Why Do You Abuse Your Garage Floor?

You paint your walls to beautify and protect them. You put siding, stone, or stucco on the outside of your home for aesthetics and longevity. You seal and reseal your driveway, decks, pavers, and fences. With all this effort you put into your home, why do abuse your garage floor?

Concrete Abuse

I’m talking to those of you who park your vehicles in a garage with bare concrete (and those with pealing paints and worn away sealers). It seems to shock people that concrete needs to be protected from the elements of abuse, such as road salt, chemical spills, and acidic cleaners.

No one seems to consider the impact of driving their vehicles in and out of the garage with stones, sand, and other grits lodged in their tires. The result is the wearing away of the concrete’s surface (typically the creamy laitance), exposing greater porosity and small stones.

Ultimately, all of this abuse begins to break down the concrete’s surface, creating an ugly floor. Subsequent attempts to clean the floor (usually with a pressure sprayer) only makes the situation worse by removing even more of the cream layer and opening even more pores.

Damaged concrete in a garage, ruining the look of the floor.

So, I'll ask you again…

Why Do You Abuse Your Garage Floor?

The most typical answers we hear are:

1. I didn’t think there was anything that could be done that really helps.
   1. This answer is typically brought about by hearing about failures of concrete sealers & garage floor paint kits (Read: 7 Reasons Why Epoxy Coatings Fail).
2. We didn’t realize that cleaning with a pressure sprayer was a bad thing.
   1. Every time your garage floor is cleaned with a pressure sprayer, the floor will just get uglier and dirtier faster. Homeowners just keep repeating this detrimental cycle.
3. We tried painting it with an epoxy paint kit, but it didn’t hold up.
   1. These homeowners were tricked by the big box stores into thinking a $100 kit would hold up. (Read: 5 Things to Consider Before You DIY Concrete Floor Coatings).

Stop the Abuse

Don't fear! There are plenty of solutions to ugly garage floors. Each varies in price. They are:

1. Get a professional garage floor coating. – Obviously, we would recommend this option, but we do believe it to be the best option for long-term protection and aesthetics. More can be found at:
   1. What Makes a Professional Garage Floor Coating Last?
   2. Top 5 Myths About Garage Floor Coatings
2. Install a high grade garage epoxy kit. – This is not the kits you buy at a store. There are some kits out there on the Internet that really work, but you MUST prepare the concrete surface correctly and install the chemicals exactly as described in the instructions. If your floor is already in bad shape or has sealer on it, this is probably no longer a viable option. Consider these articles:
   
   1. 5 Things to Consider Before You DIY Concrete Floor Coatings
   2. Epoxy Floor Coatings: What About the Cracks? (Part 1)
   3. Epoxy Floor Coatings: What if I Have a Joint? (Part 2)
3. Install plastic garage floor tiles. – In many respects, this is masking the problem more than solving it. Because some of the items that chemically attack the concrete can work their way under the plastic tiles, you may be hiding further abuse and damage. I mention this solution to be fair, but I don't suggest it for most homeowners (especially those in areas where road salts are used during the winter). More information on tiles can be found at:
   
   1. 5 Problems with Plastic Garage Floor Tiles
   2. Protecting Your Garage Floor: Coating vs. Plastic Tiles
   3. Frustrations with Plastic Tiles: Coatings vs. Plastic Tiles

Professional epoxy garage floor coatings are the best solution for durability, longevity, and aesthetics.

Here are some other products we would never recommend under any circumstance for a garage floor:

1. Regular paints – These will never hold up in a garage.
2. Floor mats – Trapping water, residues, and grits under a mat will only create more problems down the road. Read Why Garage Floor Roll-Out Mats are a BAD IDEA! for more information on floor mats.
3. Spray down liners – Neat idea, but our experience is that we can peel them up often by just pulling on them. If that's the case, how could they possibly hold up under vehicle traffic?

More BAD ideas for your garage floor can be found in these blogs below:

1. 5 Disastrous Garage Floor Solutions! (Part 1)
2. 5 Disastrous Garage Floor Solutions! (Part 2)

Stop abusing your garage floor and be proud of it. Come home to a garage that looks great and protects itself year round. Start your own garage floor coatings project by requesting a free quote today!

STRONGHOLD FLOORS has assisted homeowners with stopping garage floor abuse since 2004. To date, they have helped nearly 4,500 garage floors to protect themselves and look great. They service central and southeastern Pennsylvania, greater Maryland, northern Virginia, and Washington, D.C.