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Garage Floor Epoxy Paint - DIY or hire professional? (1 Viewer)

Godsbrother

Footballguy
In my last house I used Rust-Oleum Floor Coating Kit to paint my garage floor.  It did a decent job but was a fair amount of work and I had to put all of the junk in my garage outside for a few days while it fully dried.

Now I want to paint/coat the garage in my new house and debating to pay the $225.00 and do it myself or hire a professional which I am guessing would be $1,200-$1,500 for a 2-car garage.

Obviously the savings is making me lean heavily towards DIY but I wonder if anyone here has has it done professionally and can share their experience?

 
Ha ha.  Yes I know but they will wash & prep the surface, apply the coating and sealant while I sit on my couch.

 
In order to not have to have your stuff outside, can you move it to one side while you do the other? Kinda half and half?

 
I'm in the process of getting this done soon.  I'm average handyman-wise but elected to have someone else do it.   I've heard some stories of bubbling with DIY.  That combined with multiple concrete holes that need grinding and what my time is worth for 3 days pointed me towards a pro.  Cost is $2,100 for 2 car garage (25 x 21). 

 
In order to not have to have your stuff outside, can you move it to one side while you do the other? Kinda half and half?
Yeah you can but I heard that in most cases you'll be able to see the seam.  Plus washing and etching one side at a time would be more of a challenge than just having an empty garage.

 
I'm in the process of getting this done soon.  I'm average handyman-wise but elected to have someone else do it.   I've heard some stories of bubbling with DIY.  That combined with multiple concrete holes that need grinding and what my time is worth for 3 days pointed me towards a pro.  Cost is $2,100 for 2 car garage (25 x 21). 
Thanks for the info.  $2100 is a bit more than I wanted to pay but the quality might make it worth it.   I think I may get an estimate or two just for fun.

 
I'd do it myself :shrug:

But then again I'm the kind of guy who would cut down my own tree and spend weeks digging out a stump by hand just to save $500
This was me.  I'm slowly turning into the guy I hate.......

Also a 2 ton car jack works wonders

 
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It's a good project for the memorial day weekend.  Your wife has no idea how much time or effort this takes, so work slow, milk it, and when she leaves for shopping or whatnot just kick your feet up and enjoy a cigar.  She will have no idea you took an hour or two break because she does not know what reasonable progress looks like.

 
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Thanks for the info.  $2100 is a bit more than I wanted to pay but the quality might make it worth it.   I think I may get an estimate or two just for fun.
I have painted my own (Rust-Oleum) and had it done professionally.  I thought the DIY job was nice and I had no issues with it, but I had my entire garage done (cabinets and floors) for $4,000.  The epoxy part of the bill was about $1,200 and it's a fairly big 2-car garage.  Link

The quality is definitely better when done by professionals, but it's obviously considerably more expensive

 
I have painted my own (Rust-Oleum) and had it done professionally.  I thought the DIY job was nice and I had no issues with it, but I had my entire garage done (cabinets and floors) for $4,000.  The epoxy part of the bill was about $1,200 and it's a fairly big 2-car garage.  Link

The quality is definitely better when done by professionals, but it's obviously considerably more expensive
I spent the last 2 weekends painting my entire garage walls, ceiling and cabinets.  I'm outsourcing (1) new garage door opener and epoxy floor and the rest is DIY.   I will be getting new storage cabinets, new fridge and all new hooks/shelves. 

Your final garage looks pretty sweet from that one picture. Hope mine is half as good. 

 
I have painted my own (Rust-Oleum) and had it done professionally.  I thought the DIY job was nice and I had no issues with it, but I had my entire garage done (cabinets and floors) for $4,000.  The epoxy part of the bill was about $1,200 and it's a fairly big 2-car garage.  Link

The quality is definitely better when done by professionals, but it's obviously considerably more expensive
That's beautiful. If you hadn't said where it was, I would have thought it was a basement, not a garage!

 
I spent the last 2 weekends painting my entire garage walls, ceiling and cabinets.  I'm outsourcing (1) new garage door opener and epoxy floor and the rest is DIY.   I will be getting new storage cabinets, new fridge and all new hooks/shelves. 

