We all hear the jingle "You can do it, we can help" on TV and many get the urge to play with power tools. I'm no exception. But, before attempting a "Do It Yourself" project, you should apply these 5 criteria to determine if you're setting yourself up for trouble.
Personal Safety
Are you prepared with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)?
Chatting with an electrician friend, we marveled at how people will attempt a Do It Yourself project with no consideration for their personal safety. He commented on homeowners getting zapped by working in a live electrical panel, or wiring up something wrong and creating a bigger, potentially disastrous issue.
Now, I've been reckless too. Not going to deny it. We gave up on selling acid stained concrete after a pump sprayer started leaking the acids down my back on a commercial job. The floor turned out great. My chemical burns, while not terrible, were certainly not a pleasurable experience.
Professionally installed floor coatings mean professionally prepared floors. For the DIY enthusiast getting ready to apply an epoxy floor paint kit, I would ask:
- Is it worth playing with muriatic (hydrochloric) acid to prepare the concrete floor? Acid resistant globes and eye protect are a must (sunglasses don't count)! Bare skin must also be covered to prevent acid from splashing onto you. Acid burns sometimes leave scars.
Do you have a respirator that can trap out the acid vapors? The vapors released by the acids are not stopped by an organic vapors cartridge. So, that respirator sold at the big box store is probably not going to do it. Don't even think about acid etching the basement's concrete floor. Those same vapors may not only seriously harm you, but also other occupants in the home. Exposed metals in the basement and other rooms may also be affected by the vapors. - If you decide to rent a grinder from the local rental outfit, are you protecting yourself for the dust generated during operation? Concrete dust is the silica dust that contributes to lung disease. High-end grinding systems feature very powerful dust collection systems and skirting. Your shop vac will not be up to the task.
Be careful. Some garage floor kits contain volatile organic compounds that require a respirator during application and should not be used in closed air spaces like a basement. Protect yourself, your family, and your pets.
Liability/Compliance
Do you know your local building codes and environmental compliance?
I'm not a general contractor. I don't know all the building codes in Pennsylvania or Maryland. That's why I entered a contract for building my home here in Dillsburg (home of the New Year's Eve Pickle Drop). Same reason applies to why I used a licensed remodeler to finish parts of the basement. When I go to sell, I am confident that I won't have any issues from non-compliance with the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code. It passed all inspections required by the PA UCC.
I hear all the time from homeowners that they (or the handyman) prepared their concrete by acid etching the concrete and collected up all the slurry in a shop vac in wet mode.
That's OKAY.
They then dumped it down the city sewer drain on their street.
That's NOT OKAY.
That act is potentially a local, state, and EPA violation of the Clean Water Act. Disposal of slurry is even worse for those using an acid staining kit, because you might have just dumped heavy metals down the drain.
Personally, I'll stick with gardening and other tasks that I doubt will land me in court or paying a fine.
Resale Value
All of us want to continually maintain or increase the value of our home. After all, it's one of our largest investments and no one likes to have their investments go down in value.
An example of a DIY floor coating. This looks nothing like a professionally installed coatings system.
- Will my end results increase the desirability or value of my home?
- Would you see this in a model home or Parade of Homes?
- Does this make my home look like it was constructed and maintained by professionals?
I may offend some homeowners, but most of your DIY garage floor kits don't look like a professional floor coating. I often liken this to a homeowner painting their own vehicles.
One of our garage floor coatings projects in Middleriver, Maryland.
When we were in the 2011 Pennsylvania Home-A-Rama, we completed the coatings in 6 of the 8 entered homes. One home featured a DIY kit applied by a painter. We kept getting the question "STRONGHOLD FLOORS didn't do the garage floor in that first home, did it?" No, we did not. Everyone noticed the difference.
Time Investment
How much time will be invested in research, material and tool acquisition, testing the waters, and completing the project?
We are all pressed for time these days. Never enough time to get everything done. Some projects which may look simple on a TV commercial can spiral into a lot of trips to the hardware store. Nothing is worse than the realization you need another item when already halfway through the project. Sometimes, that realization may come too late, when stopping the process negatively impacts the results.
For those trying the Do-It-Yourself epoxy garage kit, ask yourself:
- Do I have all the right items for the preparation? Once you've started the acid etching process, you can't stop. Leaving the residue on the surface of your garage floor or driveway may stain or damage the surface.
- Do I have the proper repair materials on hand and do I understand their cure time? Many materials for filling cracks or surface pitting may need hours or even days to cure before you can continue with the process.
- Am I prepared to put out the epoxy materials? While the DIY epoxy materials do not set fast like professional coatings, they do still have a limited window of time for application.
- Can I wait 5 to 10 days before using my garage floor again? Many kits require a very long cure time before returning to full service. Professional garage floor coatings often return to full use in as little as 2 days.
Hidden Costs
Is your DIY solution going to last as long as a professional job?
My hot pepper garden works year after year. My attempt at wiring in a generator during one of the recent superstorms may have contributed to burning up the central vac, HVAC transformer, and TV. It's okay - I wanted a new flat screen TV anyways.
DIY is not always going to save you money in the long run.
I think our record for the thickest DIY epoxy garage floor goes to a gentleman in Cockeysville, Maryland who, each year, continued applying a new epoxy coating over the old, failing coatings. Each year, he had the same bare spots under the tires, but he did manage to build up about 1/8'' in portions of the garage.
When asked how much he had spent over the past 10 years, it turned out to be WAY more than if he had purchased a decorative chip, professionally installed, warranted garage floor coating from us, STRONGHOLD FLOORS.
You can do it, but do you really want to?
If you, after reading all of this, still wish to do your own coatings, make sure you use very high grade materials. Just remember that if things go wrong, it usually take a professional to correct your mistakes - which makes that DIY coating very expensive!
