Garage Floor Coating: A Safe Addition To Your Parking Space
Have you ever thought about how dangerous it can be if you slip while getting out of your car? This probably seems like a small inconvenience but it could actually cause broken bones or a severe head injury. Most garage floors are made of concrete and can become slippery especially if you bring in rain water or melting snow as you drive your car into the parking spot. It gets even worse if you have some oil spots left from a recent car repair or maintenance project. Oil and water, when combined, equals disaster. The old saying “oil and water don’t mix” holds true in this situation and can have devastating effects if you step on this slick patch by accident.
The best protection from unforeseeable slip accidents in this area is to apply a garage floor coating to your concrete. There are really two results of a good floor coating. First, it will protect the concrete surface from damage and staining. But, second and most important, if a non skid additive is applied to the surface it can alleviate most slip and fall accidents.
You have several options to choose from for a concrete surface but you want to choose the best coating that offers the longest life span.
Epoxy Garage Floor Coating
A product based on epoxy will generally be your best bet because it will most likely last a couple of decades. Epoxy, as you may know, is the hard material used to form fiberglass. This is
formed when two liquids, the resin and hardener, are mixed together and then applied via brush or spread over a woven glass mesh. The mixture provides the strength while the mesh gives lateral support.
In case of a garage floor, the concrete serves as the support structure and the epoxy solution is just used as a tough coating. The resin and hardener both come in a liquid form and once mixed together begin a heat-producing chemical reaction which converts them to a solid. This solid will adhere to the concrete, producing a surface that is very durable.
Before the mixture sets up, or cures, it is necessary to apply an anti-skid agent to the surface in order to provide good traction if the floor gets wet or is contaminated with petroleum. You can spread out sand-like gritty materials or paint chips on the surface. These paint chip additives are becoming very popular because they add more color to the floor . Many people tint the epoxy base with one color and then apply a complementary color of chips to make the garage space look cleaner and bigger.
Make Your Floor Safer Soon
Now that the winter is quickly approaching taking care of this potential problem in your garage should be a high priority. This is not a very difficult project and it can easily be done in a weekend. If you live in an area where there is snow and rain, then you really should consider adding a coating with anti slip additives to your floor. An epoxy product is the best choice for garage floor coating because of longevity and the safety factor it adds. I advise you to not waste your time on anything else or you will most likely have to re-coat in just a few years.