Posted by
Ultimate Concrete Coatings Staff
on
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
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We recently were a part of a complete garage makeover.  As you can see in the before garage picture, the concrete was stained, cracked, and quite unsightly.  The homeowner wanted an epoxy floor coating that would protect the concrete from oil leakage and also that would hide dirt, grime, etc.  He frequently works on cars and needed something that would withstand the hard use his garage floor gets.  This home was also a new purchase and they wanted the garage done prior to moving in.   We very strongly advocate this, and always tell new homeowners it is best to get the garage flooring done prior to moving in because once everything gets in the garage it is so much harder to clean it all out. 

The first design choices the homeowner made was the flooring.   They chose a black, white, and gray blend in 1/8-inch chips.  They then went to the local Home Depot and picked gray wall paint with black trim that complimented the epoxy floor colors.  Lastly, they selected dark wood garage cabinets that tied into their color scheme.   The homeowners painted the walls prior to us doing the epoxy floor. 

When we arrived the first thing we did was thoroughly prep the concrete, including grinding, acid etching/neutralizing, crack repairs, and multiple divot repairs.  Below are before and after pictures of the crack repair.   

Next we applied our thick-film build 100% solids epoxy and sprinkled 1/8-inch chips over the entire floor.  The next day we came back and removed the excess chips, scraped and lightly sanded down the remaining chips that were embedded into the epoxy.   We applied an acrylic sealer first and then a coat of polyurethane with UVR inhibitor along with nonskid.   We always include UVR inhibitor at no charge, which prevents the sealer from turning yellow or discoloring.

Although the garage floor progressively cures for months after application, within a week it is safe to drive on and this is when the homeowners had their garage cabinets installed.  It is best to tell the cabinet installers to be careful not to dig anything into the coating just to be on the safe side since it is not completely cured.  

As you can see this was a very drastic garage makeover.  The garage had dirty cracked concrete and white walls.  Now it is visually appealing with a gray, white, and black color scheme.  The homeowners were absolutely thrilled with how everything turned out. The homeowner has since started working on cars again in his garage and said he is very pleased with how easy the floor cleans and how durable it is.