There’s nothing like the thought of a good home project to keep you busy. One of the biggest ones you could take on, though, is installing an epoxy coating to your garage floors. This might be beyond your skill set yet as a DIYer. But if you’re determined to pull this off, here are four mistakes you should keep in mind to avoid when applying epoxy to your floors.
Poor Floor Preparation
Don’t be in a hurry to start. Make sure you lay the groundwork properly. That includes preparing the floor before you install the coating. Some people skip this or rush through it, raring to have a go at “real DIY work”. What most might not realize is that this is a crucial step in the process. If you fail at this, you’ll have to deal with poor epoxy coating adhesion and eventually end up with a peeling floor in a year or even less than that.
Not Doing the Moisture Test
Not all floors are created equal. And that means not all floors are suitable for an epoxy coating. By using a moisture test to find out if your floors are good for it or not, you can save yourself a whole world of trouble and effort later on.
Not Waiting Until the Concrete Dries
If you’re working under a tight schedule, it can be incredibly tempting to simply start applying the coating even before the concrete dries out. However, it’s entirely important to wait until the concrete is dry before you attempt to start with your project. Why? If you don’t, then the epoxy coating will likely stick to the dust on your concrete slab. That’s not good. It won’t be long before the coating will fail, given that it’s stuck to the fine layer of white dust on your floor. So make sure you don’t waste your time installing epoxy coating on dirt or poor surface—since it’ll only come off anyway. Wait that concrete out. Allow the concrete to dry off completely—after 24 hours—before applying the coat.
Mixing too Fast
Most DIYers make the mistake of mixing the resin and epoxy too fast with a paddle mixer. Going too fast means bubbles in your mixture and that’s not the best way to keep your floors protected. So pay attention to the way you mix the components together.
For more information on finding an excellent garage floor epoxy coating services in Atlanta, you can contact a professional like Granite Garage Floors.
