Painting the garage or basement floor with epoxy paint can easily improve the appearance of the space, and it may also help to protect the concrete surface from cracks and water damage. Epoxy floor coatings are available in a wide range of colours and styles and can often be applied with a roller or sprayed onto a larger area. Note a few important tips for when you want to paint the garage or basement floor of your home so you know it gets done right and the floor is in good condition for years to come.

Repairing the concrete

Epoxy flooring can help to cover up some small pits and holes in a concrete surface, but it's not meant to be used as a filler. If a concrete floor has large cracks or chips, these need to be filled with concrete sealant so it can hold the epoxy; otherwise, the epoxy will simply seep into those damaged areas of the flooring. You might speak with a concreter before buying your epoxy paint, and discuss with him or her any repair work that needs to be done to the surface so it can hold the epoxy properly.

Self-levelling epoxy

Self-levelling epoxy is often applied with a sprayer, and the material will naturally shift and move so that it becomes level and even. This is good for basement floors in particular, which may tend to curve and shift over the subfloor beneath it. Self-levelling epoxy won't run toward tilted areas of the basement or seep into those curves and dips, but it will stay even and smooth. One word of caution: note that self-levelling epoxy isn't meant to fill chips and cracks, as mentioned above, but only to stay even and smooth over sloping floors.

Texture and traction

It's good to have some texture and traction on an epoxy floor, even in a garage; this will make it safer for walking and will reduce the risk of your car skidding forward if you should ever need to hit the brakes while parking. Some epoxy flooring will have a textural material added to them so they're a bit bumpy when applied, but note that some are meant to be very smooth; the smoother options are shinier and usually used for display areas that don't get much foot traffic. Be sure you choose a type of epoxy with texture or add an aggregate over the wet epoxy, which will increase traction and keep the flooring safer for you.

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