When it comes to your garage, we all know that the flooring situation is often messy. Whether it’s an old garage floor with cracked concrete that was there when you bought the house or a garage floor that’s been well-used by vehicles and has functioned as an at-home mechanic shop for years.
In any case, installing a brand-new concrete floor in your garage is a terrifically expensive endeavour. Why do that when you could save money by installing a garage epoxy floor? Unlike battered old concrete, garage epoxy flooring can last 15 to 25 years or longer with proper care!
Even if you plan on using and abusing your garage floor, installing the most basic clear-coated garage floor epoxy will help protect the subfloor from damage as your garage functions as your defacto workshop.
What is Garage Epoxy Flooring?
Garage epoxy flooring is a type of epoxy resin flooring that is installed in at-home garages and mechanic shops. Whilst in-home epoxy resin flooring is durable, quick to install and contains anti-slip properties, it’s in sometimes inhospitable environments like garages that epoxy garage floors fare best.
Some of the key differences between in-home epoxy resin flooring and garage floor epoxy resin are:
- While naturally anti-microbial, epoxy garage floors can be customised to be chemically resistant and acid-resistant, tackling even the toughest of spills.
- Installing epoxy for garage floors is a cost-effective repair method, rather than having to replace a section of concrete, or the whole floor.
- Garage floor epoxy doesn’t trap water or moisture, as it is a cured surface, meaning mould or mildew is less likely to grow in your garage space.
But why do people prefer garage epoxy floors over other flooring types in their garages?
Why Do People Prefer Epoxy Flooring For Their Garages?
Epoxying your garage floor is a trend that’s fast-catching in the industrial mechanic world and with good reason! Many people prefer epoxy resin-based flooring for their garage rather than traditional concrete, or at the very least, consider installing a clear epoxy coating over their existing concrete garage floor for additional protection.
A garage is a working environment, usually with all kinds of chemicals and abrasive tools being thrown around as you work on the old beater, or, if you’re a professional mechanic, as you do your job. Epoxy flooring in your garage is a fantastic way to seal the floor from any chemicals, bleaches, acids, oils, or other substances that may cause damage to your subfloor. As garage epoxy flooring can be customised to suit your specific chemical needs, it’s the perfect choice for a busy shop where spillages and accidents happen.
How Much Does It Cost?
As always, the cost of garage epoxy flooring is where the rubber meets the proverbial road. The average epoxy garage floor cost is around $30 – $35 per square metre, rising to between $60 and $100 per square metre if special additives are needed, or there are special decorative requirements for your garage floor epoxy.
The Benefits of Installing Epoxy Flooring In Your Garage
There are several benefits of choosing garage floor epoxy over other flooring options or replacing your existing garage floor with the same type of floor that’s been there for decades and is in a state of disrepair.
Durability
By far the most important benefit of garage epoxy flooring is its durability and toughness in the face of multiple vehicles sitting on it for days at a time, not including any heavy equipment that may also be used in your garage. Unlike asphalt or concrete, which can wear faster the more weight it absorbs (think of HGV routes and the channels in the road they leave after many years of use), epoxy garage floors are built to take impact and weight.
Eco-Friendly
While epoxy resin does use chemical components, more specifically a mix of bisphenol A and epichlorohydrin, it’s installation process and longevity make it more eco-friendly than installing only a concrete garage floor, which requires more product, trucking, pouring and a team of professional installers, along with their vehicles and tools. In a day and age where we are more aware than ever of our environmental responsibilities, choosing epoxy garage flooring is the more eco-friendly option.
Easy Maintenance
Unlike concrete, where you could be scrubbing for hours and still not remove that stain, or clean up that spilled oil, because epoxy for garage floors is non-porous, as a poured, cured product, it’s very easy to clean. For stains and liquids that aren’t oil-based, simply wipe and clean with hot water and soap. Additionally, sweeping an epoxy garage floor is easier because dirt and dust don’t get trapped in tiny microcracks.
Healthier For Employees
The last thing any business needs are employees who are off sick with a bug or other illness due to a dirty floor or otherwise unsanitary work environment. While you may make the best effort to clean your concrete or asphalt garage floor, tiny microbes of bacteria can become stuck in the cracks and are impossible to clean. Before you know it, these can become toxic and encourage mould growth within the garage.
Epoxy garage floors on the other hand are anti-microbial and anti-fungal and their cured surface means that microbes and other bacteria are far less likely to get stuck there, meaning your employees will be healthier overall!
Energy-Saving
Epoxy floors can provide a degree of insulation to the existing flooring in your garage. Unlike old concrete, which can suck heat from the room, epoxy resin is a cured surface that reflects heat into the room. This can save on your energy bills and keep you warmer while you work.
Design Customisation Options
Garage floor epoxy can be customised to suit your specific design needs as a business. If you need to install certain safety area lines, or even your brand or logo within the epoxy resin, this can be done during installation. Additionally, garage floor epoxy colours can be added to bring new life into the shop design. Your range of customisation options is almost endless with epoxy garage floor paint!
Why You Should Hire Us For Your Garage Epoxy Floor Installation
SWEF has been an industry leader in garage epoxy flooring installations in Sydney for many years! Our tried and trusted methods of installation and our flexibility to create your vision for your space with epoxy resin is second to none.
Our creative team works hand-in-hand with our clients to allow them to place a logo or brand name easily upon their epoxy garage floor, giving you the freedom to be creative with your workspace.
We also promise a minimally disruptive installation process. As you’ll see below, our typical garage epoxy flooring installation takes between 48 and 72 hours, but we can work in sections so that you can still do your work once the curing process of the second coat is complete. Although we recommend getting it all done in one sitting, we understand that your business needs to keep operating to minimise lost revenue.
How We Install Epoxy Flooring In Your Garage
The process of installing a garage floor epoxy can be done using a garage floor epoxy kit, which contains your epoxy resin mixture, water, epoxy garage floor paint (if an intricate design is needed), pigment powder to introduce colours and other patterns into the mixed liquid, and an applicator – usually, a roller and a paintbrush, used for applying the resin into intricate designs or hard-to-reach places.
- We ensure the floor has been washed properly. We do this using a pressure washer and soap first. If there is any floor paint, we use bicarbonate soda and a pressure washer to remove this. We’ll next apply a degreaser to the floor to clean off any oils or grease left behind in the garage by vehicles or chemicals.
- Once the floor is dry is to sand the entire surface of the floor. This is the last effort to bring up any grime and crud that may be left stuck to the floor. We conduct this step with the aid of a floor sander. We rinse the floor off using water and let it dry overnight.
- When mixed, the first coat of your garage floor epoxy is ready to be applied! We usually use a roller for this and will roll the first coat on in a straight line, working our way across the floor until the entire surface has been covered. Once complete, we’ll let this surface dry, harden and cure for 12 to 24 hours.
- After the first coat is dry, the second coat will be applied in the same manner and left to cure for the same amount of time. While a third coat of garage flooring epoxy isn’t necessary, given the amount of use and abuse your garage floor will likely take, we recommend it! A third and final drying period of 12 to 24 hours is required following the application of a third coat.
All in all, the entire process usually takes about three days from start to finish. Although, we are happy to be accommodating to your business needs.
If you’ve been searching for a solution for your old and cracked garage floor, or just want a new and fresh look in your garage, or want to proudly display your company logo on your garage floor, contact SWEF for all of your garage floor epoxy needs to set up an initial consultation.
