors nicely.

Like I said read what the warranty says. 20 years is hard to buy in to. I imagine there is 100s of voids in there. I would never pay 3 or 4k for it. But that’s me. Prep is nothing special. Small grinds and cleaning

Oh and congratulations on the new house.

Browndog wrote:

I would not do the epoxy and find a company that uses the polyurea coating.

After reading this and doing some research, I think the polyurea is the better surface coat as opposed to epoxy. Apparently it bonds better. I had ball park estimate for that instead, and it came in less and seems more durable too, so I think I am going to go with that instead.

Thanks for the replies!

Bearcat89 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>rjthehunter wrote:</div>
Figuring right at $10/SF for removal and replacement of a garage floor puts you at about $6,000 for replacing the floor. What kind of shape is the concrete in? Seems awfully expensive for a coating. Looks like you can get a DIY kit for about $100 per garage stall for the epoxy. If it was me, I’d save that money and eventually replace the floor. Or epoxy it myself.

Why replace a floor that isn’t damaged ? Damn sales people

My assumption (right or wrong I don’t know) is that the floor might not have been in the best shape. I wouldn’t spend money to protect a floor if it’s in rough shape. I would spend the money on a new floor. Then spend money on protecting a new floor. A garage floor should last 20 years without any type of coating.

My assumption (right or wrong I don’t know) is that the floor might not have been in the best shape. I wouldn’t spend money to protect a floor if it’s in rough shape. I would spend the money on a new floor. Then spend money on protecting a new floor. A garage floor should last 20 years without any type of coating.
[/quote]

I agree a floor should last 20 years. But what better way to bring up the appeal and let alone the oil and stain resistance of a coating on top. They are beautiful and can make a garage pop. Brown dogs garage floor looks awesome. The paint job before, not so much.
I assumed his floor was in fine shape since he didn’t say it was rough. If it’s in rough shape that’s a different story

I did Epoxy Coat myself on my garage floor, the garage was a new build. I have 720 square feet. I paid just over $1100 including shipping for the mid-range epoxy plus an overcoat of poly.

I got bids from 3 companies to hire it done. I thought the prices were crazy especially on new concrete with zero prep required. Your bid of $4100 is right there in the upper-mid-range line with what I got for bids on a per sq foot basis.

IMO considering how much work it really is to do, $4+K is crazy IMO. Since I didn’t have any place to put all the stuff in the garage I had to do it 1/2 at a time. Epoxy went down in an hour and a half. Wait 24 hours. The poly coat is done in an hour. Wait 48 hours. Done. In my case, of course, I had to repeat that process 2X because I had to shift all my stuff to the other side of the garage which was a PITA, but not worth 4 grand to me to hire it done.

A lot depends on how much “surface prep” you really need. The concrete needs to be clean and dry. The biggest issue is if you have large oil stains.

My biggest problem overall was dealing with Epoxy Coat and their dazed and confused customer service / fulfillment people. First they lost my order. Then they sent me 2 different color lots that didn’t match. It took almost a month of wasted time just for them to get their #### together and get the right product to me.

See pictures for the results. This stuff is really tough, I can’t see where you could damage it or remove it even if you tried. I tried to scrape through it with a gasket scraper and I couldn’t even chip it.

As a warning, definately add the grit that gives it grip. I got talked out of adding it by the Epoxy Coat people because they said it makes it “hard to sweep”. Yeah, well I found out that during winter if you get snow on your boots and then step on the wet floor, it’s like stepping on wet ice. It’s absolutely deadly! Luckily, I can do a quick recoat of the top poly coat and add the grit to that, so that’s what I’m doing this summer. Bottom line is IMO you absolutely need the grit for safety on these coated floors.

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Damn Grouse, that looks really nice for a DIY job. Maybe I should hire you to do it. Or Bearcat.

gimruis wrote:

Damn Grouse, that looks really nice for a DIY job. Maybe I should hire you to do it. Or Bearcat.

If you have the ability to move all your stuff out of your garage or do it before you move in it’s not that difficult. My biggest problem was I was doing it in the fall and what do you do with all the crap in the garage? Having to do half the garage at a time really stretches the job timeline out.

But at the end of the day I saved myself over 3k which to me was worth it.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>gimruis wrote:</div>
Damn Grouse, that looks really nice for a DIY job. Maybe I should hire you to do it. Or Bearcat.

If you have the ability to move all your stuff out of your garage or do it before you move in it’s not that difficult. My biggest problem was I was doing it in the fall and what do you do with all the crap in the garage? Having to do half the garage at a time really stretches the job timeline out.

But at the end of the day I saved myself over 3k which to me was worth it.

Nice looking floor grouse. Like I was saying earlier the 4 k bids are wild. But every one needs to make money. It’s easy to do on your own

Those look awesome. Someday, I need to do that, but mine is a ’94 vintage and will need replacing first.

Where’d you finally find a house, gim?

Add me to this list. Looking to have 1300 Sq ft poly’d/epoxy’d this fall.

Quotes ranged from 6k to 9k.

gim are you sure on your Sq footage?
600 SF is an awful small 3 car garage.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

Where’d you finally find a house, gim?

Plymouth just west of 494.

MX1825 wrote:

gim are you sure on you Sq footage?
600 SF is an awful small 3 car garage.

