Each year, we used to exhibit at the annual Pennsylvania Home Show in Harrisburg. We get to meet new homeowners and catch up with our garage floor coatings customers. Sometimes, we even get a great story to share. This year, we spoke with a Do-It-Yourself homeowner whose story spans over two years.
Our Story Begins With...
In 2014, the homeowner (we will call him Joe) approached Steve and Zach in our booth to ask about our garage floor coatings. After about 20 minutes of conversation, Joe informed them of his intentions to use DIY epoxy floor paints to spruce up his one car garage.
Fast forward to 2015, Joe returned to our booth once more. Speaking with Steve and Gary, he shared his DIY story. The highlights of this 30+ minute conversation are as follows:
- He removed the existing garage floor paint using a 4" hand grinder and cup wheels (approx. $150 investment). This portion took four days and ended with a sore body. It also pretty much ruined the shop vac used to pull up the dust ($75).
- He acid-etched the garage floor two times just to ensure a good prep. Two more days down ($25 of supplies).
- He applied an epoxy/urethane kit which included vinyl chips over a period of three days and then had to let the materials cure for another three days ($900 for the kit).
- Overall, Joe was pretty happy with the floor, but it has had a few minor issues. He didn't provide any details on the issues with his DIY floor.
- Joe said it took a lot more effort than he had expected, figuring he had over 40 hours of his time invested in the project.
Our Story Ends With...
To summarize, Joe had spent over $1,150 and a typical work's week of time on this one car garage floor coating. He lost the use of his garage for nearly two weeks during the process.
What was our response to this story? Joe's 320 square foot garage would have been $1,600 (2015) if STRONGHOLD FLOORS had coated it. Joe admitted he would not repeat that DIY project.
Joe's DIY Coatings vs. Our Coatings
Our professional floor coatings are vastly different compared to the DIY system Joe installed, and it's not just the cost:
- With our epoxy/polyaspartic system, one of our teams would have completed the entire process in 1.5 days vs. Joe's 9 days.
- Our coatings would have returned the garage to full service in less than 48 hours vs. Joe waiting over 72 hours to use his garage again.
- Our polyaspartic topcoat would be three times thicker and considerably stronger than Joe's two urethane layers.
- With a floor from us, Joe would have a limited lifetime warranty and the same satisfaction that 5000+ homeowners already have in our service area.
- Our crew would have prepared his concrete floor (removing the existing floor paints) with our world class HTC planetary grinders and HEPA dust vacuums in less than 2 hours. Joe wouldn't have had sore knees. He would've also avoided exposing himself to airborne concrete dust or the acids & their fumes.
I'm not saying that no one should ever attempt to coat their own garage. Just be sure that it's worth the time and effort. Plus, don't purchase the cheap epoxy paint kits at the big box stores or get ripped off with overpriced kits on the web. There are some great products out there - just be sure to shop around. Read 5 Things to Consider Before You DIY Concrete Floor Coatings for more information on DIY coatings.
Ready to begin your own floor coatings project but don't want to deal with the problems Joe ran into? Don't sweat it! Request a free quote today and our experienced territory managers will get into contact with you shortly.
