Garage (Boat storage) reflooring

[prov1900]

Anyone ever resurface their garage floor with one of those epoxy paints? I am trying to put together a "garage makeover" for myself (boat) and was wanting some tips in doing this. My garage floor has some cracks/pits/rough spots. Do I need to do something to smooth out the cracks/pits/rough spots before I do the paint thing, or will I just be wasting my money?

[moby1]

I have done a few. I work for a major manufacturer of industrial\decorative epoxy, urethane, mma performance flooring as well as crack fillers, sealers, caulking, waterproofers...etc. There are any number of issues here. First and foremost for a succesful application is surface prep. Many people think they can sweep the floor and good to go. A smooth floor will not provide a good surface to bond to. THe average homeowner at best will acid etch the floor in which case you cover the floor with acid and after the appropriate time (when the proper ph is reached), you rinse it off. This from a industrial opinion is inferior method of prep. I wouldnt even bother. Preferred method would be to shotblast the floor to the specified surface profile. Any cracks or surface imperfections will telegraph through to the finished surface unless they are addressed before hand. Cracks should be routed and filled. Another thing people think they want until its done is a nice looking smooth floor. It doesnt take much water or oil or snow or ... to make a perfeclty smooth floor slippery. There are decorative aggregate or flake broadcasts.

You should also be aware of if you have any moisture vapor drive issues. If there is vapor drive, it can end up blowing the coating off the floor. You can do a simple assesment by using duct tape to tape down a 2'x2' sheet of black plastic to the floor over night. Peel it up the next day and see if there is moisture under the sheet. I could go on and on.....Basically you get what you pay for as in most cases. A good industrial floor can run from a couple grand to twice that or more, depending on the system you choose.

Feel free to email me at

[email protected]

If you want to discuss this further.

[prov1900]

Moby, you've got mail. Thanks for the reply. Anyone else have experience with this?

[LundExplorer]

I used the Krylon epoxy paint on my garage floor, the industrial grade stuff and am happy with it. I too had a pitted out floor from years of road salt, I used concrete leveling patch I got from a home center and leveled off the floor. Then, I removed all of the stuff in the garage, acid etched the concrete, let dry, and applied the paint. Messy job, but it has held up very well. Been on the floor going on 2 years now. We'll see how it holds up long term. Total bill was about $250 for a 48' x 22' garage.

[Dave]

A buddy of mine had his double garage professionally done for $850. The company does airplanes hangers and during the "off-time" when the hangars are drying or during preparation, they slid over and did his. Looks very nice but I can't justify the cost.