Page 9 - Real Estate Now Sept-Oct 2022

Protect Your Garage with DIY Epoxy Flooring

courtesy REALTOR.ca Team
any homeowners use their garage for more than just parking vehicles. This multi-purpose area is often used
as a storage solution, a workroom, a gym, an office, and even an entertainment hub. Whatever function
Myour garage serves, one thing remains the same: you need to maintain the space to ensure its longevity. The
process begins from the ground up.
It’s important to pay attention to the health of your garage floor just as much as the doors and walls. The floor takes
a beating throughout the years—from car tires and engine grease, to snow shovels and DIY projects. The damage
eventually shows in the form of stains, cracks, and pitting, which hurts the overall integrity of the floor.
Whether you’re proactively trying to avoid the wear and tear, or trying to fix some damage, epoxy flooring can be a
good solution. Not sure where to begin? We’ve got you covered!

Regular paint vs. epoxy
Most garage floors are made out of concrete and painted
with either latex acrylic paint or epoxy. Acrylic latex, a
water-based paint, is budget-friendly and uses plastic or
synthetic polymers to hold the pigment particles together.

Epoxy, while more expensive, is much more durable than
bare concrete or acrylic latex floors. It provides protection
from moisture, stains, grease, cracks and pitting. So if you
want your painted floor to last long-term, finishing it with
epoxy is a logical choice.

Epoxy 101
Let’s go back to science class for a moment to better understand why epoxy is optimal when it comes to painting
over certain surfaces.
First, it’s important to get a misconception out of the way: while people do tend to say “epoxy paint,” epoxy and paint
are not the same. Epoxy is a form of resin created when epoxides combine to form polymers (big molecules). The
chemical bond that leads to the formation of epoxies is so strong it develops resistance to certain physical, thermal,
and chemical factors. This makes epoxies ideal for use in adhesive products and for coating surfaces like concrete and
metal.

Epoxy comes in a variety of colours. Not only will the epoxy-coated surface remain tough, the product will cure into a
high-gloss finish (think car dealership showroom) that will drive up the aesthetic appeal of your garage floor.
When it comes to cost, how much you spend on epoxy varies by manufacturer. Typically, a gallon of water-based or
solvent epoxy will cost around $30 to $50. A gallon covers about 12 square feet of surface. So, for the average one-car
garage (250 square feet), it could cost upwards of $600 to coat in epoxy. Larger spaces (400 to 500 square feet) could
cost more than $1,000.

How to paint with epoxy
Epoxy can be a bit tricky to work with if you aren’t properly prepared, or if you’re not a professional. It often comes as
a two-part package––the resin and a hardener. You’ll have to determine how to properly mix the products and how
to prep the surface before you begin the process.

www. CowichanHomesForSale.ca | REAL ESTATE NOW | 9