I could be wrong on the square footage. I just know what the dimensions are and the guy on the phone said 600 sq feet. The third garage stall is recessed which I am not a fan of, but its big enough for my wife’s SUV. It was actually pretty hard to find a 3 car garage. Almost every house is just a 2 car.

Bearcat89 wrote:

My assumption (right or wrong I don’t know) is that the floor might not have been in the best shape. I wouldn’t spend money to protect a floor if it’s in rough shape. I would spend the money on a new floor. Then spend money on protecting a new floor. A garage floor should last 20 years without any type of coating.

I agree a floor should last 20 years. But what better way to bring up the appeal and let alone the oil and stain resistance of a coating on top. They are beautiful and can make a garage pop. Brown dogs garage floor looks awesome. The paint job before, not so much.
I assumed his floor was in fine shape since he didn’t say it was rough. If it’s in rough shape that’s a different story
[/quote]

Our floor was NOT in great shape prior…they were able to grind the cracks and remove any old concrete that was loose and then filled/patched it with something…they said the PSI rating was 10x that of original concrete. After patching cracks and grinding down the pitting you couldn’t even tell. Our floor was original from 1994 and now looks brand new. It was a much cheaper option than replacing…when you figure break out/haul away.

Passively looked into this on our new build. One quote was at $5800 for a 3 car garage (~950 sq ft). It also Couldn’t be done for quite some time…6+ months after it was poured. At that price I’ll probably wait and revisit the coating once some stains and whatnot are an issue a few years from now.

Did the polyurea on my garage floor 3 years ago. Spent a total of ~$600 for the Rustoleum product. One weekend of prep – presure wash, scrub, rinse repeat. One weekend to apply.
A tip – wait until the afternoon cool down to apply. First half of garage I applied Mid day. As the temps rose for the afternoon, the slab heated up and off gassed causing thousands of tiny bubbles to rise through the coat. The bubbles dried and I spent hours on my belly cutting them off with a razor blade. Second half I waited until ~6pm to apply and no bubbles.
Add the paint chips that is in the kit, spreading ~30 minutes after applying the last coat so they don’t sink belwo the surface. I also broadcast clean sand over high traffic areas for added traction.

I had mine professionally epoxied 2 years ago when we moved into our newly built house and cant complain at all. I priced out 3-4 companies here in Sioux Falls and at that time everyone was around $3.50/sqft for my 900 sq ft garage. Only thing I would do different would be to have them mix sand into the top clear coat for some traction. Its pretty slippery when it gets wet. My cousin did this when he did his and it makes a huge difference

Grouse – that does look really nice and gives me some confidence in doing my 782 sq ft myself. I have a lot of construction experience and have built myself a couple of homes from start to finish including all the cement/block work.

Garage floor is in great shape as home is only a few years old. The floor has finished control joints versus sawed so wondering if it will be hard to keep the epoxy out of the joint or if the joint should be filled.

Have any of you done stairs as I have been informed by those in the business that stairs can also be done. I have 5 steps and the landing to get into the house.

The garage will be completely empty as I have other storage.

Bearcat – if I get cold feet are you interested? This would be done sometime mid-late summer.

I rather use the 3-4K saved on M360 and Mega Live.

gonefishin wrote:

Have any of you done stairs as I have been informed by those in the business that stairs can also be done. I have 5 steps and the landing to get into the house.

See my previous comments about how deadly slippery the epoxy coating is when wet! Probably the biggest concern I have is somebody slipping on the wet floor or on the ice that can form by the door.

If you do stairs, use at least 2x the recommend amount of grit. And even then you may want to add grip tape to the stairs for more safety.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>gonefishin wrote:</div>
Have any of you done stairs as I have been informed by those in the business that stairs can also be done. I have 5 steps and the landing to get into the house.

See my previous comments about how deadly slippery the epoxy coating is when wet! Probably the biggest concern I have is somebody slipping on the wet floor or on the ice that can form by the door.

If you do stairs, use at least 2x the recommend amount of grit. And even then you may want to add grip tape to the stairs for more safety.

I literally covered my stairs with clean sand after applying the last coat. It’s like walking on 50 grit sandpaper – no slipping!

gonefishin wrote:

Grouse – that does look really nice and gives me some confidence in doing my 782 sq ft myself. I have a lot of construction experience and have built myself a couple of homes from start to finish including all the cement/block work.

Garage floor is in great shape as home is only a few years old. The floor has finished control joints versus sawed so wondering if it will be hard to keep the epoxy out of the joint or if the joint should be filled.

Have any of you done stairs as I have been informed by those in the business that stairs can also be done. I have 5 steps and the landing to get into the house.

The garage will be completely empty as I have other storage.

Bearcat – if I get cold feet are you interested? This would be done sometime mid-late summer.

I rather use the 3-4K saved on M360 and Mega Live.

Yes

I just look at it this way- all of the stuff I spill in my garage will eventually give it a nice “patina”. The last thing I want to do is worry about keeping my expensive garage floor spotless, although I admire the attention to detail from those of you posting pics of your immaculate floors!

KPE wrote:

I just look at it this way- all of the stuff I spill in my garage will eventually give it a nice “patina”. The last thing I want to do is worry about keeping my expensive garage floor spotless, although I admire the attention to detail from those of you posting pics of your immaculate floors!

Those floors are spill proof. Oil cleans up and does not stain. That’s the point for the ones I do