Millions of homeowners take the easy route for finishing their garage floors. They may settle for bare concrete, which is easy to stain and hard to clean. Or they may slap on a couple of coats of “epoxy” paint that they find at the home improvement store that is mostly latex, not epoxy.
But if you want a garage floor that is easy to clean, stain-resistant, and chemical-resistant, that will last for 10 to 20 years if it is properly maintained, your best bet is a professionally installed epoxy floor.
Table of Contents
What’s Different About Professionally Installed Epoxy Garage Floors?
There is one big difference when you get your epoxy garage floor done by a professional:
Epoxy experts apply multiple layers of protection to your concrete garage floor.
After cleaning your floor, the installer applies a base coat of solids, not liquid latex. Then the epoxy professional adds just the right flakes of epoxy for the color and effects you want. The final step is sealing the epoxy with a polyurethane or polyaspartic topcoat.
Epoxy floors are extremely durable. Sure, if you beat your garage floor with a hammer, the epoxy might crack. But epoxy stands up to dents, scars, and cracks from tool boxes, floor jacks, and jack stands. If you are using your garage as a gym, epoxy won’t crack when you drop your free weights on the floor.
Epoxy resists motor oil, transmission fluid, gasoline, bleach, and even many acids and solvents.
Choosing the Look of Your Epoxy Garage Floor
The final look of your floor depends a lot on the size of the epoxy flakes applied to it. Epoxy flakes come in sizes ranging from 1/32” to a full inch. Small flakes are great for finishing floors in multiple colors. Larger flakes are the usual choice when you want a single color.
The most common choice for garage floors is epoxy flakes of ⅜” in a combination of white, black, and gray. This combination gives the floor a terrazzo appearance that won’t be ruined by a few spills.
If you are looking for a floor covering that transitions to the design of your home, the contractor can use smaller flakes of similar neutral colors. These flakes give your garage floor a less masculine appearance and are easier to match to wood tones in the garage or entryway.
How Do You Clean Epoxy Floors?
The reason epoxy floors are so popular with firehouses and auto repair shops is that when it is time for cleaning, you can just hose them down.
If the spray won’t damage drywall or trim, you can use a pressure sprayer to get rid of any debris on your floor.
Can’t use a power hose in your garage? That’s not a problem. Warm mopping with a gentle degreaser like Simple Green will take care of cleanup.
Slip Resistance
Something the big box stores may not tell you is that the size of the epoxy flakes you choose for your floor determines how slippery it becomes when it is greasy or wet.
Both small epoxy flakes and large epoxy flakes make garage floors slipperier. An experienced installer can help you find the combination of slip resistance and color that works best for you.
Always Hire A Pro
Ready to Google for epoxy flooring near me?
Epoxy flooring in Chesapeake requires knowledge of the unique weather conditions in the region as well experience in choosing the right coating for a beautiful garage floor that will last. Over the long run, going with a pro saves you money and gives you a durable, attractive floor for your Chesapeake garage.
