Garage Renovation with Epoxy Floors – Yes A Girl Can Do It!
22 Mar
Ever wish you had a beautiful garage? I really do. Not just a clean or organized garage – I want one that is so nice it can be considered another room in our home.
A garage is a place most people park their car or dump forgotten or rarely used items. That is exactly what our garage is now and I’d like to change that. I don’t have available room inside our house so I want to use our garage as a studio….a workspace for my furniture restorations and other DIY projects.
A few months ago, I embarked on a major garage renovation. Other than moving all the junk in and out of our garage and having weather and tool problems, it was a pretty easy task. And I even epoxied the floor! Yes, meeeeee!! Not my husband or any manly man. Just little ole’ girly me.
So here is how I did it.
First, I removed all the junk and boxes of forgotten and unused items out. I don’t have a picture of the real BEFORE shot but here it is with 75% of the stuff cleared out.
It was so much junk! I tried to give away things I hadn’t used or touched in six months but it wasn’t that easy! I don’t know why we feel we need to hold on to things we aren’t using. Help – hoarders! I need to go back through it and reassess. Otherwise, there is not going to be any available room to use this space as a studio.
Here’s the beautiful view my neighbors saw. Yeah…I bet they love me to death! By the way, if you are wondering about the garage door on the left, it is a pseudo door. It’s fake. It used to be a real garage door opening and that section of the building was actually part of the garage. The people that owned the house before us, closed the left garage door permanently and converted that section by attaching it to the pool house, making the garage much smaller and the pool house much larger.
So the left garage door is not real and our garage space is limited to the small single car section on the right side. (Removing or closing up that left door so that it no longer looks like it is part of the garage is another project I want to tackle in the future).
Finally!!! Everything is out!
Ok, let’s talk about the walls. Two of the walls were perfect. Relatively good condition even they they weren’t covered in sheet rock or finished off (tape, float and paint). Just very very dirty. I had to scrub and spray the walls with water to get them clean since dust had collected and hardened on them over the last 30 years.
The wall on the right was in pretty bad shape.
Structurally it was fine but it had a weird layer of cardboard type material that was attached to the entire right side. The layer was rotted and peeling off and very filthy.
I did my best to remove what I could and then cleaned with a broom and water like I had the other walls.
Let the painting begin!
I chose to paint two walls a medium toned grey color and one wall a deep dark orange. Orange..hmmm…sounds crazy right? I wasn’t forced to use orange because I had leftover orange paint. I actually went out and bought orange!
I wanted two walls a normal “easy on the eyes” color and one wall painted different and bright to be used as an organizing wall to hang tools. My thoughts were that something bright would draw my attention to it and compel me to actually use the wall for hanging items and organizing things. At least that is the goal.
I plan to hang a peg board I painted light green on top to help diffuse some of the orange brightness and add more organizing options for smaller tools.
As much as I would love to have my garage 100% utilized as a work studio, it still must help house some of our household storage needs. Organizing my garage is still a work in process but I plan to hang mine and my husband’s bicycles at the top of one of the grey walls. We have two shelving systems: one is chrome and visible in one of the pictures above. The other newly purchased from Costco. It still needs to be assembled but is longer and black and can hold a massive amount of weight. Since the storage space in our house is limited, these shelving systems can be used to hold household items that are not used every day like large kitchen cooking pans, party servers, winter clothes and our and skiing and snowboard clothes and gear.
Ok, so back to the garage work.
Grey was sprayed on the left and back wall. This was my favorite part of the task. It took a very little amount of time and was so easy!! Gotta love a spray gun!
I didn’t use primer and also did not tack away the loose electric cords (I have no idea what those are for and pray they aren’t “live”) that were hanging in the way. I’m lazy and I love instant satisfaction. I got out my gun and just started spraying.
Even though primer was not used, the grey color adhered fantastically.
The orange however was a different story. I didn’t prime the orange wall either. The wall on right side was significantly darker and the orange paint took several coats before it actually started to look orange. it took way more orange paint for the one wall of orange than it took to complete the two walls of grey.
