Fishers Garage Floors
We make garages beautiful
Professionally-applied concrete floor coatings, cabinets & storage
Epoxy, Polyaspartic or Polyurea Coatings
Are you thinking about painting or coating your garage floor? Most concrete floor coating contractors specialize in one type of coating. It's either that or nothing. We have all 3 major coating types and will match the best coating to your application and budget. Each coating has Pros and Cons so it's important to understand the difference.
Epoxy Floors
Most people recognize the term of epoxy when it comes to concrete coatings. Many think it's the only option. Epoxy has been used to coat concrete for over 50 years. You can apply it at about any thickness for the most part. It does create heat when it cures. Epoxy takes 8-12 hours typically to dry and must be recoated within 24 hours or else it requires sanding. The long dry time is good when using metallic pigment but bad when dust or insects may get on the surface during the drying time. Epoxy is also good when applying decals or artwork to the floor.
Garage floor epoxy should be applied over a primer coat. Many contractors don't like to use the primer coat because of the added application time and expense, but it is critical to the life of the floor.
Epoxy does scratch. It can be protected by using a Floor Finish as a protective layer and we see that a lot in commercial applications. Floor Finish will restore the shine and protect the epoxy. Another way is to topcoat the epoxy with Polyaspartic or an Industrial Urethane. There are 3 more primary negatives with epoxy - for one, most epoxies are not UV stable. When exposed to sunlight, it yellows or fades, depending on the color. A beautiful white floor will be very disappointing 3 years later in front of windows or open garage doors. The second negative is that it will peel up off the floor from hot tires on the car in the summertime. This is very common with DIY epoxy kits with poor adhesion or thin coatings. The third negative is it is the most susceptible to peeling off concrete due to moisture in the slab. However, due to it's long dry time, it is the best solution to get color pigments to migrate and mix in a colorful metallic epoxy floor.
Garage floor epoxy should be applied over a primer coat. Many contractors don't like to use the primer coat because of the added application time and expense, but it is critical to the life of the floor.
Epoxy does scratch. It can be protected by using a Floor Finish as a protective layer and we see that a lot in commercial applications. Floor Finish will restore the shine and protect the epoxy. Another way is to topcoat the epoxy with Polyaspartic or an Industrial Urethane. There are 3 more primary negatives with epoxy - for one, most epoxies are not UV stable. When exposed to sunlight, it yellows or fades, depending on the color. A beautiful white floor will be very disappointing 3 years later in front of windows or open garage doors. The second negative is that it will peel up off the floor from hot tires on the car in the summertime. This is very common with DIY epoxy kits with poor adhesion or thin coatings. The third negative is it is the most susceptible to peeling off concrete due to moisture in the slab. However, due to it's long dry time, it is the best solution to get color pigments to migrate and mix in a colorful metallic epoxy floor.
Get a Free Estimate Now
We would be happy to give you a rough estimate by phone just to see if a new garage floor is in your budget. We'll come out in-person, measure your space, show you physical samples of different colors, textures and options, and give you a Firm Written Quote all for free.
No obligation. No pressure. We're here to serve you.
No obligation. No pressure. We're here to serve you.
Polyaspartic Floor Coatings
Polyaspartic is a modified polyurea. It is our preferred garage floor coating in most cases. It cures from the top down so it skims over within only a few hours so you can walk on it lightly often in 2 hours.
It is very hard -- this is great because it does not scratch as easily as epoxy. It can still scratch though if you drag a sharp object across it. Not much sticks to it -- not even itself. After 24 hours, you have to sand the surface to get another coat to stick to it. It uses solvents to change the viscosity of the material, so it can be used as its own primer by increasing the solvents in the first coat. This helps drive the coating into the pores of the concrete to get the best adhesion. There should be 3 coats of polyaspartic used when coating concrete as the first coat is the primer coat. If vinyl flake or metallic pigment is used, it can be applied in or to the second coat with a clear top coat going on third.
The speed of drying does allow some projects to be completed in one day. It depends on how much damage there is to the floor and how easy it is prepped beforehand. Many companies that focus on marketing a "one-day" installation would have to shortcut the prep to get most floors done in one day -- we refuse to skimp on the prep or damage repair.
The negative of polyaspartic is the smell of acetone. It dissipates normally within an hour or so, but if the client has breathing issues or susceptible to smells, we may want to chose another solution. Not too many other negatives.
Polyaspartic tends to be a little more expensive than epoxy. The material costs more, but if you can save installation labor time, it is often offset. It is a good solution, and often our preferred solution, for garage applications. We'll be happy to further explain why in person.
