Can I DIY my garage floor?

By Ken McEntee

April showers have washed the slush stains off your driveway and fresh spring flowers beautify your yard. The inside of your garage, however, may restore memories of gloomy days.

“Salt-damaged, pitted and cracked concrete floors look horrible and reduce your home’s value,” observes Mike Padden, owner of Encore Garage Ohio.

“Installed correctly, a polymer coating will protect and beautify your garage.”

He explains here.

Q: What do you mean by “installed correctly?”
A: You can save a little money up front by doing it yourself, using DIY kits from a home improvement store. Or you can have it done properly by trained professionals who do this every day for a living, and save money in the long run.

Q: What does a pro do differently?
A: We have the proper equipment and the skill. We start by preparing the concrete surface with a “mini-Zamboni” that scores the concrete, cleaning and refining the top surface to open up the pores, allowing our base coat to penetrate deeply for excellent adhesion. It is far superior to the acid etching in the DIY kits. Because epoxy is affected by temperature, we use laser-thermo guns to monitor the floor temperature. Our trucks incubate materials in cold weather and refrigerate it in hot weather. Quality control ensures a quality installation.

Q: What about the flooring materials?
A: DIY kits usually come with a diluted, water-based epoxy coating and a miniscule amount of color flakes intended to provide traction and a quality appearance. The DIY material deteriorates quickly—usually within a year—recognizable by hot tire peel up, blistering, cracking and fading. We get a lot of calls to fix floors that homeowners have tried first to do themselves. In the end, they’ll have spent more time and money than they needed to.

You can get started on your new garage floor by calling Encore Garage of Ohio for a no-cost consultation at 330-922-4411 (Akron area) or 440-668-8953 (Cleveland area). You can learn more at EncoreGarageOhio.com.