Garage floor coating services
The main garage floor systems, how a professional install works, and what affects the price. Your installer will recommend the right system after seeing your slab.
Choose your finish
Full flake
The most popular garage system. After the slab is ground and repaired, the installer rolls on a base coat and broadcasts colored vinyl chips until the floor is fully covered, then scrapes off the loose chips and seals everything under a clear topcoat.
Good for: Everyday garages, hiding dust and small imperfections, extra grip
Solid color
A base coat and topcoat in one color, with no flake. It gives a clean, simple look and is the easiest finish to sweep and mop. Installers often mix a fine anti-slip grit into the topcoat.
Good for: Workshops, home gyms, storage areas
Metallic epoxy
Metallic pigments are worked into the epoxy while it's wet, creating swirls and depth, so no two floors look the same. It's glossy and dramatic, and it shows dust and fine scratches more than flake does.
Good for: Show garages, car collections, hangout spaces
Repair & prep
Every coating starts here. The installer diamond grinds the slab so the coating can bond, fills cracks and spalls, and checks the concrete for moisture. Skipping this step is why thin DIY kits peel.
Good for: Cracked, pitted or stained slabs, and floors with a failed DIY coating
How a professional install works
Inspect and measure
The installer checks the slab for cracks, moisture and old coatings, measures the space and gives you a written quote.
Grind the concrete
A diamond grinder opens up the surface so the coating can grip the concrete instead of sitting on top of it.
Repair cracks and spalls
Cracks, pits and chipped spots are filled and ground flush so they don't show through the new floor.
Base coat
A base coat, often epoxy or polyurea, bonds to the concrete. On flake floors, chips are broadcast into it while it's wet.
Topcoat
A clear topcoat, often polyaspartic, seals the floor and adds UV, stain and scratch resistance.
Cure and move back in
Many systems are walkable in about a day and ready for cars a few days later. Your installer will give you exact times.
Epoxy or polyaspartic?
Epoxy is the classic garage coating. It bonds well to concrete and builds a thick, tough layer, but basic epoxy can yellow in sunlight and takes longer to cure.
Polyaspartic is a newer topcoat that cures faster, stays clear in the sun and handles hot tires well. Many installers combine the two: an epoxy or polyurea base with a polyaspartic topcoat. Your installer will recommend a system for your garage and how you use it.
What affects the price
- Garage size: 1-car, 2-car, 3-car or a shop
- Concrete condition: cracks, pits, oil stains or an old coating to remove
- The finish and topcoat you choose
- Moisture in the slab, which can call for a special primer
- Extras like stem walls or a coved base along the walls
Your installer gives you a written price after seeing the floor.
Get a free garage floor quote near you
Tell us a little about your garage. We'll pass it to one licensed local installer, and they'll reach out to set up a free on-site estimate.
- One installer, not a bidding war that blows up your phone
- We only refer contractors with an active California license
- Written quote before any work starts
- Free for homeowners. Installers pay us, you don't