Most people book a garage floor coating having seen the finished result: the flake, the gloss, the car parked on it. Fewer know what happens in between. That is a shame, because a little planning on the homeowner's side makes the job go faster, and knowing what the crew should be doing tells you whether it is being done properly.
This is what to expect, from the week before to the first month after.
Before the crew arrives
The estimate visit. Someone should look at the floor in person. They are checking for old coatings or sealers, oil that has soaked in, cracks, spalled patches, and signs of moisture coming up through the slab. This is also when you choose the finish. We show you flake and solid colors against your own garage light, because a blend that looks right in a showroom can look quite different under one bulb and an open door. If you are still deciding, flake, solid color or stained goes through the options.
Empty the garage. The whole floor has to be clear, wall to wall. Cars, boxes, shelving, the fridge, tool chests and anything stored on the floor all need somewhere else to live for the duration. Start earlier than you think: most garages hold more than their owners expect.
Things that cannot move. Water heaters, furnaces and fixed cabinets usually stay where they are and the coating is worked up to them. Mention them at the estimate so nobody is surprised on the day.
Walls and shelves. Grinding makes dust, even with good extraction. Anything on open shelving or hung on the walls is worth covering or moving.
Parking and access. You will need to park somewhere else for the duration and for some days after. The crew needs access to the garage and room to bring equipment in.
Day one: preparation
The first day is mostly preparation, and it is the most important day of the job.
Grinding. The floor is ground with diamond tooling. This takes off the old sealer, the weak surface layer and contamination, and leaves a profile the coating can grip. It is loud. Kits sold with an etching solution skip this step, which is why so many of them peel; we explained that in why epoxy garage floor kits peel.
Old coatings. If there is an old coating or paint on the floor, it comes off here rather than being covered over. A new coating on top of a failing one fails with it.
Oil. Oil stains come out with degreasing and grinding. On most garages that is routine. Rarely, oil has soaked deep enough to keep bleeding back, and you should have heard about that at the estimate.
Cracks and damage. Cracks are chased out and filled, and spalled or broken areas are repaired, so they do not show through as lines or dips in the finished floor. Will cracks come back through a new coating explains which ones can be hidden and which are still moving.
If you are home, this is the day to watch. It is the part of the job that decides whether the floor lasts, and it is invisible once the coating goes on.
Coating the floor
After preparation, the system goes down in coats.
- Base coat. The first coat goes onto the prepared concrete
- Flake or color. On a flake floor, flake is broadcast into the wet base coat, usually to full coverage so the floor is evenly covered. That is the stage in the photo above. On a solid floor, the color coat goes on instead
- Scraping and topcoat. Once the flake has set, the loose excess is swept and scraped off and a clear topcoat locks it in. The topcoat is what you walk on, and it is what gives the floor its wear resistance and its gloss or texture
Exactly how many coats there are and how long each waits depends on the system and the weather. A residential garage is typically a couple of days including the grind and the cure between coats. Our own crew does the whole job, the same people from the grind to the final coat, so the schedule does not depend on a subcontractor turning up.
Smell. Some coatings have a noticeable odor while they are being applied and curing. If the garage is attached to the house, keep the connecting door shut and ask your contractor what to expect from the system on your floor.
Kids and pets. Keep them out of the garage until the coating has cured. Paw prints in a fresh topcoat are permanent.
After: walking and parking on it
Foot traffic comes first. You will be able to walk on the floor well before you can drive on it. Walk in clean socks or clean soft shoes for the first while.
Vehicles come later. Do not park on it until you are told it is ready. Hot tires on an under-cured coating are one of the easiest ways to damage a new floor. The wait depends on the system and the temperature, and it is longer in cold weather. We give you the actual return-to-service dates for your floor and the weather that week, and they are worth waiting out. Coating concrete in fall and winter covers how the cooler months change those dates.
Moving things back. Slide nothing heavy across the floor. Lift and place shelving, toolboxes and appliances, and put felt or rubber pads under metal feet and jack stands.
Looking after it
A properly bonded coating does not need much.
- Sweep or dust-mop regularly. Grit under tires and shoes is what dulls a topcoat over time
- Wipe up oil, coolant and other fluids rather than leaving them to sit
- Wash with a mild cleaner. Harsh solvents and acid cleaners are not needed and can dull the finish. How to clean coated concrete floors covers the details
- Watch the wet spots. A coated floor with water on it after rain or a car wash is more slippery than when dry. Flake gives good grip in most garages, and are coated floors slippery covers what else can be done
Our garage floors carry five years on material and one year on labor. If something looks wrong, such as peeling, bubbling or a patch lifting, call us rather than trying to patch it.
Getting your garage looked at
We have been preparing and coating concrete in Southern California since 1976, from single bays to three-car garages and workshops. More detail is on our garage floor coatings page, and garage floor coating cost covers what moves the price. Book a free on-site estimate and we will look at your floor, show you the finishes in your own light, and give you real dates.
