Would you like to cover your concrete garage floor? This can create a more esthetically pleasing look. It’s important to learn about your choices to avoid common mistakes with floor coating.
Taking time to compare floor coating companies can save you money upfront and over time. Keep reading to learn from other’s mistakes so you’ll have a great experience.
Options for Floor Coating in Your Garage
When begin shopping for garage floor coating services, you will find different options. You want to choose the coating that will best serve your purpose.
One type of concrete garage floor coating is Full Chip or Decorative Chip used in a Polyurea coating. This material is 20 times stronger than epoxy and resists UV exposure. It has a quick cure time which reduces the time you can’t use the floor.
Full or Decorative Chip flooring provides an anti-slip surface to reduce injury risk. It’s also resistant to salt, oil, gas, and grease.
Solid Color Concrete Coating provides a durable option with vibrant, rich colors. The flooring experts apply this coating directly to the concrete.
Common Mistakes with Floor Coating
Before you make a decision about your garage floor coating, do your research. The following describes some common mistakes other people have made. This information will help make your project a success.
1. Not Asking the Right Questions When Choosing Floor Coating Services
When looking for the right garage floor coating service, prepare a list of questions. This will help you organize your thoughts and not miss getting an answer. The following gives examples of questions you may want to ask.
- What brand of coating do you use for garage coating?
- Is this coating a green industrial coating polymer?
- Can you provide me with a “technical data sheet” for the product you use?
- Are employees certified according to the ISO 9001:2008 standards to apply coatings?
- Can you show me their latest training certificate?
- Is your coating product rated as “Zero” or “Low Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)”?
- Are your coatings supplied by companies that meet the EPA lead-safe certification?
- Do you check the subfloor for moisture and do you use a moisture meter?
- How do you manage cracks or damage in the concrete?
These questions will help determine the company’s level of expertise. For example, polyurethane typically shouldn’t be used for a garage floor coating.
It’s susceptible to staining from brake fluid, hot tires, and motor oil. It’s also flammable when applied near a heating element.
Also, be sure to ask about their warranty. You want to enjoy your floor coating for many years.
2. Not Getting Quotes and Exceeding You Floor Coating Budget
Before you start looking for a garage floor coating service, set a budget. The average cost for existing concrete floor coating ranges from $1,479 to $3,138.
Most epoxy garage coating materials and equipment cost about $2 to $5 per square foot, but may not be the best material to use. Some companies charge between $1 and $7 per square foot for labor additionally.
3. Improper Preparation of the Floor
It’s important to ask how they prepare the concrete before applying the coating. Often professional services use a mechanical preparation method, either with diamond grinding tools or steel shot blasting machines to optimize the surface. This creates a strong sturdy bond for the coating.
4. Choosing the Wrong Floor Coating When Installing New Flooring
Garage floors experience a high level of use. You want a coating that will resist chipping, cracking, and general wear and tear.
Since you don’t want to pay to replace your garage coating frequently, ask about its durability. Is it resistant to routine household chemicals and how easy is it to clean? Choose a coating that withstands the cleaning of oil, motor fluid, and gasoline.
Those who live in northern climates often have road salt on their tires. Ask if this will damage the coating.
Traditional epoxy coatings often had 3 distinct layers. In time, these layers may begin to separate. Today, companies often use a coating that’s a “single solid” when it cures. It penetrates into the concrete creating a fully bonded layer that resists peeling.
5. Not Considering How Climate Affects Flooring for Garages
Ask about the acceptable temperatures for the application of the coating. For example, epoxy floor coating shouldn’t be applied when it’s colder than 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit. Urethane garage floor coating’s minimum temperature is 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Most Polyurea coatings can be applied at or below-freezing temperatures.
6. Not Getting the Desired Look
You don’t want is to put money into a garage floor coating and not have the look you dreamed of. Ask the company if you can look at some of the projects they’ve completed in your area.
If you’re a commercial customer, ask to look at a commercial site. It’s important to make sure you are looking at a floor that will have similar wear.
Also, ask to see a project that they completed a year ago. This will give you a sense of the durability of their technique and coating material.
Are You Looking for a Garage Floor Coating Service?
This article reviewed the common mistakes with floor coating. This guide will help you choose the right floor coating and service company.
Garage Force offers top-quality coating services across the United States. We have extensive experience in coating residential and commercial cement floors. This includes basements, auto shops, driveways, pool decks, and more.
We offer a one-day, dust-free floor coating installation with a residential lifetime warranty. Our products include Polyurea, and are eco-safe with LEED contributions. The coatings are also low odor with no VOC Flexibility and are up to 20 times stronger than epoxy.
Contact us today to get the right concrete coating service for your project.
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