While there are a number of professional floor coating
companies that operate both nationally and
internationally, installing your own epoxy floor coating
can be a cost-saving and fulfilling way of getting the
job done. Although a garage or exercise area might not
be the show off room of your house, installing
attractive floor coating can help make it more
appealing and save money on costly repairs of
unsightly cracks and blemishes.
Preparing the Floor and Cleaning
The first step in applying epoxy floor coating is cleaning the floor. All furniture
and other items must be cleared from the area, and then any stains should be
cleaned as best they can. If a stain is too difficult to clean with consumer or
industrial products, consider using a sander, a sandblaster or a high powered
grinder across the entire floor space. This can smooth out the floor and make
it ideal for epoxy coating. The process is especially important if there is an old
layer of paint, epoxy or some other sealant still present on the floor. To test for
sealant, pour a small amount of water onto the floor. It should soak in. If it
doesn’t, and instead forms beads of water on top, the floor has already been
sealed.
Moisture is another thing to avoid. A method recommended by Ezine is to tape
down a 3 x 3 piece of plastic tarpaulin for two days and then check it to see if
there is moisture gathered on the underside of the plastic. If moisture is
present, consider some other form of coating.
Once the floor has been tested for suitability, the sander or grinder comes into
play. If you do not own or have access to a grinder, putting a board of
sandpaper on the end of a long stick or pole and using this tool like a mop can
do the job for you. All divots, chips and incorrectly aligned joints need to be
repaired. If there is a break in the concrete, the crack should be filled to make
the disjunction level. Any sprouting nails or screws should be driven in or
tightened so they aren’t out of alignment when the primer is applied.
Each of these preparation steps may be performed multiple times to ensure
the whole surface is well prepared for priming. The process may take several
days.