Concrete garage floors take a lot of abuse from oil stains, grease, salt residue, and just plain-old dust and dirt. Applying a garage floor paint or epoxy coating is a great way to avoid that mess and instead provide a beautiful, clean-looking, and durable floor. In this article, we’ll explore if it’s worth doing, what options are available, and what to expect if you plan to do it yourself. So, is it worth it?
Yes, it’s a worthwhile investment to paint or apply an epoxy coating to your garage floor and something you should consider doing. It keeps both the floor and your house clean, adds durability to the floor, gives it a great shine, and can be relatively inexpensive.
Why Would You Paint Your Garage Floor?
Garage floors are constantly getting beat on, which can ultimately lead to worn concrete with cracks and imperfections. It’s worth being familiar with what options you must protect and upgrade your garage floor. There are several reasons why painting or epoxy coating your garage floor is a great idea.
- Durability – painting or sealing your garage floor will provide a durable finish, providing years of protection against wear and tear
- Keeps your car and house clean – Gone are the days of tracking in dust and dirt from that old concrete floor.
- It looks great – Paint or Epoxy will provide a shiny finish to your garage floor. We keep the floors in our house clean. Why not do the same for our garages?
- It’s inexpensive to do – There are many budget-friendly options that are easy to DIY and cheap on your wallet. We’ll explore those options further on in this article.
How Much Will It Cost?
For a DIY solution, on average a two-car garage will cost anywhere from $100 – $500 for a 2-part epoxy-based kit that you can purchase and apply yourself.
If you hire experts, the average cost will be around $1,500 – 2,000, which is heavily dependent on the condition of your floor. The more prep and repair work that must be done to your floor, the higher the costs may be.
Types of Paint and Epoxy Coating Options for Garage Floors
When it comes to choosing a finish for your garage floor, there are a few options to consider. You can either paint your floor with traditional latex or acrylic paint, 1-part epoxy paint or a 2-part epoxy coating (also referred to as an epoxy kit).
In order to determine which is best for your garage floor, it is important to make sure you understand the difference between latex/acrylic paint, epoxy paint, and epoxy coating. All come in a variety of colors and each has pros and cons to consider. Let’s go through each one in detail.
Latex Concrete Garage Floor Paint
he least expensive option starting at about $30-40 for a two-car garage is a traditional latex or acrylic concrete paint. It’s the easiest to apply and goes on quickly with the least amount of work. It’s the most cost-efficient way to protect your floor and will provide a moderate amount of protection. This will protect concrete floors and is more durable than ordinary floor paint. It prevents hot tire pickup and provides a skid-resistant finish.
If your garage floor is covered with oil stains, grease, or rust, you can easily use an acrylic-based garage floor paint to give it a fresh coat and shine. If you go this route, make sure you choose acrylic paint that works on concrete floors.
Cost: $30-40, one-coat in a 2-car garage (500 square feet)
1-part Garage Floor Epoxy Paint
The second type of paint is 1-part epoxy paint. What this means is that this is a regular water-based paint that has been laced with epoxy. This is a little more expensive starting at around $75-100 for a two-car garage, but the added epoxy will provide more durability. It’s just as easy to apply as regular paint.
Epoxy floor paint will protect your garage floor even more than latex or acrylic-based paint. It resists peeling caused by hot tires and provides a stain, chemical, and weather-resistant finish.
Cost: $75-100, one-coat in a 2-car garage (500 square feet)
2-part Garage Floor Epoxy Kits or Epoxy Coating
Epoxy coating, also referred to as 2-part epoxy kits, is really the best quality. It’s one of the strongest and most durable finishes that you can apply to a garage floor. Technically, this is not even paint. It’s a 2-part epoxy product but marketed as paint. Epoxy coatings cure and don’t dry like paint does.
It’s more expensive at around $150-250 for a 2-car garage but will provide a tougher finish from the other paint options. Epoxy will give you a garage floor a great showroom shine.
Cost: $150-250, one-coat in a 2-car garage (500 square feet)
How Long Will It Take to Apply Epoxy?
For newer floors that are in pristine shape with little to no cracks, you might be able to get it done in one day. If you’re in need of repairing your floor, I would plan on dedicating an entire two-day weekend for this project. The condition of your garage floor will play a big role in determining how long it will take. If your floor is older with severe damage or cracks, you can plan on spending the majority of the first day repairing and prepping your floor.
Repairing and Prepping Your Garage Floor
Regardless of which finish you choose, it’s important that you take the time to appropriately repair and prep your floor before applying your paint or coating, especially if you have an older garage floor with cracks. Stains, cracks, and moisture issues must be addressed as a first step, as no paint or coating will eliminate these problems. This step involves sweeping, power washing, cleaning cracks with a stiff brush, and repairing or bonding any cracks in the concrete.
Epoxy Application to Your Garage Floor
Once you are done with the preparation of the floor, you are ready to begin the application. It’s important to note that most epoxy can only be applied when temperatures are between 55-90 degrees. This is not something you want to be doing when it’s too cold outside.
When you purchase your epoxy, be sure you get enough to cover your entire garage floor. Many experts will recommend that you apply two coats, which is especially true if you don’t use a primer coat. If you’re doing this yourself, this project will be much easier if you have two people.
In Summary
Painting your garage floor is a very good investment and certainly something to consider doing, especially for newer homes or before moving into a new house as that’s when the floor will be the cleanest. We take great care of the floors inside our homes – why would we not do the same for our garages?
If you’re going to make the investment to paint your garage floor as a DIY project, we highly recommend going with a 2-part epoxy kit that can be ordered online or from your local hardware store.
If you’d rather hire professionals to apply epoxy, expect to pay 3-4 times as much. If you find great contractors, this could be well worth the cost as well.
Your garage floor deserves to be well treated – you’ll be happy with the investment you make.