One of the fastest growing areas in home renovation is upgrading the garage to provide more usable space. A typical residential two-car garage is approximately 450 square feet with high ceilings. In most garages, wall space is plentiful and unused. The wall panels can be installed to hang everything from garden tools to gold poles and skis.
The roof area is rarely used and a lot of valuable space is wasted. There are many companies with pulley and rack systems that can be easily raised and lowered. There are many options for wall cabinets in numerous price ranges, from simple shelves to high-quality portable steel shelves. There is almost any type of storage system available, whether you just need a little more storage space to create the ultimate space for a car collection.
The biggest challenge for every garage owner, no matter what price you are at, is the garage floor. These are the reasons why.
The concrete is wet – The biggest battle for every floor covering is the common problem with moisture vapor. Moisture vapor is not visible to the naked eye, but you can feel it when you enter a garage or basement. Concrete is porous. Most people equate the hardness of concrete to granite, but they are very different. When concrete is poured, it is wet. As it dries and cures, the moisture rises and evaporates. As moisture moves up, it leaves a porous trail. The pressure of moisture from below the concrete slab pushes a vapor up through these small pores. This can cause paints and coatings to delaminate or peel.
Break bonds – Bond breakers are anything that can fall from your car, truck or machinery, such as oil and grease, and penetrate the porous surface of your concrete floor. If not removed before applying garage floor paint or an epoxy topcoat, you risk failure.
Efflorescence – If you’ve ever experienced perpetual dust on your floor, efflorescence is to blame. This is generally caused by moisture vapor pushing the calcium in the concrete to the surface. In more extreme cases, you will notice a chalky white powder on the floor.
Solutions are to etch the surface first to open the surface pores and create more surface area for the epoxy protective coating to adhere. The larger the surface area, the greater the adhesion and moisture pressure plugging process.
If you find areas where there is grease or oil, you will need a degreaser that will remove the oils from the floor. Etching with a liquid etching solution does not serve as a degreaser.
One of the best remedies for preparing the surface first is to use a power grinder or shot blast machine to sand the surface. These machines perform the same function as with a liquid etching solution but with superior results. Many local home improvement and tool rental stores sell this equipment. A small two-car garage will generally take a few hours to shred or blast with very little cleaning and no use of water.
If you choose to prepare the soil with an acidic solution, allow a few days for the soil to dry completely. Avoid applying epoxy protective coatings or paints to the surface of a wet floor. This will trap moisture and ultimately cause the floor to chip and peel no matter the quality.
Once the floor is fully prepared, applying an epoxy or paint protection coat is a simple process of rolling or using a squeegee and roller. Two coats are typical in a garage. The first is a primer and the second a high build protective layer.
Once you let it dry, it is recommended to let the new coating dry for about 6-7 days regardless of what the manufacturer says. Even though a new coat is dry to the touch or to walk on, it likely hasn’t had a chance to fully heal for at least 6-7 days. The wait is worth it considering that proper preparation and application of your epoxy protective coating or paint will last for years with a shiny, easy-to-clean surface.