Easy Epoxy Garage Floor Repair

LESLIE: Cindy in North Carolina is on the line and is having some issues with epoxy garage floor repair.

What happened, Cindy?

CINDY: My husband and I have a townhome and it was owned by several other people. From what I understand, the previous owners used to fix cars in the garage, so – it’s a two-car garage. There are no cracks in the floor but it does have a very gritty surface to it and it looks horrible. I don’t really know what I can do. I mean at first I thought, “Well, maybe I can just” – is there some kind of paint I can paint over it or maybe – or is it something where I have to do another epoxy on top of the epoxy? Is it something a typical homeowner can work on?

TOM: Mm-hmm. So, Cindy, the floor that’s there now, is it well adhered to the concrete? Is it peeling off in any way or does it look like it’s pretty down there and pretty durable?

CINDY: It looks like it’s on there pretty good.

TOM: OK. So what I think you should do for epoxy garage floor repair is clean it and then put another coat of epoxy on top of that – one or two coats over that. And I think that can brighten it up. So many choices and colors today and you’ve got manufacturers, like QUIKRETE, that make good products that can go there. There’s different types of texturing material you can add or color flakes you can add to give it some personality.

But trying to take that off wouldn’t make any sense. I don’t think it’s really buying you anything. Even though it’s got a texture to it, I would paint over it after it was cleaned and properly prepped.

CINDY: Can I ask how hard it is to handle the epoxy paint?

TOM: Epoxy garage floor repair is not difficult. The way it works is it’s chemical-cured. So when you buy epoxy paint, you actually get two cans.

CINDY: OK.

TOM: So you’ll get one that’s a gallon can but when you open it up, it’s only going to be filled three-quarters of the way. And then you’ll get a second can that’s a quart can and that’s the hardener. So the first thing you do when you open up the gallon can and the quart can is you mix them together. And that becomes the paint that you’re working with for epoxy garage floor repair.

Now, remember, though, once you start mixing them, the clock starts ticking. And you’re only going to have probably, I guess, maybe two, three hours to use it up. But it won’t take that long, because you’re going to be applying it with a brush first on the outside perimeter and then a roller. And then you kind of work your way out of the garage. And as you apply it wet and they usually – they’ll give you these color flakes that you kind of shake over it to give it that personality and you stick in there and you just keep moving.

CINDY: Right.

TOM: And I would do a 4-foot strip – wide strip – all the way down, then I would put my color flakes in. Then I would do another 4 foot and another 4 foot and pretty soon you’ll be right out the door. They’re really not that hard to do. You know, the key is just to be organized and to prep it properly so that once you actually mix up the paint, you’re good to go.

LESLIE: And then don’t paint yourself in a corner.

TOM: Yeah.

CINDY: Would I need more than one can for a two-car garage, as far as you know?

TOM: I would check the coverage on the can to see how many square feet that it covers.

LESLIE: Yeah. A gallon usually does 400 square feet, so …

CINDY: So, realistically, it’s something I can do in a couple of hours or …?

TOM: Oh, absolutely.

LESLIE: Oh, yeah. For sure.

TOM: Yeah. Hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm.

CINDY: OK. Alright. Well, that sounds great. I really was afraid it was going to be a lot harder than that.

TOM: Dive in, Debbie. The water’s fine.

CINDY: OK. Alright. Thank you.