Your final garage looks pretty sweet from that one picture. Hope mine is half as good. 
Yea, I added an "attic" space with a drop down ladder, insulated, hung drywall, textured, painted, and re-wired to install LED garage lights.  I was going to do my own cabinets, but the one I bought from Home Depot to store some stuff until I could re-do the garage was sagging and falling apart after only 1 year.  Buying higher quality garage cabinets and installing them myself was going to cost more than what this company was offering and I could sit on my ### while they did the work in 1-2 days.

 
I did mine myself after getting high bids. It looks decent enough and a lot better than what was there. 

Took forever to get the surface clean and clearly I did a shotty job in spots as it came up in areas I was iffy about. 

If I was to do it again I would probably still diy and rent a pressure washer and a wet dry vac

 
This was on Reddit a week ago.

The video made it look really easy and kind of fun so I'm sure there's nothing to it.   :unsure:

The comments leaned toward getting a pro to do it.

I didn't know about the special shoes with spikes - always fun to learn new info.

 
I do love our garage floor.  I had no idea what that stuff was when we bought the house last fall.  Pretty much everyone who came to the house told us how much they liked the floor.

I am now at the stage where I hire people to do things.  I expect it would be better to hire someone to do it.  

And you can get someone to move your junk.

 
I vote DIY. I'm also pretty lazy, happy to hire help but I also have plenty of time on my hands. For the effort required and results achieved this is one of the more satisfying diys. If you use epoxy primer then all the sanding grinding and etching isn't necessary. Just one good cleaning. Prime. Then epoxy. The top coat will also be easier to apply with the primer down.

 
Is there better stuff to use for DIY than the RustOleum products?
Of course. Rustoleum even has premium products better than the Epoxy Shield available at HD Walmart and Lowes. Their Rock Solid line is a pretty big upgrade for an extra $25 a kit, so 50-75 more for the garage. Rock Solid was a popular commercial product before Rostoleum bought them out. GarageFlooringllc has the super premium single part polys for DIYers and a wide variety of other premium options, but what's the point? For a grand you get something that looks very similar to Epoxy Shield, that was a little easier to apply and will supposedly hold up in a Siberian airline hangar. I'm pretty easy on my garage floors. Rock Solid over the right primer is like painting a wall, but looks like a much bigger upgrade than any wall. In 2011 I used it (before it was Rustoleum) in three bathrooms where I lived the past 15 years (until last November). We loved it. They had an adobe look something like the current Amaretto color. I was self conscious of garage floor topping in the house when I was selling but I got more than I asked and my realtor said the bathroom floors were a big hit. :shrug:

 
Alas, no.

Always wanted the Reds to trade for him as a kid though.

Once Wallace and Hilger pass, I may make the top 500 famous living Rusty’s list.
That would have been great if the Reds had traded for him.

My next door neighbors when I was a kid were 3 older women who loved the Reds... every night without fail they'd be sitting on their back porch listening to Joe and Marty on the radio... so that's the background of all my summer nights growing up.

I stepped on a rusty nail once.  0/7, would not recommend.

 
It's a good project for the memorial day weekend.  Your wife has no idea how much time or effort this takes, so work slow, milk it, and when she leaves for shopping or whatnot just kick your feet up and enjoy a cigar.  She will have no idea you took an hour or two break because she does not know what reasonable progress looks like.
I could see my wife coming on here and writing this just to Ackbar me.  Yup.

 
Is there better stuff to use for DIY than the RustOleum products?
Of course. Rustoleum even has premium products better than the Epoxy Shield available at HD Walmart and Lowes. Their Rock Solid line is a pretty big upgrade for an extra $25 a kit, so 50-75 more for the garage. Rock Solid was a popular commercial product before Rostoleum bought them out. GarageFlooringllc has the super premium single part polys for DIYers and a wide variety of other premium options, but what's the point? For a grand you get something that looks very similar to Epoxy Shield, that was a little easier to apply and will supposedly hold up in a Siberian airline hangar. I'm pretty easy on my garage floors. Rock Solid over the right primer is like painting a wall, but looks like a much bigger upgrade than any wall. In 2011 I used it (before it was Rustoleum) in three bathrooms where I lived the past 15 years (until last November). We loved it. They had an adobe look something like the current Amaretto color. I was self conscious of garage floor topping in the house when I was selling but I got more than I asked and my realtor said the bathroom floors were a big hit garage floor coating gold coast. :shrug:
Looking at coating a floor in my new garage, I want that nice smooth "epoxy" coating. What's the hot ticket for this, and any tips? Is this a do-it-yourself project? It will be new concrete, I won't be driving on it until after it's coated. This is a standard 2-car garage, how much material do I need? Thanks-Dan

I did it myself in my old house with a kit from Home Depot and had it done professionally in my new house.

