Epoxy garage floors in Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh garage floors take road salt, wet tires and oil every winter. A proper epoxy garage floor seals all of that out and cleans up with a mop. Like most garage floor coatings, it only lasts if the slab is prepared well. Prep is what separates an epoxy finish garage floor that lasts from one that peels in a year. A garage floor coating like this is sometimes called an epoxy floor coating, and the installer matters as much as the product.
Job ticket: Epoxy Garage Floors
- Prep
- Diamond grinding
- System
- Base, flake, top coat
- Time
- 1 to 3 days
- Park on it
- After 2 to 7 days
Rough guide$5 to $9 per sq ft
Epoxy, polyaspartic or paint?
A hardware store kit is mostly thin paint, and that is why hot tires peel it up. A professional system is many times thicker and is ground into a prepared surface. Polyaspartic top coats cure faster and hold their color in sunlight, which matters if your door stays open.
| Coating | Durability | Time | Typical price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garage floor paint | Low, can lift from hot tires | 1 day | $1 to $3 per sq ft |
| Epoxy with flake | High | 2 to 3 days | $5 to $8 per sq ft |
| Polyaspartic system | High, UV stable | 1 to 2 days | $7 to $9 per sq ft |
Prep is the whole job
An epoxy coating garage floor fails because of what is under it. We grind the slab with diamond tooling to open the surface. Old paint and sealers come off. Cracks and spalls are filled and ground flat. We check for moisture, because an older Pittsburgh garage slab with no vapor barrier can push dampness up and pop a coating off. If moisture is a problem, we use a primer made for that, or we tell you it isn't a good candidate.
Colors, flake and grip
Most homeowners choose a full broadcast of colored flake. It hides dust, adds texture for grip and disguises small flaws. Solid colors look sleek but show every scratch. An added anti-slip grit in the top coat is a good idea if wet boots and melting snow come in with you.
Is your garage floor ready?
The slab needs to be sound. A coating won't hide a sunken section, and it will crack over any joint or crack that moves. If your floor is uneven, have it leveled first or replaced. New concrete should cure for about 28 days. Basement floors can be coated in much the same way, as long as there is no water coming through.
Epoxy garage floor cost and price
The epoxy garage floor price for most two-car garages around Pittsburgh is $2,200 to $4,000. Your epoxy garage floor cost goes up if the slab needs a lot of grinding or crack repair, or if an old coating has to come off. You may see offers for garage floors in a day. A fast-curing polyaspartic system can do that on a sound floor, but it still needs the same grinding and repair first.
Epoxy basement floors
An epoxy basement floor can brighten a room, cut dust and make cleaning easy. Basement floor coatings have to breathe or be installed over a dry slab, because moisture coming up through the concrete can lift them. We test first with a simple moisture check, and we use a primer made for damp slabs where it makes sense.
Looking after it
Sweep often, and mop with a mild cleaner. Rinse salt off during the winter, and use a mat under the car if tires drip a lot of salty slush. Most coatings last 10 to 20 years in a home garage, and a worn top coat can usually be redone.
How the work goes
- Test the floor
We check moisture, cracks and any old coatings.
- Grind and repair
The surface is ground, then cracks and spalls are filled.
- Base and flake
The base coat goes on, then a full broadcast of flake.
- Top coat
A clear top coat seals everything in. Wait before parking on it.
Common questions
How much does it cost to put epoxy on a garage floor?
A professional system usually runs $5 to $9 per square foot around Pittsburgh. Most two-car garages land between $2,200 and $4,000.
How much does it cost to pour an epoxy floor?
About $5 to $9 per square foot for a flake system with grinding and top coat.
How much to epoxy a basement floor?
Usually $5 to $9 per square foot if the floor is dry and sound. Moisture problems must be fixed first.
How much does it cost to put epoxy on basement floor?
Similar to a garage, about $5 to $9 per square foot. A moisture-tolerant primer can add a little.
How thick should a epoxy floor be?
A residential flake system usually builds to about 15 to 30 mils or more, far thicker than paint.
How long to wait after epoxy garage floor?
It depends on the product and the temperature. One maker's garage epoxy, for example, takes foot traffic after about 20 hours and cars after about 3 days at 68 degrees, with full cure in about a week. In a 50 degree garage, the same steps take about 2, 5 and 10 days.
More concrete services
- concrete slabs in Pittsburgh
- concrete garage floors
- concrete basement floors
- concrete flatwork
- exposed aggregate concrete
- concrete footers
- shed slabs and hot tub pads
- concrete leveling in Pittsburgh
- concrete resurfacing in Pittsburgh
- concrete sealing
- concrete removal