Epoxy Garage Floors
One of the most popular applications of epoxy floors in residential applications is the garage floor and we do a lot of them. Unfortunately, all too often, the concrete is damaged from spalling, pitting or cracking. This may be from the use of salt in northern climates for melting snow and ice or it may be from improper concrete installation. Regardless of the reason, we can fix it and restore a smooth finish to the concrete that we will then coat to your desire.
What should you look out for when thinking about concrete coatings, specifically in your garage? Moisture is the cause of most coatings failure. Not moisture on top, but hydraulic pressure coming up through the concrete slab. A vapor barrier, typically a large sheet of thick plastic should have been installed on the ground prior to pouring your concrete. However, many concrete contractors omit this step. Moisture from the ground can then come up through the slab and pop off the coating. This is more common in slabs below grade or where there may be a water drainage issue around the outside of the house. A vapor barrier coating can be installed prior to the epoxy in order to mitigate this issue. It is an extra cost, but it good insurance for the longest lasting floor.
The next thing you should consider on epoxy floors in your garage is UV fading or yellowing. This can happen on the interior of homes with large windows also, but with the overhead door of your garage open, especially on east or south facing garages, any exposed epoxy will likely yellow or amber over time, especially lighter colors. Pearl or white is almost guaranteed to yellow over time. Most epoxy floor companies will use epoxy for base coats, but any top coats that are exposed to sunlight or UV rays should be polyaspartic.
Another phenomena typical of epoxy floors is called Hot tire pick up. This is where epoxy is exposed to vehicle tires because epoxy was used as a top coat or minimally covered by flake. The temperature of the tires in the summer will begin to pull or peel up the epoxy over time. When an epoxy floor fails, it often starts where the car tires pull in and out. This is the reason. It is very common on DIY-coated epoxy floors. Why? DIY floors are often not prepared properly to start with so the adhesion is minimal to start. Then, only 1, maybe 2 coats are used, often water-based epoxy with only 44% solids content, making the coating extremely thin. The hot tires will wreak havoc on that coat pretty quickly, often within 1-3 years. Alternatively, polyaspartic is not prone to hot tire pick up.
The last concern with epoxy garage floors is being slippery when wet. This is easily fixed by allowing some texture from the flake to stay exposed and/or adding a non-slip agent in the top coat. This can be silica sand, aluminum oxide or a non-slip coating.
Epoxy floors can be great for a garage floor, but a vapor barrier coating should be considered and the top coat should be polyaspartic to avoid the UV yellowing and hot tire pick up. We prefer flake floors in garages because it adds traction to the surface and is very durable. If slipping is a concern, additives can be added in the top coat.
If you like the look of concrete but want a nice sealed, clean surface, we can clean the concrete or grind it to expose some of the aggregate and then seal it and add a non-slip commercial top coat.