Here’s where some problems began.
When I ran out of orange paint, I ran back to Home Depot and bought another can of orange paint…this time I bought the primer and paint combo (primer and paint in one can) hoping it would help adhere better.
That’s when my paint sprayer broke.
What is not seen here is hours of agony and frustration. Taking apart the paint sprayer, cleaning it, putting paint sprayer back together, testing paint sprayer, no success, repeat entire process one billion times!
I could never get my paint sprayer to work again. And I was too lazy to hand paint the rest so I gave the orange paint project a rest and started on the floor epoxy.
The garage floors were fine – they were cement which is perfect for an outdoor work studio. But I wanted them to BLING! Like a car dealership display room. So I researched how to epoxy the floors.
I’ll be honest, I cheated and skipped several steps, including one major step in epoxying my garage floor. The major step skipped was grinding down the floor. It is supposed to be VERY important to prepare the surface by grinding down the concrete surface. Grinding should leave the floor feeling like 100 grit sandpaper. Grinding the concrete allows the epoxy to adhere and absorb better. In order to do this, some sort of grinding machine should have been bought or rented from a home improvement store. I skipped this step because I was 1) lazy 2) wanted instant gratification 3) my car is small and probably doesn’t have room for this mystery grinding machine and 4) my concrete floor did not appear to have sealant on it was seemed relatively porous.
Update on my cheating (no grinding) technique:
It has been several months since the floor was epoxied and there have not been any issues. No peeling at all. And we have gone through cold and hot temperatures (including rain and dampness) with the weather. However, please note that I never drove a car into the garage. Heavy things like boxes and shelving cases were loaded on the floors but other than that, there has not been any high traffic or major weight scrapped across the floors. Please keep that in mind if you also attempt my cheating (no grinding) method.
The epoxy process is a two part system. One part is a resin and the second part is a hardener. When I was researching methods for epoxy, there were a million different methods. It was quite confusing. Most methods seemed dangerous and toxic so I created my own little method. I might have simplified or cheated by skipping too many steps but here is what I did and it seemed to have worked well:
First paint floor with concrete paint.
I used this product – Behr 1-Part Epoxy Acrylic Concrete and Floor Paint (in white):
I painted one layer with a paint roller over the floor – it was fluid and the application process was surprisingly simple.
I painted sloppy and fearlessly and the paint seemed to forgive quite nicely. The paint was easier than typical paint used for painting furniture or a wall. It sort of smoothed itself out into one perfect even layer, kind of like nail polish.
The directions state to let the first coat dry 24 hours before applying a second coat. The directions also state that the paint should be dry to the touch within 2 hours. So, I cheated and painted the second coat after two hours.
Next was the sealant. Again… processes and methods were confusing so here is where I might have cheated again. I used a concrete “gloss” to seal the paint – Behr Interior/Exterior Wet-Look Sealer. A helpful man in Home Depot advised this alternative product and I was very pleased. It is a gloss used to create the “wet-look“. It applied just like the concrete paint – forgiving and balanced itself out into one smooth layer.
I let the concrete paint dry over-night before applying the sealant (gloss).
I like glossy glossy (Insert Black Eyed Pea/Fergie lyrics – “Flossy Flossy” here!), so I applied two coats. The directions stated to wait for four hours but since it was dry to the touch in one hour, I painted the second coat an hour later.
I didn’t include pictures of this process because, it was clear and basically nothing to see. The substance is thin and quite translucent – like water.
That was it!! Floor epxoy done!
I am really happy with my floors. They may not be epoxied the conventional way but it looks so much better than plain concrete floors and it is much easier to clean.
I actually started the garage renovation months ago but it started raining so I was forced to quit. It was necessary to stuff all our junk back in the garage so that it wouldn’t be damaged from the rain. I had to forego the organizational project of putting up shelves, etc…
I was going to share this project once I had completed everything (bicycles hung, peg board installed, tools organized, shelving installed and…the orange wall painted completely). But since the weather has been raining off an on, it might be quite a while before that day takes place.
