epoxy coating Archives - Garage Tailors

Garage Floors to Weather All Seasons

September 19, 2018 by Rick Scully

One of the most valuable aspects of a garage renovation is the garage floor. It’s often overlooked and most people don’t realize what can be done with a garage floor. Some people feel that the basic cement floor is the only option for the garage. And, they put up with the grease stains from an oil drip from the vehicle or the dust that gets pulled up onto everything we store in the garage.

In fact, there are a few garage floor options. Some options are more desirable than others. Depending on your goals, you’ll find that some stand out for you more than other options.

Garage Flooring Options

The polyaspartic garage floor coatings offer the longest lasting results. It has UV protection with great overall aesthetics over the lifetime of the coating. And, there is a wide variety of colour options with colour chips adding some luster to the garage which in the past, has often been one of the less inspired rooms of the house.

Some people think of painting the garage floor which is quick and easy but it won’t last more than a few years. Some of the more industrial coatings such as epoxy or polyaspartic floor coatings have been known to last 30 years in a residential garage although they are both deemed to last a life time. When it comes to the polyaspartic floor coatings, they have some advantages over epoxy coatings.

Garage floor tiles are also an option for many people who are looking for a sporty garage floor design. They are easy to install even in the middle of winter and they will make your garage floor easier to clean and maintain.

Garage Floor Coatings: Polyaspartic vs Epoxy

While both are similar, there are some definite features of polyaspartic that we find more appealing. Firstly, the polyaspartic looks great for longer since it has UV protection built into the coating. So, unlike epoxy which will fade over time, your polyaspartic floor coating will look great without yellowing even after many years of heavy traffic through your garage. We add colour flakes to give the colours some vibrancy and improved grip to the floor coating. The multi-colour floor colours also hide small bits of dirt that may appear between floor cleanings.

In addition, the polyaspartic has low to no volatile organics or VOC’s so it is much safer for everyone while it is being applied to the cement floor base. And, the best thing is that polyaspartic coating cures quickly so you can put everything back into the garage the next day. With polyaspartic floor coating, the completion of a garage renovation can be completed quickly or the vehicles can be returned to the garage at night. With an epoxy floor coating, it will take approximately 72 hours for it to cure.

Cement Dust in the Garage

If you’re considering a garage floor coating, then you may have reviewed some of these benefits already to getting a garage floor coating applied.

One benefit is that a garage floor coating will keep cement dust from getting onto all the items stored in the garage. We all use the garage to store things. Cement dust makes everything in our garage look aged and may even impact the functioning of some tools or bikes. And, it leaves us with a lot of extra cleaning before we might be able to use anything again once we’ve decided to store it in the garage.

Keeping the Garage Floor Clean

The basic cement floor is very difficult to keep clean. Cement will absorb any liquids or oils that come in contact with it. So, when our vehicles have an oil leak, we end up with a grease stain that takes some work to remove. Cement floors cannot just be swept or mopped. It takes a few more steps than maintaining the floors in other rooms of our home.

Since cement will absorb moisture, it can cause damage to the cement floor. A higher level of moisture in the cement will also means the bonds that strengthen the cement will remain weaker and be less permanent than cement which has dried and cured properly and remains within the correct range for moisture content. This is what causes our cement floors to crack and potentially, become unsightly.

Keep the Moisture Out of the Garage Floor

Getting a professionally completed garage floor coating typically starts with assuring the cement floors of the garage are not retaining too much moisture. It is critical to a successful flooring project. So, if there is too much moisture, then reducing the moisture content of the cement floor is the first step. Without this first step, any garage floor coating applied will never last long enough to get the great return on investment that polyaspartic floor coating or other coatings offer.

Preventing Garage Floor Damage

As noted before, excessive moisture in the cement floor of the garage may cause cracks in the cement. Over several seasons, the water that gets absorbed may cause spalling of the cement. Spalling is when the water penetrates the cement floor from above and causes the top layers to lift or flake off.

