Need to find a Garage Floor Coating Contractor

[77thor]

I would like to get my garage floor coated with Epoxy(or something similar),
but first it needs to be leveled, since I have a low spot in one corner and some concrete pitting.

Can anybody recommend a good/reasonable contractor?? any personal experiences?

Thanks.

[Wagonbacker9]

Do it yourself with a couple rented tools from home depot?

[77thor]

I would if it not for the issue with leveling the low spot...
Plus, I would like a guarantee of durability. I realize that preparation is key.

[bikedad]

I would like to get my garage floor coated with Epoxy(or something similar),
but first it needs to be leveled, since I have a low spot in one corner and some concrete pitting.

Can anybody recommend a good/reasonable contractor?? any personal experiences?

Thanks.

I don't know any floor coating contractors but I did do my garage floors myself.
In my old house I used epoxy based floor paint. I did the prep work needed. It was about 4 days before I could drive the car on the floor. The paint lasted okay for about 5 years. It did wear at the tire tracks. Hot tires in summer did pull up the paint. I usually repainted the spots to maintain it. That floor was in very good condition. Fairly fresh cement.

At my current house the floor was in good condition but was starting to leach and had a couple of cracks. I used a different product on this floor. It's a polyaspartic/polyurea product called Rock Solid. (think truck bed liner paint) The prep work is pretty much the same as epoxy coatings. (Everything pretty much depends on the floor prep)
This floor required a diamond grinder (rented from Home Depot) and commercial degreaser (purchased at Sams Club). Rock Solid is a multi-part process. Once floor prep is done (I filled the crack with their specific crack filler that you don't have to wait to dry) you apply the polyaspartic with a roller and cut brushing. If you want the chip look your would add now. This stuff hardens in 15 minutes. I had to do the floor in quadrants. If you're just doing a solid color then you would just clear (polyurea) over the base color. wait a couple of hours for complete drying and your done. If you added chip then you would scrape the excess off and then clear it. You could drive on it at this point but it was recommended to let set overnight if possible) From prep to finish was 8 hours. That included dry time for the wash downs and acid etch.
This stuff is impervious to most fluids. I did my floor 3 years ago and it's holding up great.
There is one spot where I had a brake fluid leak from my car while it was being stored for the winter. It did soften it at that spot. The fluid was sitting there for 4 months though. I'm going to grind that spot and redo. (about a 6" circle) I've spilled countless other fluids including brake fluid and solvents. I wipe it up and the floor is fine. You just can't let it sit for extended periods of time. I've dragged floor jack, jack stands and engine hoists across the floor and it doesn't even scratch it. Rock Solid gives a 10 year guarantee on their DIY product. 20 year on their Citadel product.

This is just to give you an idea of the types of floor coatings t look into.

Edit: I forgot to mention there is a considerable price difference between Epoxy and Polyaspartic products. Epoxy being much cheaper.

http://www.citadelfloors.com/diy.html

[Slow Joe]

I hadn't seen that rock solid stuff before. I think I'm going to look into that when I revamp my garage this spring. Looks like a great product.

[awsomeears]

Prep is the key, buddy of mine did it and it looked awesome. Just like a checkered flag, but in a years time its pealing bad !!!

Moisture is the issue, it just sucks it up and pushes it out, I would be surprised if a company would have more then a 2 year warranty and at that I would think many stipulations !!!

[spooln30]

Prepping is a key part but so is sealing the floor after applying the coating. My uncle did his about 4 years ago and it still looks great, he sealed his.

[Lv2xlr8]

If you do epoxy, don't buy the water based product. Make sure it is solvent based. It does last longer. Also make sure to add the sand texture additive. If you don't the floor becomes very slippery in the winter with any amount of snow on your shoes.

[kevcuda]

Did mine in the fall worked ok but where the tires sit is coming up a bit. Salt will eat through anything, heck it eats through pavement. I can't imagine anyone giving much of a guarantee in a salt lick state. But if you find one let us know

[bikedad]

Did mine in the fall worked ok but where the tires sit is coming up a bit. Salt will eat through anything, heck it eats through pavement. I can't imagine anyone giving much of a guarantee in a salt lick state. But if you find one let us know
3 winters of salt on the polyaspartic and no problems.
Any manufacture guarantee will be based on the manufactures knowledge of prep process. Rock Solid will give you a 10 year warranty but they know when a prep is done right. I worked with them because we were debating on offering this as a service from our garage door company. They were very helpful and knowledgeable. (We're still debating on the offering)
Rock Solid (DIY PRoduct) is a subsidiary of Citadel Floor Systems. They've been doing professional floor coatings for quite a few years.
Typically any defective prep will show up right away. There are signs to look for when doing prep to let you know if it's going to be okay or not. Example: during acid etch you might see areas that don't react. That means you have oil/grease that needs to be removed. That means you need to degrease again. They will teach you that. They have great install videos. When you call them you get a knowledgeable person on the phone. They're based in Minnesota.