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Epoxy garage floor project

maknilsin
Making a Splash

Epoxy garage floor project

Epoxy.jpg

So after what has been close to a year of planning I have finally completed my garage floor. 

 

It took a lot longer to get this project off the ground - as my brand new garage floor was not as pristine as one would expect from a new house. But after a couple of months of badgering my builder and a garage scrape later - we were finally ready to go.

 

I purchased a Dy-Mark Epoxy Kit from Bunnings for this project as my research into their product showed that their product had everything I needed in one simple kit to get the job done: https://www.bunnings.com.au/dy-mark-8l-epoxy-clear-garage-floor-coating-kit_p1580413

 

I also spent quite a bit of time caulking my garage. A slight gap between the garage floor and the skirting meant that there was possible risk of seepage of the epoxy when laying it down. So some quick caulking and taping of skirts was completed just to ensure there was no epoxy going under my walls or onto the walls 

 

epoxy-1.jpg

 

As my garage floor was brand new - there was no need to complete any deep cleaning or etching of the garage floor. This easily saved me a couple of days of work.

 

Once the floor was all prepped I began the process of the mixing the contents of the epoxy kit. Due to the temperature on Good Friday (below 15 degrees) I had to mix the activator and the base for slightly longer than the recommended 8 minutes and the resting time was recommended at 25 minutes so I left it for 30 minutes just to stay on the safe side. 

 

epoxy-2.jpgepoxy-3.jpg

 

Word to the wise - when the instructions say wear gloves and avoid contact with your skin, listen to it. Although not harmful to your skin - the adhesive nature of the epoxy meant I added close to an extra hour to the project trying to scrub off all of the epoxy that was covering my hands.

 

Once the epoxy has had time to rest after mixing it's time to start rolling out the epoxy with a simple paint roller. The instruction suggested painting in square metre sections so as to give ample time to apply the coloured flakes. I stuck to this instruction as it made the process of cutting in and rolling out the epoxy pretty simple - and meant I didn't get too boxed in during the application. 

 

After each square metre was rolled out I applied my flakes pretty liberally across each section - I defintely went overboard in the first few sections which meant I was running pretty low by the end of the garage so I suggest going easy on the flakes.

 

epoxy.gif

 

The difference between the old garage floor and the epoxy is night and day as you can see below - seeing some instant results as I worked definetely made the rest of the work a lot easier.

 

epoxy-5.jpg

 

After close to 2 hours of rolling out epoxy and liberally throwing around coloured flakes my new garage floor was complete. The drying time due to the temperature was 72 hours - so I tried to keep the garage open for at least 6 hours a day as the smell of the epoxy was incredibly strong. 

 

Now I wait another 10 days before the floor is ready for vehicle use and I can adding in some garage storage products to really flesh out my garage.

 

epoxy-6.jpg

Jason
Community Manager
Community Manager

Re: Easter Project - Epoxy Garage Floor

Hi @drew,

 

Many thanks for joining in the discussion. Let me tag @maknilsin for you so he is alerted to your question. I'm sure other community members might also like to share their thoughts. 

 

Let me extend a very warm welcome to the Workshop community. We're pleased you could join us and look forward to reading all about your projects and plans. We trust you will receive plenty of inspiration, information and advice from other members. Feel free to post whenever you need a hand or have something to share.

 

Thanks again,

 

Jason

 

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MartyH
Amassing an Audience

Re: Easter Project - Epoxy Garage Floor

Re: Easter Project - Epoxy Garage Floor

@drew I have to agree with @MartyH here. Paving paint would definitely be the way to go. From memory the epoxy paint isn’t recommended for outdoor use as well. 

in2truth
Getting Established

Re: Epoxy garage floor project

Thanks for this post.  When I build my workshop/shed., I’ll do this. 👍🏼😄

Seaton
Having an Impact

Re: Easter Project - Epoxy Garage Floor

I found a when I did mine that sun from my garage windows cause degassing and bubbles in the area the sun was hitting the concrete.

The fix is to sand them out between coats, Man I can’t believe how hard this stuff goes after just 36 hours as I was there for hours using 40 Grit on my orbital sander and it was barely touching the surface, anyway it was worth it and the sencond coat was fantastic.

I thought I’d share for anyone else. If I did it again I’d cover my windows so there was no direct sun on the concrete and would save me some elbow grease
Jason
Community Manager
Community Manager

Re: Easter Project - Epoxy Garage Floor

Great tip @Seaton. Many thanks for sharing. I'm sure your input will be valued as there are so many people interested in epoxy floors for their garage and/or workshop.

 

Jason

 

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ChristineM
Growing in Experience

Re: Epoxy garage floor project

Thanks for sharing in such detail. I have been telling my hubby about epoxy and couldn't explain it so he understood - showing him this has almost convinced him that we should do it in the garage too :smile: Good job, it looks great.

rragudos17
Finding My Feet

Re: Epoxy garage floor project

What kind of prepping to do for new garage? Just wash with water or just remove the dust? Thanks

MitchellMc
Bunnings Team Member
Bunnings Team Member

Re: Epoxy garage floor project

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @rragudos17. It's fabulous to have you join us and many thanks for your question.

 

I note that @maknilsin mentions "As my garage floor was brand new - there was no need to complete any deep cleaning or etching of the garage floor.".

 

I would suggest you follow the directions on the product that you choose and/or contact the manufacturer to confirm what preparation is needed.

 

If there was a particular product you had in mind, then I would be more than happy to contact the manufacturer on your behalf and ask them about their recommendations on prepping a new garage floor.

 

Please let me know if you need further assistance or had any questions.

 

Mitchell

 

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Re: Easter Project - Epoxy Garage Floor

just curious to know how is ur garage floor now after 1.5 yrs? & What product did u use?

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