The road salt that gets tracked into the garage from our vehicles or family members walking through the garage to get into the house causes water to stay on our cement floors longer. This gives any snow and water left on the floor even more time to get absorbed into the cement. Once within the pores of the cement structure, the water freezes and expands the cement.

Pitted cement floors occur mainly due to old age but it could also occur due to a poor cement mix. It leaves an unsightly pock like texture to the floor and may occur over a large area of the garage floor. These can be repaired but you might want to weigh out the benefits of the time and effort or expenses spent to repair a cement floor vs. some of the other floor coating options.

Garage Floors Allow the Family to Enjoy the Garage All Year

A garage floor coating can now elevate the garage to become more like other rooms in the house. It can add to the aesthetics of a garage making it a much more pleasant place to store all our valuable tools, golf clubs and household supplies. In addition, it makes cleaning a garage floor much easier. If you’re considering a garage renovation, remember to consider adding a garage floor coating or garage tiles.

Easy Spring Cleaning in your Organized Garage

April 5, 2011 by Rick Scully

At this time of year, many of us think about giving our homes a spring clean but what about the garage?

For months, you’ve been driving salt and slush into this outdoor space, so the floor is the first thing to tackle in the garage.

Dirt stuck in cracks in the garage floor will never come out, that’s why it’s important to have a quality floor coating. In a previous post we talked about choosing flooring options. Garage Tailors Garage uses a polyaspartic flooring system that will resist cracks and abrasions for years to come and is 4x more durable than epoxy flooring. And, this flooring is easy to maintain too.

Here’s how to maintain your polyaspartic flooring system:

Use a strong bristle broom to sweep away all loose debris and dust
Fill a bucket with hot water and add a few drops of dishwashing detergent, preferably one that contains a de-greaser, such as Palmolive
Pour the solution on to the garage floor and scrub with your broom. For more aggressive spots such as oil, use a little Varsol and scrub thoughly.
Rinse the floor thoroughly with clean water and remove excess water with a sponge-head mop or shop vac.

With a little TLC, a floor from Garage Tailors Garage will look like new each spring.

If you need more help getting your garage ready for spring and summer, give us a call.

Build a Strong Foundation & Organize from the Ground Up in the Garage

May 22, 2010 by Rick Scully

So, we’ve looked at how if left untreated, the garage floor will develop cracks and corrosion which will encourage you to ignore the space and will demotivate you from maintaining an organized garage.

Plus an untreated, uncovered garage floor is just down right ugly. You’ve worked hard to coordinate the whole house – time to bring the garage into the picture and make it beautiful.

So, what can you do? Easy.

Coat the floor with a polyaspartic garage floor coating.
This better-than-epoxy low VOC option creates a strong seal that resists cracks and corrosion, stops dust from rising and adds a decorative touch to the space. (Low VOCs mean breathing easier in and around the house.)
Lay floating PVC garage flooring tiles.
Tell the world that you take good care of the biggest room in the, with a solution that many of our clients have chosen.

Once you get the floor cleared and covered, you’ll likely find yourself driven to organize and beautify the rest of the space. Stay tuned! We’ve got more tips coming up!

From the Ground Up – Thinking About Your Garage Floor

May 15, 2010 by Rick Scully

Keeping the biggest room in the house clean and tidy starts with the foundation – in this case the floor. And yet most people don’t think about how difficult a basic concrete floor makes cleaning, especially when cars or powertools drip oil, or someone spills paint.

You know what I mean…

You have cracks in the concrete floor. (You wouldn’t step over a crack in the kitchen floor, would you?)
Rain, winter salt and dirt are wearing down the surface. (You protect your dining room floor with a coat of varnish. Doesn’t the garage deserve the same?)
Dust and grime seem to generate out of thin air. (Actually, they come from the concrete which releases dust as it ages.)

By leaving your concrete floor bare you make keeping the rest of the garage neat and tidy difficult.

So, what to do? Come back for the next post to find out what a options exist for decent garage flooring and what fixing the floor will do for the rest of the garage.

Meanwhile, check out our Garage Tailors Garage transformations to see what options exist for your floor.

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