Garage Floor Finishing?

[ec_E92]

Anyone have any experience with local central OH garage floor companies for epoxy/polyurea? I've researched enough to DIY but don't have the time. Slab is 13 yrs old and in good shape but does have some salt damage/pitting. The Google machine results are all over the place.

[TimTaylor751647545500]

This section on GJ is dedicated to garage flooring and there's so much great info there (not that you wouldn't be able to find answers here).

 

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=20

[ec_E92]

This section on GJ is dedicated to garage flooring and there's so much great info there (not that you wouldn't be able to find answers here).

 

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=20

 

Yes, I've researched (love GJ), but looking for any experience with local installers as I don't have time to DIY myself.

[TTQ B4U]

Columbus Garage Floors seems pretty legit. I toured a customer garage near me and he was VERY pleased. Lifetime warranty on the Polyaspartic set up I am looking at. Just pricey. All 3 companies I looked at were in the same ballpark cost wise. I can dig up the other 2 but I left it that I would use CGF if I decided to go that route.

 

Not entirely what you asked for but what I found after researching things.

[Miller]

Columbus Garage Floors seems pretty legit. I toured a customer garage near me and he was VERY pleased. Lifetime warranty on the Polyaspartic set up I am looking at. Just pricey. All 3 companies I looked at were in the same ballpark cost wise. I can dig up the other 2 but I left it that I would use CGF if I decided to go that route.

 

Not entirely what you asked for but what I found after researching things.

 

How much per sq ft we talking?

[Trouble Maker]

How much per sq ft we talking?

 

About three fiddy.

[TTQ B4U]

How much per sq ft we talking?

 

 

$4.50 to $5.25 or so.

[cstmg8]

$4.50 to $5.25 or so.

Wow, at that price, you may as well save money and get race deck.

 

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[Trouble Maker]

Wow, at that price, you may as well save money and get race deck.

 

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That product which looks like it must collect every ounce of dirt and stray car fluids from your garage under it, so you have to uninstall it to clean occasionally and then reinstall all over again? No thanks.

 

Eric, for some reason I thought you had a product like race Derrick installed already? If so, why are you changing?

[coltboostin]

Also interested.

 

I know people on CR have done some DYI work?

 

We need some reviews people! Also, is it getting to cold to do this effectively?

[TimTaylor751647545500]

Wow, at that price, you may as well save money and get race deck.

 

 

My Racedeck was much less than that.

[cstmg8]

I've been very tempted to look into some of the vinyl plank flooring for garages. Several companies have commercial grade or even garage specific products. It lays down so easily and could give a really nice look.

 

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[Tractor]

I'm thinking about options as well. I'm in the process of building a 30x40 shop. If I do any custom flooring I'll likely do a combo of things, ie something to help with fluild control where I work on cars and maybe get fancier in the area I do more creative stuff like wood working and electronics.

[Smokey]

I did Rust Bullet about 5 years ago. I didn’t sand the floors because at the time that was the selling point of the product. I wish I had sanded because it’s flakes off in certain places where the concrete was smoothed out from previous owners parking their cars there. Other places have taken great abuse with jack and jack stands and no issues.

 

I’ve considered sanding it all up and starting fresh but haven’t had the time to want to dedicate to that, so I’d recommend doing it once and right.

 

Also, if you’re going to be working in the garage a lot, skip the flakes! I did them cause my slab was slightly pitted and it covered up blemishes. It worked for that, but it’s HELL sometimes finding dropped bolts and nuts on the floor.

 

I’d honestly consider tile in the future if you won’t be welding in there.

[Miller]

Also interested.

 

I know people on CR have done some DYI work?

 

We need some reviews people! Also, is it getting to cold to do this effectively?

 

I've heard you can still apply if you can keep the ambient temp in the garage above 40 degrees. I will definitely do this project myself at that price. Hell, after the floor sand and repairing any cracks it's just rolling paint on the floor.

 

I have so much shit to move and organize that's been the big show stopper for me.

[TTQ B4U]

I have so much shit to move and organize that's been the big show stopper for me.

 

 

 

 

Honestly, that's the ONLY drawback to the Polyaspartic for me. It is cost too but with a lifetime warranty and one and done application, it's attractive. I just don't if I'm up to clearing out my garage into a storage cube in my driveway like that.

 

 

Yes, the downside to the Swiss Track Ventilated floor is the build up of dust and leaves, etc. that will happen. I mean, I see all these really cool kick ass garages on YouTube but the reality is mine is a real suburban garage not a pristine detail center and it gets dusty/dirty and needs cleaned. To do it with an epoxy floor is just so much easier.

 

It's likely a 2021 project for me now at this point so I'm still looking.

[Trouble Maker]

We have a big 1 car garage right now, a bigger garage is a medium term project and this one will be torn down. So I'm only doing things that are easy, I'm going to get a big/quick time investment back on. The bare concrete was such a PITA to clean up. Even from dust it was never truly clean, there was always dust remaining and impossible to get complete clean for any fluid spills. I did a very basic clean up to the floor, no prep to the surface otherwise, 2 part concrete epoxy. It's held up great after about 4-5 years. The only small issue is it rained and there are some water kind of stains, lighter spots where some moisture must have seeped in before it completely dried. Even those spots the function is 100% and the paint hasn't come up. Maybe I got luck and the paint took well to the concrete surface.

