It’s time to pay some attention to the most neglected space in the home
be mixed and matched, the options are endless.
And because the garage space in many homes is becoming as much a “man cave” or gathering space as it is somewhere to park and tinker with the car, epoxy floors are a great option for both the home mechanic and the couch potato.
These modern epoxy floors not only look great and make cleanup easy, but the hardness and thickness of these coatings protect the concrete against chips, cracks, scratches and harmful chemical spills.
Relatively easy application (after a lot of prep work) and affordability also make epoxy an inviting flooring option for do-ityourselfers. Generally, the product requires the mixing of several parts and then application with a roller. Lower-end flooring kits for a standard two-car garage can cost less than $100.
Professional installation of an epoxy coating starts at about $4 a square foot, so a typical two-car garage measuring about 400 square feet pushes the total cost to about $1,600.
Like so many projects, the cost savings for the DIYers is obvious, but Massie warns that you get what you pay for.
“I’ve taken off more floors from do-it-yourself homeowners because they weren’t happy with it and it didn’t last as long as they expected it to,” Massie said. “They see a bargain when they go to the store. They decide to do it themselves. They watch a YouTube video of the installation process, and then two years later they call us to fix it.”
But for those dedicated to doing it themselves, Massie said, the most important consideration is the percentage of solid content in the epoxy coating, or the measure of how much epoxy will be lost through “evaporation” during the curing process.
Massie explains that the typical epoxy sold at home improvement stores provides a solid content of about 60-80 percent, meaning anywhere from 20-40 percent of the applied product will be lost during the drying process.
Professional-grade products cost about four times more than the standard store-bought epoxy coverings, but with a solid content of between 98 and 100 percent, minimal product is lost, and the homeowner can expect a properly installed floor to last for decades instead of just years. Massie compared epoxy production to brewing beer, where the lower-grade product used in the cheapest DIY kits literally comes from the bottom of the barrel.
“They just basically bottle it up and can it for consumer use,” Massie said. “That’s why it is a fourth of the cost.”
And while epoxy floorings are the favorite choice for do- it-yourselfers, the popularity of interlocking tile floors is also growing because of the variety of styles and colors they provide, along with easy installation. There is basically no surface preparation required. At all.
Available in either stiff polypropylene or the more flexible PVC rubbery materials, tile garage floors offer a personalized design for the do-it-yourselfer while providing a nonslip flooring option that is resistant to stains, oils and chemicals.
Pricing for the least expensive polypropylene tile floors can start at about $1.90 a square foot, while the more durable PVC tiles can cost $3 or more per square foot. Peel-and-stick tile floors are another option for DIYers that are easy to install and cost about $2.50 a square foot.
Massie is somewhat skeptical of the interlocking tile floors compared to epoxy. He said dirt and grime could get trapped in the gaps between the tiles and become next to impossible to clean without removing the entire floor.
“The biggest concern with the interlocking systems is there is nothing sealing off the concrete floor underneath,” said Massie, stressing that warranty is also an important factor to consider when choosing the best flooring option. “But interlocking tiles are easy for the homeowner to install, and they look very nice.”
Whether professional or DIY, turning a cold gray slab of concrete into an inviting place to play and work can not only improve the look of a garage but also add some value and appeal to a home.