The DIY was easy, cost about $250 and came out pretty good. The professional job was 100x better and cost around $2,000. You get what you pay for so if you're looking for a decent job then do it yourself. If you want it to be really nice then splurge.
 
Is there better stuff to use for DIY than the RustOleum products?
Of course. Rustoleum even has premium products better than the Epoxy Shield available at HD Walmart and Lowes. Their Rock Solid line is a pretty big upgrade for an extra $25 a kit, so 50-75 more for the garage. Rock Solid was a popular commercial product before Rostoleum bought them out. GarageFlooringllc has the super premium single part polys for DIYers and a wide variety of other premium options, but what's the point? For a grand you get something that looks very similar to Epoxy Shield, that was a little easier to apply and will supposedly hold up in a Siberian airline hangar. I'm pretty easy on my garage floors. Rock Solid over the right primer is like painting a wall, but looks like a much bigger upgrade than any wall. In 2011 I used it (before it was Rustoleum) in three bathrooms where I lived the past 15 years (until last November). We loved it. They had an adobe look something like the current Amaretto color. I was self conscious of garage floor topping in the house when I was selling but I got more than I asked and my realtor said the bathroom floors were a big hit garage floor coating gold coast. :shrug:
Looking at coating a floor in my new garage, I want that nice smooth "epoxy" coating. What's the hot ticket for this, and any tips? Is this a do-it-yourself project? It will be new concrete, I won't be driving on it until after it's coated. This is a standard 2-car garage, how much material do I need? Thanks-Dan

I did it myself in my old house with a kit from Home Depot and had it done professionally in my new house.

The DIY was easy, cost about $250 and came out pretty good. The professional job was 100x better and cost around $2,000. You get what you pay for so if you're looking for a decent job then do it yourself. If you want it to be really nice then splurge.
If I were to DIY it again I don’t think I’d go with the standard Rustoleum and would look to a product similar to what the professionals use.
 
I did it myself in my old house with a kit from Home Depot and had it done professionally in my new house.

The DIY was easy, cost about $250 and came out pretty good. The professional job was 100x better and cost around $2,000. You get what you pay for so if you're looking for a decent job then do it yourself. If you want it to be really nice then splurge.

The previous owner of our house did a DIY job that lasted about 6 years and looked OK. We had it re-done at the start of COVID by a professional after the old one started flaking up - Not even a comparison. I'd pay $2K again and again. The professional polyaspartic stuff is amazing. Looks nice, absurdly durable, impermeable. I have no clue how I'd actually damage it accidentally. If it doesn't last 20 years, I'd be shocked.
 
Is there better stuff to use for DIY than the RustOleum products?
Of course. Rustoleum even has premium products better than the Epoxy Shield available at HD Walmart and Lowes. Their Rock Solid line is a pretty big upgrade for an extra $25 a kit, so 50-75 more for the garage. Rock Solid was a popular commercial product before Rostoleum bought them out. GarageFlooringllc has the super premium single part polys for DIYers and a wide variety of other premium options, but what's the point? For a grand you get something that looks very similar to Epoxy Shield, that was a little easier to apply and will supposedly hold up in a Siberian airline hangar. I'm pretty easy on my garage floors. Rock Solid over the right primer is like painting a wall, but looks like a much bigger upgrade than any wall. In 2011 I used it (before it was Rustoleum) in three bathrooms where I lived the past 15 years (until last November). We loved it. They had an adobe look something like the current Amaretto color. I was self conscious of garage floor topping in the house when I was selling but I got more than I asked and my realtor said the bathroom floors were a big hit garage floor coating gold coast. :shrug:
Looking at coating a floor in my new garage, I want that nice smooth "epoxy" coating. What's the hot ticket for this, and any tips? Is this a do-it-yourself project? It will be new concrete, I won't be driving on it until after it's coated. This is a standard 2-car garage, how much material do I need? Thanks-Dan

I did it myself in my old house with a kit from Home Depot and had it done professionally in my new house.

