Take a long look at your garage.
If you have lived in your home for a few years, it’s likely that your garage has seen the worst of it. We tell ourselves that we will organize and improve the space.
Improving the garage, or at least reorganizing it, is an example of popular New Year’s resolutions. It also frequently tops the spring cleaning hit-list.
Then you open the garage door. You see an older space that is completely overwhelmed with junk.
You want to get rid of the junk. You also want to do something spectacular with the space.
In other words, you essentially want a new garage. It just happens to be that you also don’t want to pay very much for those results.
What are you going to do?
This is where painting the garage floor can prove invaluable.
Have You Considered Painting Your Garage Floor?
In the first place, painting the garage floor is simple. It is an easy DIY painting project virtually anyone can tackle.
Even if you don’t have a lot of house painting experience, this is one task you can knock out of the park.
This is a chance to not only improve the look, but the feel of the garage, as well. It is one of the oldest DIY garage transformation tricks in the book.
Even better?
There are tons of different approaches and colors you can explore.
Don’t be afraid to do some research by looking through examples of painted garage floors. That will certainly get your brain going in the right direction.
There are some very appealing benefits to DIY garage floor painting.
What Are The Benefits Of Painting My Garage Floor?
Your two most affordable, as well as effective, options are acrylic concrete paint and standard epoxy paint. Either of these choices can give you the results you are looking for. The only thing to keep in mind is that epoxy is slightly more expensive. For many, this fact is offset by the enhanced durability epoxy gives you.
Nonetheless, here are some key benefits of painting your garage floor:
- Improving your protection: Not only are you protecting your garage floor. You also get a wide range of colors with which to achieve your aim.
- Eliminating dust: When it comes to garage hazards, the presence of dust is high on the list for many. It can even become a health hazard, if anyone in your home has respiratory issues. You can also bring the dust into your home via foot traffic. Painting your floor will eliminate this problem altogether.
- Dealing with impacts: Spilling chemicals, creating stains, or any type or abrasion can damage your floor in several ways. Painting your floor with the right material can offset a good deal of those potential problems.
At this point, you’re ready to take advantage of this opportunity. It starts by getting the garage ready for the project.
Start Cleaning The Garage!
Obviously, you are going to want a garage floor that is as clean as possible.
The first thing you want to do is get rid of any oil or grease that can be found. Sawdust or cat litter are phenomenal at soaking up such stains. Leave that for about a day. You can then sweep up the litter/sawdust.
Next, use either dry dishwasher detergent or a cleaning agent for concrete. Apply either to whatever is left of the stains. Then wait forty-five minutes. Whatever is left should be easily removed by dumping boiling water, and then scrubbing the remnants away.
Your next step is to start filling up the cracks. Epoxy paste is probably going to be your best bet in this arena. It is easy to apply to cracks of various sizes. Even better, you can scrape away any excess material way with ease.
Remove anything in the garage that doesn’t need to be there!
Let’s start prepping the floor. You are almost ready to get started!
How To Prep Your Garage Floor For Painting
- Perform a moisture test: A 3×3 square of plastic sheeting should be taped to a space along the floor of your garage. If you find water under it twenty-four hours, you will need to use a vapor barrier before putting down the primer.
- Perform a sealant test: If water doesn’t soak up in the floor quickly, you may want to have it sealed.
- Etching your floor: With a concrete commercial-grade etcher, apply to your garage’s floor. In twenty-four hours, you should be left with a grainy texture. Such a texture is easier for paint to grip.
Painting Your Garage Floor
How much is all of this going to cost you?
You should expect to pay between two to five dollars per square foot, in terms of equipment and materials. You should also make sure you choose a paint that is specifically designed to paint a garage floor. Thankfully, you will still have tons of appealing choices to that end.
You may also want to invest in buying/renting a power washer. That is entirely your choice.
It is time to put down your bonding primer. This is an essential pre-treatment measure involves using a paint brush to get at your edges. The rest of your garage can be handled with a roller. You will need to let your primer sit for a minimum of four hours. Do not leave the primer on for longer than thirty days (some do!).
The same process mentioned above for your primer applies to the paint itself. This is going to be true, regardless of the specific type of garage floor paint you choose. Many believe you only need to have the one coat applied to get the results you want. Others would make the case that a second coat is a good way to be safe. In the end, it is entirely your call to make. However, in our experience, unless you just don’t have time or resources, a second coat won’t hurt.
How long should you wait after applying 1-2 coats?
This is another area where it’s best to trust the experts. Many believe you can walk on the floor without issue after about twenty-four hours. In terms of driving, you will want to wait at least a week. Some have found that they had to wait even longer. This is going to depend on the prep work done beforehand, among other things.
Obviously, you will want to make arrangements to park elsewhere. Going without a garage for a week is challenging, but it can be done. Remember that this is still one of the most efficient and affordable home improve projects around. This is something that can easily benefit your home for years to come.
At the same time, painting your garage floor on your own is also great from a value perspective.
Planning to sell your home in the near future? This is a great way to enhance your ROI.
great site lots of imformation