Garage Floor Coating - worth it?

What worries me about buying online is coming up short on product. jennyjones: how accurate was the versatile website on supplying adequate supplies? I see you plug in your Sq. Ft. and it spits out what you need.

I did my last home with a Rustolem Kit from Home depot. Two part epoxy system. It was very cheap. Maybe $300.

Basically came with cleaner and gray two part epoxy, some sprinkles


I did it just as the kit said. let it dry for a few days before I put anything on it. At the time I was doing charter trips on Lake Lanier 5-6 days a week and parking my boat in that garage. I would back it in, spin it around and park it caddy corner. I lived there and pulled my boat in there for 15 years after that and when I sold that house, that floor still looked amazing.

It was absolutely worth doing it myself. My only complaint if there was one was the smell when we applied it. shite was soooooo strong. Leave your garage door open for days and let the chemical/paint smell go away.


It is a cheap upgrade to your home that looks amazing

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Think of it like this. You wouldnt paint over teflon or grease. In the same manner, you cant epoxy over a non-porous concrete or one that has certain contaminants. You need to grind it down to the correct profile before applying. All of the manufacturers' instructions will tell you this but the average homeowner will likely do it "good enough", which is likely far from good enough.

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Prep is the boring but absolutely necessary part of the process. 100% on this. Goes for any surface you're going to paint. Proper paint plus good prep and the paint will last for a long time. An epoxy based paint is going to be the best coating for a garage floor.

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how accurate was the versatile website on supplying adequate supplies? I see you plug in your Sq. Ft. and it spits out what you need.

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It was accurate and enough material to do the job thoroughly with very adequate coverage. Versatile typically sells to contractors who do this professionally

I've read online that some of the Rust-Oleum "Rock hard" (poly aspartic) consumer level products do not provide enough material for adequate coverage . At my previous house I used the Rust-oleum "professional" epoxy that is solvent based. Their epoxy sold at Home Depot and Lowes will be water based and are not as durable. Just an FYI on that

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Is a garage floor coating worth it on a new build garage?

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It depends on why you want it. If you want it for purely aesthetic reasons, I would apply it as soon as the concrete cures…before you get a drop of oil on it.

Some folks will probably disagree, but I can’t think of any practical reason to coat a garage floor. Once you coat it one time, there will be periodic maintenance to do.

Just got a quote for my three car garage for $3900

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Back in 2008, when I was 100x more careless and immature, I did a the “commercial” 2 part rusteloum epoxy on a 5k sqft workshop with a couple buddies. The building was new and we just used a pressure washer and simple acid etch. It is still near- perfect even with forklifts driving on it daily for 15 years.

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That is the same stuff I did my garage floor with and I used the same technique. Pressure washed it, used the acid cleaner. Then applied it

I did it in 2008 or so, sold the house in 2020 and it was still in great shape

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Full Flake systems provide good traction. On other systems, you can add sand to your clear coat . There is specific sand sold for this purpose

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This is a good point. Flakes alone are the best for me personally in a garage because the whole reason I would want the surface is to keep it really clean where there’s no hesitation to get down there and work. Oil will make them slippier than ice but cleaning is often as simple as a couple wipes. Silica, and metal oxide based grit, while much safer, can make the surface harder to clean and lose the man reason you get that surface to begin with. It’s all a matter of personal taste really.
My pool is epoxy coated and I have a lot of silica in the areas where people step because they’re always wet and unbelievably slippery without it. Those surfaces never need wiping or mopping either.