The DIY was easy, cost about $250 and came out pretty good. The professional job was 100x better and cost around $2,000. You get what you pay for so if you're looking for a decent job then do it yourself. If you want it to be really nice then splurge.
This. Had my garage floor done a while ago and love it. No DIY home kit is gonna come close to it imo.
 
If any of y'all are in SoCal and want this done, I know someone that does this for folks. Happy to put you in touch.
Hey could you pm me that info. I just did my garage myself a yer or two ago but would be nice to have a pro’s contact in the area should I need to redo it. Thx.
 
we had professional do it and it felt like it was worth every penny...

I would say if you are a good DIY guy and need to save the money, then of course do it. If not, pay the professionals.
 
OK I need a cram course on what to put on the garage floor of a new house. the cement will be about 4-5 months old if that matters, and it will be in Florida.

The homebuilder says the epoxy floor is $3.50 Sq. Ft.. I don't know the process, but it has that confetti stuff on the tops. Since the garage is about 32 x 26 feet, the estimate is more than $2800 !!!

I don't have a budget for that. If I do this myself, it this a multiple layer coating ?most diy are single layer How long does it take to dry, and does it really stink ?it smells a bit while applying but that goes aways fairly quickl, dry time to walk on it is 24hrs if I remember correctly and a few days for parking a car on itI don't want to breathe that stuff for a week. Also my wife has asthma and couldn't handle the fumes ?if she not there applying it with you there should be no issues. I couldnt smell anything in the house.

I don't know what I'm talking about....if you can't tell hahahahahhathank you for your suggestion
DIY is a much cheaper and viable option, have done it 3 times myself. But like anything the time and effort you put in matters with the results you get. The floor prep is the key to results that last.

See above in bold for thoughts on your questions
 
Whats the square footage ? I have a store and was quoted 6 or 7 grand for 850 sq ft,i thought that was a lot .

The floors are terrazzo
 
I painted a garage floor at a previous house. I made sure to clean it well and etch it. I went to a paint store and got the best epoxy that they sold. It was still in great shape when I sold the house a few yeRs later. I would do it myself.
 
Is there better stuff to use for DIY than the RustOleum products?
Of course. Rustoleum even has premium products better than the Epoxy Shield available at HD Walmart and Lowes. Their Rock Solid line is a pretty big upgrade for an extra $25 a kit, so 50-75 more for the garage. Rock Solid was a popular commercial product before Rostoleum bought them out. GarageFlooringllc has the super premium single part polys for DIYers and a wide variety of other premium options, but what's the point? For a grand you get something that looks very similar to Epoxy Shield, that was a little easier to apply and will supposedly hold up in a Siberian airline hangar. I'm pretty easy on my garage floors. Rock Solid over the right primer is like painting a wall, but looks like a much bigger upgrade than any wall. In 2011 I used it (before it was Rustoleum) in three bathrooms where I lived the past 15 years (until last November). We loved it. They had an adobe look something like the current Amaretto color. I was self conscious of garage floor topping in the house when I was selling but I got more than I asked and my realtor said the bathroom floors were a big hit epoxy vegas. :shrug:
I need a cram course on what to put on the garage floor of a new house. the cement will be about 4-5 months old if that matters, and it will be in Florida.
metallic epoxy flooring phoenix
The homebuilder says the epoxy floor is $3.50 Sq. Ft. I don't know the process, but it has that confetti stuff on the tops. Since the garage is about 32 x 26 feet, the estimate is more than $2800 !!!

I don't have a budget for that. If I do this myself, is this a multiple-layer coating? How long does it take to dry, and does it really stink? I don't want to breathe that stuff for a week. Also, my wife has asthma and couldn't handle the fumes.

I don't know what I'm talking about
no response to this
??? I answered your questions above
 

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