Has your garage floor seen better days? You want it to look nice and clean so that anyone who walks in will notice. Before you do something like search online for “garage epoxy in San Fernando Valley“ you should know what to expect, such as how long you might have to wait.
The Preparation
This is one of the most crucial parts of the epoxy flooring installation process. That’s why your installer will be very careful when doing it. The reason behind this is that it will give the epoxy the best chance to bond with the floor. That means the installer will do things like move items around and repair any cracks in the floor.
After that, they will then prepare the cement, which will mean they need to grind it or acid etch it. The method will be up to the installer.
The Application
Now that the floor has been prepared, the installer will add a primer to the floor. The thought behind this is much like when you have painters paint your walls. They don’t just apply the first layers of paint right away. The primer allows the paint to stay on the walls a lot longer.
Once the primer has been applied, the installer will put in several layers of epoxy. They will allow each layer to dry before applying the next one. Finally, they will put a top coat that will make the floor look extra shiny when they finish.
Overall Time
Usually, you can expect the entire process to take 4–5 days, but it can be more or less depending on how large your garage is and how many things need to be moved around. This estimate includes how long it takes the epoxy to dry and cure. Once it’s finished, you should typically wait about a day before walking on it. As far as cars go, you should give it roughly three days or more before driving any on the surface.
That last part is if you’re in a warm environment, like Florida. If it gets cooler than 77 degrees, you should wait four to five days before allowing a car to drive on your new epoxy flooring. That extra bit of time will allow it to withstand the weight. This way, you won’t have to worry about the epoxy even coming close to lifting or cracking at all.
Once everything is finished, and you’re able to walk around on your newly epoxied floor, you’ll love how clean it looks. You’ll also find that it’s much easier to clean than before. Spills should be wiped up quickly. That way, it’ll be a safe area for anyone to navigate – especially if you had the installer add a slip-resistant coating to the floor. The esthetics will be much more pleasing, too. You should find it to be an excellent investment – professionally installed epoxy floors can last up to 20 years before needing to be replaced.
Now that you have a better idea of what the whole epoxy floor installation process is like, you can go online and look up “garage flooring near me.” Then you can wait in anticipation of your garage floor looking brand new. That will be something worth waiting for.
