Many Denverites have lived in homes with a concrete garage, but without a garage floor coating. This is a classic method of construction that is fast and effective for putting together residential neighborhoods. The same pour can create slabs for the garage, driveway, and front walk altogether. We have grown up with concrete garage floors, and we know their quirks. In the Colorado winter, a garage’s concrete floor becomes an icy slab that chills unprotected feet. In the summer, cracks can form and widen, then adventurous tufts of grass may try to work their way into your garage ecosystem. Of course, just because a concrete floor is easy to install doesn’t make it the long-term standard. That once-poured slab can be improved just like you might repaint the walls or replace carpets with wood panels.
As Denver grows, garage floor coatings are growing in popularity in the Denver area, and for good reason. Garage floor coatings are multi-layer epoxy coatings that form a flexible yet sealed and washable new surface for the traditional concrete garage floor. The coating can be installed over old, cracked concrete or used to seal a brand-new slab. There are a wide array of benefits for epoxy-coating your concrete garage floor, but in Denver, the most profound for homeowners is often the insulating quality – stopping that winter chill from turning your garage floor into an icy slab.
What Is a Garage Floor Coating?
Garage floor coating is a method of sealing in the concrete slab with epoxy, along with decorative traction and a clearcoat. The epoxy is a flexible polymer resin – think flexible plastic – that can be poured and shaped to many purposes. Over garage floor concrete, it fills in the cracks and seals the porous concrete material so that your garage is no longer permeable to outside elements and below-ground invaders. Epoxy can be used to seal concrete cracks or prevent cracks from forming.
Denver concrete floors tend toward cracks because of the porous nature of concrete. When the temperature drops in the winter, concrete contracts and pulls apart from itself, forming cracks. The cracks then shift in the summer when the temperature rises and the concrete expands. Because epoxy is slightly flexible, even after setting and sealing, it allows for that natural flex without cracking. Because it pours like a resin, it also fills existing cracks to allow a smooth filled-in floor to be created above the concrete layer.
Layers of Garage Floor Coating
- Primer Coat of Epoxy
- Broadcast Coat of Epoxy
- Decorative & Traction Flakes in the Broadcast Coat
- Polyspartic Clear Coat
Apply a garage floor coating in Denver using a 4-layer system. The first layer of primer coat epoxy fills in cracks and creates a smooth, even floor surface to work with. The second layer of broadcast coat epoxy forms a flexible and slightly bouncy floor layer. In fact, it may remind you of a gymnasium floor. The third layer is a wall-to-wall distribution of decorative chips or flakes thrown into the still-wet broadcast coat. You can choose the color and style of this layer to design the final look of your coated garage floor, plus they provide useful traction for an otherwise perfectly smooth poured floor. Finally, a high-performance polyspartic clear coat is applied that is scuff-resistant, chemical-resistant, and safe for cars to drive on.
The Benefits of Garage Floor Coating for Denver Homes
Insulated in Winter
The two layers of epoxy and clearcoat form a thick, insulating layer between the cold concrete slab and your garage interior. This stops your garage floor from becoming a solid block of ice in the winter. It will finally be safe to access your laundry machines in bare or merely socked feet, and the garage-to-kitchen door threshold will no longer be the coldest place to stand in the house.
When your garage floor can’t conduct the winter chill, only your wall insulation determines the permeability of the garage. A well-insulated garage can also make it easier to start your vehicle with less warm-up time in the morning.
Chemical-Resistant for Workshop & Automotive Projects
When you do automotive maintenance over a concrete floor, the porous concrete absorbs oils and chemicals that make the garage unsafe for children and pets. This can create a permanent smell of gasoline in the garage or lingering chemical fumes that are not healthy to spend time in.
Not only does epoxy floor installation wash the concrete and then seal in any lingering contamination, it is also smooth and chemical resistant for future projects. If you want to change your car’s oil, add gasoline to the mower, or build your own chemistry workshop in the garage, you can be sure that a coated garage floor will not absorb any spills, making cleaning easier and safer for the whole family. This takes us to the next point.
Sealed and Fully Washable
The clear coat surface of your epoxy surface seals in the floor and makes it fully washable. Sweep, vacuum, and mop any mess completely away. This makes the garage an even better place for indoor-outdoor projects that might get messy. From art projects to school science projects to laundry soap to automotive work to your home welding workshop, you can clean up after so the garage is safe for the next use you put it to.
Safe for Children and Pets
When you combine insulation, washability, and traction, your garage is a safe place for children and pets. Denverites often enjoy opening the garage for bicycles to wheel forth during the summer, but actually playing in the garage can be risky business. Cracked concrete or concrete that has absorbed automotive fluids is not safe for small children and pets to play on. It is necessary to set up playpens to keep small children nearby during workshop weekends.
But with a coated garage floor, you can turn some or all of your garage into a child-safe play area. Recently mopped, your garage floor can finally be as safe as the clean kitchen floor for pet and child paly.
Multipurpose Indoor-Outdoor Space
Coating your garage floor expands the way you can use your garage as an extension of your home. Denverites who have traditionally reserved the garage for outdoor-only space in the cold winter and gear-storage in the summer can now expand to include the garage during all seasons with an insulated and sealed-washable floor.
Build a Garage Workshop
Have you wanted a garage workshop, but the garage is just a little too inhospitable for a project? You’re not alone. Many Denverites are installing garage floor coating for the purpose of building a home workshop. With just a few shelves and a sturdy workbench, improve your vehicle, build carpentry, or explore new technical skills in a place that is easy to clean up and to ventilate. Plus, you won’t encroach on your cozy interior rooms and existing design.
Use the Garage as a Play Area
Indoor-outdoor spaces make great play areas for children and pets – provided safety and cleanability. That is exactly what garage floor coating offers as an improvement to your existing concrete slab floor. With a coated garage floor, it is safe to set down a play-pen or let your older kids set up in the garage during warmer months. This can be a great way to keep kids safe while enjoying a little fresh and sharing indoor-outdoor family time.
Garage floor coating also makes the garage a better place for pets when the temperature is right. Pets are easier to clean up after without damaging the space.
Design Your Garage into Multiple Spaces
Of course, the true versatility of garage floor coating is that you can use one garage for multiple spaces. You can create a workshop next to your parking space, or a play area near your garden potting table, which can both be put away to make space for another vehicle. You can clean up after changing the oil and use the garage for art projects immediately after. Alternatively, do both projects side-by-side in a garage with the space.
Whether you have a one-car or two-car garage, epoxy floor coating makes it possible to use that space any way you like and for multiple purposes – not just to park the car and stow a few bicycles.
Learn More About Garage Floor Coating
Your Denver garage doesn’t have to gave dirt-filled cracks in the summer and ice in the winter. Join the growing trend of Denverite homeowners who are installing garage floor coating instead. Enjoy an insulated, safe, and washable garage floor that can turn your garage into a multi-purpose extension of the home interior. Contact us today to consult on coating the floor in your garage for cleaner summers and warmer winters every year.
