An Answer to Your Rough Basement or Garage Floor-Epoxy Flooring
Remodeling your home, finishing a basement or reorganizing your garage? What you do with the current flooring will make the difference in your finished project. Epoxy flooring may be the answer to your flooring needs.
Epoxy flooring is easy to do after you finish the prepping. It is important to follow instructions and make sure your floor is ready for a new finish. Your project will take you three to four days and you should allow it to dry thoroughly before parking your car or using the new floor.
Prepping the floor for a new epoxy floor means thoroughly cleaning the surface and repairing any cracks or holes. Stripping the floor of any previous sealer. Floors can be stripped of dirt and other substances by using chemical or organic cleaners and etchers. Organic etches are safer for the environment, but are not as strong as the chemical cleaners.
There is a floor maintainer machine that can be rented at most industrial rental supply stores. You will not want to rush this part of the prep time or your epoxy finish will not stick to your floor. Clean up those oil spills on your garage floor and clean any grease or other dirt spots. If you are using it on fresh concrete, you should wait 60 days before applying the epoxy floor covering.
Determine how much you will need for your area. It is best if you give it two coats. Most kits from retail outlets come with only enough for one coat. You have a choice of several different colors and you can add color flakes that will highlight your floor and also cover any minor imperfections in the surface.
This is especially true of an unfinished basement floor that may have been pitted or cracked. The flakes add to the appeal and conceal any parts that are not perfect. An anti-skid additive can be used to make your surface skid and slip resistant. The additive is easy to use and mix into the paint for a slip free surface.
The best time to work on your epoxy floor is when you have a few days when you won’t be using the surface. The temperature should be between 50 and 80 degrees and your surface shouldn’t be damp from any rainy weather.
If your basement or garage has seepage, allow it to dry thoroughly before applying an epoxy surface. Once the kit is mixed together, you only have about two hours to work with it. That sounds like a short time but prepping the surface is the hard part. Painting is as easy as painting a wall in your home. Plan your escape, don’t paint yourself into a corner!
Drying time between each step is anywhere from 12 to 24 hours. Do not be tempted to use it before it is thoroughly dried. If you are finishing a garage floor, do not park on it for an additional 72 hours after initial drying time.
This may sound like a big job and if you do not have the time to resurface your floor properly, you may decide to have it professionally finished. It is not an impossible DIY project but for safety and convenience it may be best to hire a professional.
Testimonials
My garage was so cluttered and a total mess, I was always embarrassed to have the door open! Not anymore!! Floorguard® helped me design a perfect system for my family, it’s amazing!! Now I keep my garage door open for all to see, it’s organized, and absolutely beautiful!!!
- Pam Orland Park, IL
Really Pleased! Our garage needed some major help – not only was it a mess but the floor was just ugly with all the stains and such. I will agree with the reviewer below – do not go with the cheap imitators! Floorguard not only has a great product, but their installers and service is well worth any extra cost, which is minimal anyway. Our neighbors have commented on how good our garage looks and we’ve recommended them to Floorguard without hesitation.
- Nathan
The garage looks so good! A+ company on every level. Wish I had another garage to resurface!
- Chelsea
My neighbor had a floor done by another company that was new to the industry, boy were they sorry. I went with the experts, Floorguard did an incredible job!!
- Tom T., Orland Park
When it comes to adding value to your business, you can’t go wrong with the superior technology and materials from Floorguard
- Jenny P.
Covering our old, gray garage floor was a great aesthetic and functional improvement. This project requires 2 days: first day preparing the surface (major job requiring right equipment), putting down first coating and sprinkling the flakes. This requires about 4 hours. After this dries, they come back next day and apply the topcoat. They notified us when they would start the work and arrived as promised. They worked diligently, completed the work efficiently, left the work areas and our driveway clean. The owner Steve is a great guy to deal with.
- Bob H.
It was a pleasure dealing with the company’s owner Steve Chaloult. When we called him to give us an estimate, he arranged to come within a few days. We have a very large two car garage. His estimate was a bit more than the first company we called but he seemed very well prepared in showing us samples and very knowledgeable about his product and we just liked him. For personal reasons , we had to delay installation for about a month and he could not be more accommodating. we finally we able to have it done this past week and it was worth the wait. The garage floor is just beautiful and I never would have thought I would say that about a garage floor! We also had the lower walls around the floor done and very glad we did. At one time we were thinking we could do this ourselves using a kit. WHAT were we thinking? This is a job for a professional and we are so glad we used Steve.
- Moira J.
The owner Steve Chaloult was easy to work with and he’s very good at what he does. I highly recommend Floorguard as your contractor if you’re wanting to have a garage floor finished with a durable epoxy like colored finish. Floorguard came when they said they would and cleaned up after they were finished. Floorguard also installs garage storage cabinets.
- Andrew A.
Very responsive, good communicator. Was on time and did a top quality job. Very happy with the outcome.
- Anonymous Homeowner
Great eexperience. Quick and dependable service. High quality. Fair cost.
- John H.