So until then… here is the in between stage. I’ll post an update later once I finish all the final touches!
Update on Sprayer Issues:
I am not exactly sure why the paint sprayer broke but I speculate it might be due to the fact that my spray gun was not built to handle the primer and paint combo paint.
Wow what a job! But that floor looks terrific and your hard work has obviously paid off. Shame about the spray gun though. I actually have two spray guns, one for undercoat (or primer as the Americans call it) and another for the top coat or enamel. I was lucky to pick up a second hand one at the markets for $10 and after a good clean it worked perfectly.
Can’t wait to see it when you’ve finished the walls and put everything in it’s place.
Megs
Love the garage Angie!! The floor looks amazing and the gray and orange combo is perfectly YOU! And i am cracking up at your cheating/skipping steps….so funny because we all want instant satisfaction!
Angie, I love the fact that you “cheat”. I do, too, all the time, and almost never have a problem with my renovations, painting, whatever. But where is the rest of it? Von
Von, Hi fellow cheater! My garage is still a work in process. I’m trying to finish it soon and will post more pictures!
I love this paint! I used it to paint the concrete floor in my basement to look like ceramic tiles! I love your project
Thanks for linkingup ~ featured on FB!!
Thanks Heather!
Wow, I am totally impressed. My husband did our epoxy floors and never thought once to do it myself. Kuddos to you!! They look fabulous.
It looks great. I need to try this paint in my basement. Thanks for linking to the party. I hope to see you again at the next one too.
Thanks and for sure – we will totally be back this week! Thanks for the party!!
I so enjoyed reading about your redo on the garage floors. Looks fabulous. I am so going to do this when things dry out here! Thanks for the great tutorial.
~Pam
Thank you Pam!! We would love to see yours so send us pics afterwards!!
That’s look super WOW and seem to be super easy to do too! Now, I now what’s my next project is…Thanks a lot for sharing…If a girl like you can do it…I’m sure a mom like me can do it too and shock my hubby
!
You can totally do it!! Girl power!!
Great blog post. It’s useful information.
htad [url=http://www.annkabagkurashikku.com/]mcm 財布[/url] [url=http://www.mcmchiipubagkireii.com/]mcm[/url] [url=http://www.mcmosharebagguseru.com/]mcm[/url] [url=http://www.kakuyasubagnosekai.com/]mcm リュック[/url] [url=http://www.mcmchoubibagguyasui.com/]mcm リュック[/url] fobk
[url=http://www.annkabagkurashikku.com/]mcm 財布[/url] [url=http://www.mcmchiipubagkireii.com/]mcm[/url] [url=http://www.mcmosharebagguseru.com/]mcm[/url] [url=http://www.kakuyasubagnosekai.com/]mcm[/url] [url=http://www.mcmchoubibagguyasui.com/]mcm リュック[/url] bfam
[url=http://www.annkabagkurashikku.com/]mcm 財布[/url] [url=http://www.mcmchiipubagkireii.com/]mcm 財布[/url] [url=http://www.mcmosharebagguseru.com/]mcm[/url] [url=http://www.kakuyasubagnosekai.com/]mcm バッグ[/url] [url=http://www.mcmchoubibagguyasui.com/]mcm バッグ[/url] pmsw
