THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2010 • HOME & GARDEN, DAILY COURIER, Grants Pass, Oregon 17
Roll on the epoxy to renew garage floor
P
a ul Bergersen wanted to sell his
father’s Murphy-area home, but
needed to dress it up first. He
remodeled the interior, but the
floor of his two-car garage contained some
unsightly oil stains and cracks.
Bergersen hired Brian Beaudin of
Caveman Painting to clean, patch and
paint the garage floor, using a durable
“one-step” epoxy that’s rolled on like any
paint.
Now, where
once were stains
Story and photo and chipped concrete, there’s a
by Shaun Hall
smooth floor the
color of battleship-gray.
“I’m real happy with it,” Bergersen
said. “It was part of the whole remodel.
The additional cost to clean up the floor
was pretty minimal.”
Beaudin said the job ran $350. Do-ityourselfers, of course, could renew their
garage floor for less.
“It dressed the garage up nicely,”
Beaudin said. “It actually looked like
brand new concrete.”
Cost for supplies include about $45 a
gallon for the epoxy, which covers 300 to
450 square feet, according to Gary Rivera,
a sales associate at Rodda Paint.
A gallon of the RustOleum brand epoxy
sold by Rodda should cover a one-car
garage with one coat, which usually is
enough, according to Rivera.
Other costs, in addition to epoxy,
include pressure-washing, acid-etching and
any patching. Beaudin did all three.
An alternative to the washing and etching is to “bead blast” the surface. Beaudin
said a Medford-based bead blast service
runs about 40 cents a square foot, which
would come to $120 for a 300-square-foot
single-car garage.
Manufacturers say the new epoxy is
durable enough to use on driveways, but
Beaudin has his doubts that any such
product would stand up to sun and weather.
“I don’t recommend it,” he said.
Two things stand out as important:
Surfaces must be properly prepared, and
moisture must not seep up through the
concrete.
To check for moisture, simply put down
a rubber mat. If it’s wet underneath the
next day, you should not paint. Or, check
for moisture by putting down a square of
plastic wrap, seal its edges with tape, and
check later for any condensation.
“If you notice any kind of moisture, you
can’t put (the epoxy) down,” Rivera said.
Moisture from below would lift the paint.
Preparing surfaces is a biggie. Beaudin
added to give a range of colors,
although Rivera noted that the
standard gray is popular.
“It’s amazing how many
people like gray,” he said.
Also, there’s a frilly product
similar to confetti, in case anyone wants to “broadcast” the
product out across the wet
paint, to create a speckled
look.
“You throw those chips out,”
Rivera said. “It settles and
dries. It looks pretty and it’s
durable.” HG
Brian Beaudin of Caveman
Painting turned a cracked,
stained garage floor into a
smooth, attractive surface.
Beaudin says the key to a
good job is using the right
epoxy and good preparation, including pressurewashing and acid-etching.
rents what’s called a scrubber, which uses
high-pressure water up to 3,500 psi (pounds
per square inch) to clean the concrete.
That might be enough, he said, but the
best results come from bead- or acid-washing. Unfortunately, acid-washing seems to
be a potentially messy, hazardous operation. Wear protective gear and avoid getting acid on surfaces other than the concrete. Keep runoff out of storm drains.
The acid, which runs $15 or less for
even a two-car garage job, must be washed
down well, or it can continue to eat away
at concrete. Again, use the high-pressure
washer to clean. Soil acts to neutralize the
acid, Beaudin noted.
One online advice source suggested
hauling the runoff water to a recycling
facility that takes hazardous waste. The
same source, www.ehow.com, also suggested using baking soda to neutralize the
acid.
Beaudin likes bead-blasting, but used
acid at Bergersen’s place. Rivera suggested using plastic to protect surrounding
areas.
“You’ve got to be really careful,” Rivera
said.
A couple more points to consider:
Beaudin suggests a satin finish, rather
than a gloss, which might show patches
more. And, he highly recommends that a
sand or grit be added to the epoxy, to give
it a non-skid surface.
As to available colors, tints can be