It is very hard -- this is great because it does not scratch as easily as epoxy. It can still scratch though if you drag a sharp object across it. Not much sticks to it -- not even itself. After 24 hours, you have to sand the surface to get another coat to stick to it. It uses solvents to change the viscosity of the material, so it can be used as its own primer by increasing the solvents in the first coat. This helps drive the coating into the pores of the concrete to get the best adhesion. There should be 3 coats of polyaspartic used when coating concrete as the first coat is the primer coat. If vinyl flake or metallic pigment is used, it can be applied in or to the second coat with a clear top coat going on third.
The speed of drying does allow some projects to be completed in one day. It depends on how much damage there is to the floor and how easy it is prepped beforehand. Many companies that focus on marketing a "one-day" installation would have to shortcut the prep to get most floors done in one day -- we refuse to skimp on the prep or damage repair.
The negative of polyaspartic is the smell of acetone. It dissipates normally within an hour or so, but if the client has breathing issues or susceptible to smells, we may want to chose another solution. Not too many other negatives.
Polyaspartic tends to be a little more expensive than epoxy. The material costs more, but if you can save installation labor time, it is often offset. It is a good solution, and often our preferred solution, for garage applications. We'll be happy to further explain why in person.
Polyurea Floor Coatings
Polyurea is very similar to polyaspartic in many ways - same hardness, same quick drying time. Our polyurea manufacturing partner does not recommend us trying to pigment the coating on-site, so we need to order the color of coating pre-mixed by the manufacturer, whereas we can mix and make modifications to the pigment hue with polyaspartic. They also highly recommend using a primer prior to applying polyurea. When we apply polyurea, we use a primer. One a hot summer day, it may dry in 1.5 - 2.0 hours, but sometimes, it may take 4-5 hours depending on the temperature. If we know we're doing a 2-day installation and get the primer down on day 1, it's nice and dry the next morning. We see other polyurea contractors that do "one-day" floors that do not use a primer; just a base coat of polyurea with flake applied into it and then top coated with polyurea or polyaspartic. We do NOT recommend that process. We can explain further as to why in person.
Polyurea may be the most expensive materials cost when you consider using a primer per instructed. Again, others skip this step and can maintain a lower material cost....and a less quality floor.
Polyureas can be formulated to have various drying characteristics. Most people use a roll-on version that dries in 2-3 hours. One positive is that it is 100% solids, meaning there are no solvents used, and therefore, it doesn't exhibit any odors. For an indoor application or an application without good ventilation, this may be a better option, albeit a bit more expensive (with the recommended primer coat included).
Polyurea may be the most expensive materials cost when you consider using a primer per instructed. Again, others skip this step and can maintain a lower material cost....and a less quality floor.
Polyureas can be formulated to have various drying characteristics. Most people use a roll-on version that dries in 2-3 hours. One positive is that it is 100% solids, meaning there are no solvents used, and therefore, it doesn't exhibit any odors. For an indoor application or an application without good ventilation, this may be a better option, albeit a bit more expensive (with the recommended primer coat included).
Vinyl Flake Additive
Clients have a choice of whether they want a pure smooth floor or one that includes a slight texture with the addition of vinyl flake in the 2nd coat (remember, we always use a primer coat). The vinyl flake provides some texture for traction and for visual improvement. A gloss floor of a single solid color will show footprints, dirt and every possible defect you can imagine. The flakes take your eye off those issues. Full flake provide the best traction in the winter when you get that puddle of water from the snow melt dripping off your car. We let you decide how much flake to use, whether it's a little or a lot, and what color. Don't see the color you want below? Ask us and we'll get a custom color just for you.
Anti-Slip Additive
There are 2 basic additives that can provide slip resistance -- either aluminum oxide or silica sand. They can both be added in the top coat. Polyurea will sometimes provide the option of using a plastic bead as well. We can discuss the differences with you during our initial consultation.
What Customers are Saying
All went perfect! Day one they did the floor. Day two they put in the cabinets. They left the garage sparkling clean. I wish I had before and after pictures. They were very professional and I would recommend them to anyone.
-- Tracy C., Fishers 7/28/2015
They did an excellent job and were meticulous throughout the repair and coating. After repairing numerous large cracks and pitting, they applied a polyaspartic floor that looks clean and professional. I've had numerous people comment on how good it looks and ask me for their contact information. The cost of the flooring was worth it to me and they beat the competitors price by over $1000.
-- Billy M., Carmel 10/31/2017
Excellent. Scott spent two days on the project and the end result looks great.
-- Daniel C., Noblesville 12/27/2020