[url=http://www.annkabagkurashikku.com/]mcm 店舗[/url] [url=http://www.mcmchiipubagkireii.com/]mcm[/url] [url=http://www.mcmosharebagguseru.com/]mcm バッグ[/url] [url=http://www.kakuyasubagnosekai.com/]mcm リュック[/url] [url=http://www.mcmchoubibagguyasui.com/]mcm バッグ[/url] efez
[url=http://www.annkabagkurashikku.com/]mcm 店舗[/url] [url=http://www.mcmchiipubagkireii.com/]mcm 店舗[/url] [url=http://www.mcmosharebagguseru.com/]mcm[/url] [url=http://www.kakuyasubagnosekai.com/]mcm リュック[/url] [url=http://www.mcmchoubibagguyasui.com/]mcm リュック[/url] cncl
fphc
qnej [url=http://www.annkabagkurashikku.com/]mcm 店舗 店舗[/url] [url=http://www.mcmchiipubagkireii.com/]mcm 店舗 格安[/url] [url=http://www.mcmosharebagguseru.com/]mcm アウトレット[/url] [url=http://www.kakuyasubagnosekai.com/]mcm リュック アウトレット[/url] [url=http://www.mcmchoubibagguyasui.com/]mcm リュック 激安[/url] zmdm
[url=http://www.annkabagkurashikku.com/]mcm 店舗 アウトレット[/url] [url=http://www.mcmchiipubagkireii.com/]mcm 店舗 新作[/url] [url=http://www.mcmosharebagguseru.com/]mcm アウトレット[/url] [url=http://www.kakuyasubagnosekai.com/]mcm リュック 2013[/url] [url=http://www.mcmchoubibagguyasui.com/]mcm リュック 新作[/url] uoir
[url=http://www.annkabagkurashikku.com/]mcm 店舗 店舗[/url] [url=http://www.mcmchiipubagkireii.com/]mcm 店舗 激安[/url] [url=http://www.mcmosharebagguseru.com/]mcm バッグ 2013[/url] [url=http://www.kakuyasubagnosekai.com/]mcm バッグ 新作[/url] [url=http://www.mcmchoubibagguyasui.com/]mcm リュック 激安[/url] sxvc
[url=http://www.annkabagkurashikku.com/]mcm 店舗[/url] [url=http://www.mcmchiipubagkireii.com/]mcm 店舗 通販[/url] [url=http://www.mcmosharebagguseru.com/]mcm 2013[/url] [url=http://www.kakuyasubagnosekai.com/]mcm リュック 2013[/url] [url=http://www.mcmchoubibagguyasui.com/]mcm リュック 格安[/url] vhgx
ldfu [url=http://www.annkabagkurashikku.com/][/url] [url=http://www.mcmchiipubagkireii.com/][/url] [url=http://www.mcmosharebagguseru.com/][/url] [url=http://www.kakuyasubagnosekai.com/][/url] [url=http://www.mcmchoubibagguyasui.com/][/url]
可能性があります倍になるあなたができるどちらか一つを選択してください ウェブホスティングから追加
hstf [url=http://www.ryuukoubagguchiipu.com/]paul smith 財布[/url] [url=http://www.hangakubaghanbaichuu.com/]ポールスミス バッグ[/url] [url=http://www.gekiyasubagoshare.com/]ポールスミス[/url] [url=http://www.honmonobagseru.com/]ポールスミス バッグ[/url] [url=http://www.saishinbagheyokoso.com/]ポールスミス 財布[/url] zdad
[url=http://www.ryuukoubagguchiipu.com/]paul smith[/url] [url=http://www.hangakubaghanbaichuu.com/]ポールスミス[/url] [url=http://www.gekiyasubagoshare.com/]ポールスミス[/url] [url=http://www.honmonobagseru.com/]ポールスミス バッグ[/url] [url=http://www.saishinbagheyokoso.com/]ポールスミス 財布[/url] dnop
[url=http://www.ryuukoubagguchiipu.com/]paul smith[/url] [url=http://www.hangakubaghanbaichuu.com/]ポールスミス バッグ[/url] [url=http://www.gekiyasubagoshare.com/]ポールスミス[/url] [url=http://www.honmonobagseru.com/]ポールスミス[/url] [url=http://www.saishinbagheyokoso.com/]ポールスミス バッグ[/url] jopq
