Epoxy Sealing Garage Floors

Epoxy sealing your garage floor is a hugely popular service that can help you get extra life out of your old garage floor. It makes it look brand new again, removes cracks, holes and dents, and prolongs the lifespan of otherwise ageing concrete. If you’re cleaning up, upgrading or renovating your garage, a good epoxy seal is almost a must, as it really helps clean up the general environment while protecting the floor from damage.

Now, while this is a job that can be undertaken by a handy hubby or DIY’er, there’s a decent amount of preparation and time required in order to do the job correctly. If you’re willing to put in the time to do it yourself, we applaud you! The work is more time consuming and tedious than it is difficult, so it’s a good task for someone who’s good on the tools. However, for everyone else who doesn’t have time or wants that professional finish, Universal Tradesman would love to epoxy seal your garage floors.

The benefits of epoxy sealing your garage floor include:

• Protection of the floor surface from liquid spills like oil, and also from scuffing and scratching
• Clean, professional finish rather than flaked paint, or raw concrete
• Wide range of colour options and flakes to suit any garage style

The process for epoxy sealing your garage floor is a multi-part process. Some people will skip steps or stages to speed the process, but this isn’t recommended as it will lessen the quality of the finish and in some cases could completely ruin the coating.

Surface Preparation

To begin epoxy sealing your garage floor, we must first prepare the surface. Without a properly prepared surface, the epoxy will not adhere correctly.

The surface must first be cleaned of all dust, particles, oils and other foreign objects. We conduct a full clean and sweep, before acid etching the floor surface. This ensures a clean finish with a properly etched surface to allow for proper adhesion of the epoxy. The floor must also be completely dry before work proceeds further. Please note that if excessive oils, grease and scum cover the garage floor, this can take significant additional hours to prep and will increase the cost of the job.

Filling of Cracks

This step is actually not mandatory to get a good finish. When going for a rustic look, cracks in the concrete can sometimes enhance the look, so it’s entirely up to you if you want the cracks left. Most people want a smooth, even finish however so we would normally fill them.

Sealing the Floor

Sealing the floor starts with priming the surface with either 1 or 2 coats of primer depending on the surface finish.

We then apply the epoxy seal to the garage floor surface. Here, we can also ‘fish flake’ the surface with flakes. These flakes give your floor a mottled, speckled look which is highly popular, changes the colour of your floor, and also increases slip resistance. Once done, we apply a clear coat to finish.

Curing

Once the epoxy seal has been applied to your garage floor, you must allow it to cure properly before walking or driving on it. This will ensure that the coating has properly hardened before any pressure or weight is placed on it. We use a premium fast-curing product that will allow you to walk and drive on your surface after 24 hours have passed, meaning you can use your garage properly again faster than ever!

So, would you like to get an epoxy seal on your garage floor, or just have a question for us? Contact us today and we can discuss your options!