 

Having said that, if this were a longer term use garage I would probably pay to have someone do it. I will definitely do it or get it done right when we build the new garage.

 

I think anyone who actually works in their garage will be very happy with how well some of these products work and how much easier it makes clean up.

[ec_E92]

Thanks for feedback guys. I have racedeck in current house but in contract on a new one with a 860sq ft garage. Slab is in decent shape but needs grinding and a little patch work to make nice. I have the opportunity to get it done before I move in my lift, work benches, etc. It’ll be used for an enthusiast DIY garage so looking at solid color polyurea/polyspartic. Solid Racedeck tiles are great but I still have to put down plywood under jack stands. I just want a nicely finished slab at this point.

 

Columbus garage floor coating and garage experts seem to have some good reviews. Need to start getting some quotes.

 

 

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[Trouble Maker]

Thanks for feedback guys. I have racedeck in current house but in contract on a new one with a 860sq ft garage. Slab is in decent shape but needs grinding and a little patch work to make nice. I have the opportunity to get it done before I move in my lift, work benches, etc. It’ll be used for an enthusiast DIY garage so looking at solid color polyurea/polyspartic. Solid Racedeck tiles are great but I still have to put down plywood under jack stands. I just want a nicely finished slab at this point.

 

I feel like you just moved into your last place, congrats on the new house!

Great opportunity to get the floor done before you move in.

Good feedback on the race deck too, sounds like it's a non-ideal product for actually working in your garage.

[TimTaylor751647545500]

Solid Racedeck tiles are great but I still have to put down plywood under jack stands. I just want a nicely finished slab at this point.

 

That's the setup I have as well. I mainly chose this route because it was nearly the same cost as having the slab ground and surfaced. Plus, if I move, I can take the Racedeck with me.

[ec_E92]

I feel like you just moved into your last place, congrats on the new house!

Great opportunity to get the floor done before you move in.

Good feedback on the race deck too, sounds like it's a non-ideal product for actually working in your garage.

 

 

 

It’s been 5 years. And we weren’t even looking (well apparently Lizzi was), and this house popped up and was perfect so we’re upsizing a little. Covid quarantine magnified some annoying features with the current house, and we decided a little more space would be wise before someone gets murdered.

 

Racedeck is great for certain applications. For light duty work, it’s perfect as it goes down easy and in sections. It also will cover up an imperfect and wrecked slab. Ours would’ve taken so much work to even getting close to being able to epoxy it was never worth time/effort/cost. Laying on a Racedeck floor while under a car is so much nicer than a cold concrete slab.

 

 

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[ec_E92]

Well that was easy. Put in an online quote request with Columbus Garage Floor Coating this morning and had a call 1 hour later. Had inspection today on new house and they were able to meet me there to give a quote. Awesome experience talking through the process and my specific needs. We kept talking, the price kept coming down and we settled at around $4.65/sq ft for an industrial grade epoxy+grit broadcast+heavy poly topcoat. That also includes grinding and prepping the slab so it will be a perfect finish, and partially filling the expansion joints with a silicon-like material. Lifetime warranty, custom color and they can work around my closing date as things firm up with the purchase. Total turn around time is 2-3 days application, 1 day cure.

 

I talked to Rick, their GM, and I'm happy to refer his contact info for anyone interested in talking to him. I'll report back next month after things start actually happening.

[cstmg8]

Ouch, I know it'll be a great floor, but $5k will buy a lot of equipment for my new shop.

I completely understand having it professionally done, as the last thing I want to do is epoxy the floor twice! I just did not budget five thousand dollars for a floor coating.

I need to look up how much prep is required on a new slab for diy epoxy. It would be worth meticulously keeping it clean through the cure time if the savings are half that.

 

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[ec_E92]

Either my math or their math is off on sq ft, final agreed price is $4k. Yes a tough pill to swallow, but I lack the time to do this. 2 kids and a demanding job mean I’ll never get it done if I try to DIY. And as an engineer, I’ve DIY’d a lot. Everyone’s situation is unique, this is my one shot to setup the garage/shop how I want, and I’m taking it. Before my wife changes her mind...

 

 

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[cstmg8]

Either my math or their math is off on sq ft, final agreed price is $4k. Yes a tough pill to swallow, but I lack the time to do this. 2 kids and a demanding job mean I’ll never get it done if I try to DIY. And as an engineer, I’ve DIY’d a lot. Everyone’s situation is unique, this is my one shot to setup the garage/shop how I want, and I’m taking it. Before my wife changes her mind...

 

 

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Definitely understand, I used to build for a living and I'm not doing my own, lol. I'm trying to do things right from the start as well. You'll end up with a great finished product and I hope you get finished first so you can review for us! Lol

 

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