[url=http://www.ryuukoubagguchiipu.com/]paul smith 財布[/url] [url=http://www.hangakubaghanbaichuu.com/]paul smith バッグ[/url] [url=http://www.gekiyasubagoshare.com/]ポールスミス バッグ[/url] [url=http://www.honmonobagseru.com/]ポールスミス バッグ[/url] [url=http://www.saishinbagheyokoso.com/]ポールスミス[/url] fxap
[url=http://www.ryuukoubagguchiipu.com/]paul smith 財布[/url] [url=http://www.hangakubaghanbaichuu.com/]ポールスミス バッグ[/url] [url=http://www.gekiyasubagoshare.com/]paul smith バッグ[/url] [url=http://www.honmonobagseru.com/]ポールスミス[/url] [url=http://www.saishinbagheyokoso.com/]ポールスミス[/url] vjjz
cdts
dswi [url=http://www.ryuukoubagguchiipu.com/]ポールスミス 2013[/url] [url=http://www.hangakubaghanbaichuu.com/]paul smith バッグ 激安[/url] [url=http://www.gekiyasubagoshare.com/]paul smith 財布 二つ折り[/url] [url=http://www.honmonobagseru.com/]paul smith 財布 新作[/url] [url=http://www.saishinbagheyokoso.com/]paul smith 格安[/url] gcns
[url=http://www.ryuukoubagguchiipu.com/]ポールスミス バッグ 2013[/url] [url=http://www.hangakubaghanbaichuu.com/]paul smith 財布 2013[/url] [url=http://www.gekiyasubagoshare.com/]paul smith 財布 格安[/url] [url=http://www.honmonobagseru.com/]paul smith 財布 新作[/url] [url=http://www.saishinbagheyokoso.com/]paul smith 格安[/url] lybz
[url=http://www.ryuukoubagguchiipu.com/]ポールスミス バッグ アウトレット[/url] [url=http://www.hangakubaghanbaichuu.com/]paul smith バッグ 新作[/url] [url=http://www.gekiyasubagoshare.com/]paul smith 財布 店舗[/url] [url=http://www.honmonobagseru.com/]paul smith 財布 新作[/url] [url=http://www.saishinbagheyokoso.com/]paul smith 格安[/url] rbni
[url=http://www.ryuukoubagguchiipu.com/]ポールスミス 2013[/url] [url=http://www.hangakubaghanbaichuu.com/]paul smith バッグ 通販[/url] [url=http://www.gekiyasubagoshare.com/]paul smith 財布 二つ折り[/url] [url=http://www.honmonobagseru.com/]paul smith 財布 新作[/url] [url=http://www.saishinbagheyokoso.com/]paul smith 格安[/url] pqhf
hwgg [url=http://www.ryuukoubagguchiipu.com/]指輪
[/url] [url=http://www.hangakubaghanbaichuu.com/]のバック
[/url] [url=http://www.gekiyasubagoshare.com/]2010 新作
[/url] [url=http://www.honmonobagseru.com/]人気 財布
[/url] [url=http://www.saishinbagheyokoso.com/]バッグ プレゼント
[/url]
一緒に|タッチスクリーンのサポート{{と共にに加えて|と一緒に| |と同様に|そしてまたと}完全な64ビットまた{物資A | | |付属して提供|提供しています} |と同様| |ソーシャルネットワーキング| |マーケティング|ネットワーク|ウェブ2簡単ワイヤレスネットワーキング{}と一緒にに加えて、
tnsu [url=http://www.jyouhinnraybansyoppu.com/]ray ban 眼鏡[/url] [url=http://www.annkaraybandaininki.com/]ray ban サングラス[/url] [url=http://www.ryuukouraybanuresuji.com/]ray ban メガネ[/url] [url=http://www.daininkibagkakuyasu.com/]mcm リュック[/url] [url=http://www.uresujiraybanhoshii.com/]ray ban メガネ[/url] qcgl
[url=http://www.jyouhinnraybansyoppu.com/]ray ban メガネ[/url] [url=http://www.annkaraybandaininki.com/]ray ban 眼鏡[/url] [url=http://www.ryuukouraybanuresuji.com/]ray ban [/url] [url=http://www.daininkibagkakuyasu.com/]mcm バッグ[/url] [url=http://www.uresujiraybanhoshii.com/]ray ban メガネ[/url] sbuo
