The garage is one place in your home where you expect durability. Whether you are doing car repairs, running a workshop, or storing boxes, the garage floor is exposed to chips, scuffs, and all sorts of wear and tear. When you sell your house, your garage will lose resale value if the floor is full of unsightly scratches.
A floor coating protects your garage against scratches so that it will keep looking like new even after the punishment it takes in everyday use. Garage floor epoxy coatings are among the most popular protective coatings that you can buy for your garage.
What Is Garage Floor Epoxy Coating?
Epoxy is a durable material that hardens when the epoxy resin combines with a catalyst. Chemically, epoxy forms a structure called a polymer. The bonds within the polymer produce epoxy’s characteristic strength. Epoxy can be harder and more durable than paint or other forms of sealant because the two chemicals are stored and shipped separately until just before their application.
The Floor Coating Process
Be sure to ventilate the garage properly during the preparation, application, and curing phases of the epoxy coating installation process. Sanding and sweeping produce harmful dust, and the chemicals used in epoxy can release hazardous fumes.
Prepping the Floor
The garage floor needs to be dry before they can receive epoxy coatings. A moisture test might be necessary to make sure that the floor is not too wet for the epoxy to work.
Before you can apply the epoxy, the floor must be clean and free of any imperfections that will be trapped under the epoxy if not removed. A sander or other piece of equipment grinds down the floor, ensuring it is flat. Sweeping and vacuuming the floor carefully afterward removes dust left over from the sanding. You can use epoxy grout to cover any cracks.
Once the floor is prepared, applying a coat of primer helps the epoxy adhere to the garage floor.
Mixing the Epoxy
Epoxy works because the two-component chemicals harden rapidly when mixed. It is important to follow the instructions very carefully when mixing and applying epoxy floor coatings. Otherwise, it could harden too quickly or not set properly, either ruining the epoxy or, worse, ruining your garage floor.
Applying Garage Floor Epoxy Coating
Once it dries, apply the epoxy in two coats. As with the mixing process, be sure to apply the epoxy according to the instructions. Temperature and humidity conditions should be suitable for the application, according to the manufacturer’s specifications. It is better to wait for optimal conditions than to rush and risk a subpar installation.
Curing the Epoxy
After you apply the epoxy, a process called curing begins. As the epoxy cures, polymer bonds form, hardening the epoxy and giving it its durability. Do not disturb the epoxy during this process because it will not be as strong as after it is finished curing, and it could be vulnerable to damage.
The curing process begins as soon as the chemicals are mixed and can take up to three days to complete. However, you should be able to walk on the garage floor after a day or so, and the floor should be well protected after two days.
Benefits of Garage Floor Epoxy Coating
Applying an epoxy coating to your garage will protect it from scratches, spills, and other accidents. This results in a tidy and aesthetically pleasing appearance for your garage floor. It also makes it easier in the future to clean up any spills, wood shavings, or other debris that might fall on the garage floor.
The ability to sweep and mop the floor easily makes your garage safe from dangerous chemicals and reduces the risk of falls.
Because epoxy resins stay on your garage floor for a long time if they are installed correctly, epoxy floor coatings are eco-friendly.
Costs of Garage Floor Epoxy Coating
Professional application of garage floor epoxy coatings could cost between one and three thousand dollars, depending on the size of the floor and other factors.
For most homeowners, the durability of the epoxy garage floor coating and the protection it provides outweighs the one-time cost of installation.
If a homeowner decides a DIY approach and the installation process goes wrong, the layers of epoxy resin could split or separate from the garage floor, causing buckling. This could be both unsightly and unsafe.
Although the cost savings may be appealing, it is best to leave epoxy floor installation to the professionals. We have the necessary equipment and knowledge to give you the epoxy floor you want.
The Importance of Proper Installation for Epoxy Flooring
Epoxy floor coatings provide many benefits to homeowners and anyone using the garage. However, most of those benefits depend on the correct installation of the epoxy. Many videos on the internet show homeowners how to apply epoxy floor coatings.
However, inexperienced homeowners might have difficulty following the instructions precisely or might not be aware of factors like temperature that affect the quality of the installation. They might unknowingly expose themselves to health risks by inadvertently failing to ventilate the garage properly.
To ensure a proper installation, hire an experienced contractor company to apply the epoxy floor coating. They will have the equipment to thoroughly prepare the floor, the right epoxy materials for the garage, and a complete understanding of the application procedure. They will be able to anticipate problems and fix them should anything go wrong. A trustworthy contractor should stand by their products.
Top-Quality Garage Floor Epoxy Coating from TAGG Concrete Coatings
TAGG Concrete Coatings and its founder, Travis, use the best epoxy materials and have a deep understanding of how they work and how to apply them safely and effectively. We work with the representatives of the most advanced chemical companies and manufacturers to ensure that our customers have the most innovative floor coating available.
For a free quote and a consultation with a TAGG Concrete Coatings technician about the epoxy garage floor coating options for your garage, call 919-439-8879 today.