[url=http://www.jyouhinnraybansyoppu.com/]ray ban 眼鏡[/url] [url=http://www.annkaraybandaininki.com/]ray ban メガネ[/url] [url=http://www.ryuukouraybanuresuji.com/]ray ban サングラス[/url] [url=http://www.daininkibagkakuyasu.com/]mcm バッグ[/url] [url=http://www.uresujiraybanhoshii.com/]ray ban [/url] caat
[url=http://www.jyouhinnraybansyoppu.com/]ray ban メガネ[/url] [url=http://www.annkaraybandaininki.com/]ray ban サングラス[/url] [url=http://www.ryuukouraybanuresuji.com/]ray ban 眼鏡[/url] [url=http://www.daininkibagkakuyasu.com/]mcm バッグ[/url] [url=http://www.uresujiraybanhoshii.com/]ray ban [/url] qphe
[url=http://www.jyouhinnraybansyoppu.com/]ray ban メガネ[/url] [url=http://www.annkaraybandaininki.com/]ray ban サングラス[/url] [url=http://www.ryuukouraybanuresuji.com/]ray ban 眼鏡[/url] [url=http://www.daininkibagkakuyasu.com/]mcm バッグ[/url] [url=http://www.uresujiraybanhoshii.com/]ray ban メガネ[/url] bunx
rwbc
puvk [url=http://www.jyouhinnraybansyoppu.com/]ray ban 眼鏡 アウトレット[/url] [url=http://www.annkaraybandaininki.com/]ray ban 眼鏡 新作[/url] [url=http://www.ryuukouraybanuresuji.com/]レイバン サングラス アウトレット[/url] [url=http://www.daininkibagkakuyasu.com/]mcm バッグ 激安[/url] [url=http://www.uresujiraybanhoshii.com/]ray ban 格安[/url] yexk
[url=http://www.jyouhinnraybansyoppu.com/]ray ban 新作[/url] [url=http://www.annkaraybandaininki.com/]ray ban 眼鏡 通販[/url] [url=http://www.ryuukouraybanuresuji.com/]レイバン 2013[/url] [url=http://www.daininkibagkakuyasu.com/]mcm バッグ 激安[/url] [url=http://www.uresujiraybanhoshii.com/]ray ban 激安[/url] ypqn
[url=http://www.jyouhinnraybansyoppu.com/]ray ban 新作[/url] [url=http://www.annkaraybandaininki.com/]ray ban 眼鏡 激安[/url] [url=http://www.ryuukouraybanuresuji.com/]レイバン アウトレット[/url] [url=http://www.daininkibagkakuyasu.com/]mcm バッグ 通販[/url] [url=http://www.uresujiraybanhoshii.com/]ray ban 店舗[/url] eryu
[url=http://www.jyouhinnraybansyoppu.com/]ray ban 新作[/url] [url=http://www.annkaraybandaininki.com/]ray ban 眼鏡 通販[/url] [url=http://www.ryuukouraybanuresuji.com/]レイバン サングラス 2013[/url] [url=http://www.daininkibagkakuyasu.com/]mcm バッグ 激安[/url] [url=http://www.uresujiraybanhoshii.com/]ray ban 通販[/url] jaly
clau [url=http://www.jyouhinnraybansyoppu.com/][/url] [url=http://www.annkaraybandaininki.com/][/url] [url=http://www.ryuukouraybanuresuji.com/][/url] [url=http://www.daininkibagkakuyasu.com/][/url] [url=http://www.uresujiraybanhoshii.com/][/url]
When choosing a wintertime ladies coat try and select a style that may be both casual and also dressy. Whilst this might appear difficult in the first instance with a little online searching in the internet boutiques you should find the ideal garment. It’d be a good idea to begin purchasing the clothes you need before the winter season really comes. After the start of the winter season and the chilly winter weather arrives lots of the recognized brands could well be sold out so jump in early. Winter fashions 2012 for women are present in the on-line and offline boutiques as I write so pick your selections carefully and make sure to be warm and furthermore fashionable.”
Make sure you visit our blog page as well
http://www.caramoan.ph/caramoan-beach/