1-day Garage Epoxy Floor install: Good Or bad? Both or neither?
My name is Felipe Andrade, and I am the owner of Rossi Decorative Concrete & Epoxy. I believe that main part of our job here at Rossi DCE is to educate our customers in order to achieve the best results for our customers; not necessarily what is best for our pocket.
The famous “have your garage done in a day!” phrase. I am sure you guys have heard that at some point or another.
1-day garage epoxy floor install:
Is it good?
Is it bad?
Both or neither?
In Laymen’s terms:
1-day garage epoxy floor install COULD be good if done right, but what I’ve seen thus far, it usually doesn’t meet our standards here at Rossi DCE.
We’ll explain down below.
Therefore, in most cases, we believe it not to be worth it.
Here’s our take on the 1-day garage epoxy floor install and WHY unless under very specific circumstances, we do NOT do it.
Let’s get to it!
1-day garage epoxy install Overview
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Process
- Issues (essentially why we don’t do it)
a) Time
b) Prep
c) Cost
d) Temperature
e) Manufacturer’s Instructions
f) Vapor Barrier
g) Legality - Conclusion about issues
- Why do companies do it then?
- Where one day installs make sense
- One More
- Final Thoughts
- Summary for those who did not want to read all of it (I know, it’s long)
1-day garage epoxy floor - Introduction
As many of you already know, I like to be very thorough in everything I do.
Especially when I am explaining something to someone who may not know what I am talking about initially.
I’m going to break the 1-day garage epoxy floor install down barney-style for you guys so you what it is, materials used, the process, why we believe for 99% of people the 1-day garage epoxy floor install is NOT their best option, why people do the 1-day garage epoxy floor install anyways, where the 1-day garage epoxy floor install actually belongs, and of course, a little section at the bottom for people who just don’t want to read the whole 35-page essay I usually write on things hahaha.
Though very informative, it is long, nevertheless. It has to be.
With that said though, for those who already trust me when speaking of topics in this field, I like to have a little 60 second summary.
if you already trust me, it saves time.
If you don’t know me or trust me yet, I write the long version to provide reasons as to why you should trust us to do your garage epoxy floor!
Let’s get to it!
1-day garage epoxy floor - Process
The process for the 1-day garage epoxy floor is rather simple.
They come in, prep the floor, lay down the polyurea polyaspartic or polyurea, flake into it, then topcoat with polyaspartic.
I won’t go into too much as far as the materials, properties and things of the sort, check out “4x stronger than epoxy” or, well, 4x stronger than garbage, and I go into more detail about the materials themselves.
So, start by say, 0700 (7 a.m.) and be done by say, 1900 (7 p.m.).
Little earlier, little later, but the point is, start early in the morning, finish sometime in the evening.
Sound pretty legit if you ask me.
What could possibly go wrong?
Depending on how the 1-day garage epoxy floor install is getting done, nothing and everything.
1-day garage epoxy floor – Issues
From a normal, don’t know anything about the topic, easy-going person, I guess some of these issues related to the 1-day garage epoxy floor installs are ok, doable, “look the other way” situations.
From a neurotic, systematic, perfectionist person such as myself, I’ll put it to you this way, if I was Quality Control, odds are, they wouldn’t be going home at 1900 hours. And some of these issues, well, could get you in hot water and cost the installer quite a bit of money.
Well, I guess the installer figured he’ll never end up in court, so who cares if it’s not done right. The client won’t sue, right?
Even though that may be the case, that is NOT how we operate here at Rossi DCE.
All you need to do is go on google and read our reviews to see what people actually have to say about our personality and our we conduct ourselves.
Here are some of the issues with the 1-day garage epoxy floor install that could potentially happen.
P.S. Even though ridiculously obvious, I won’t mentioned “major prep” as issue simply because we are talking under “normal” conditions. If we have to do major prep, say remove a coating like paint, or a decent amount of patching and/or cracks, then that’s no longer the standard 1-day garage epoxy floor install. With that said though, “minor prep” will be included.
Issue #1 – Time
Before I explain anything, please take a look at these two pictures. Most importantly, where I have circled.
If you’re on your phone, press and hold, then click open image in new tab.
if you’re on desktop, right click on the image, then click open image in new tab.
P.S. If anyone is wondering where these pictures came from, well, the picture on the left I took it myself. It was actually, from what I was told by the owner, done by one of my competitors.
Now, let me explain what I mean by time.
Once polyurea or polyurea polyaspartic hits the concrete, it kicks FAST. Polyurea more so.
Also, the higher the outside temperature, the FASTER these products kick.
Meaning, you have very little time to throw flake into the material because it starts to kick so fast.
Therefore, in order to do this process (correctly, in one day, and without having to do a bunch of re-work) over a garage, you would need a MINIMUM of 3 SKILLED sets of hands. Ideally though, the installer would have 4 sets of hands.
That way, no one is running around killing themselves in order to beat the time.
Once the product starts to kick, it will no longer accept flake.
NOW, go BACK to the picture of my competitor’s work.
What do you see?
BARE CONCRETE!
Why do you see bare concrete?
They were either being lazy or cheap:
lazy – did not patch it afterwards.
cheap – did not tint the base coat.
OR OR OR
Because they might have not had the number of skilled sets of hands that we just mentioned to do the job adequately, and by the time they got to that spot, it was already starting to kick. Therefore, it did not accept any flake.
The other picture is not as obvious, but I wanted you guys to see and know what to look for.
Of course, if/when we do your garage floor, you are more than welcome to look for them, just not holding our breath that you will find them.
Sometimes it happens, where you get a bare spot. It is normal and nothing out of the ordinary.
And if we did have a bald spot when we did your garage floor, before we hand the job over saying “hey, we’re done”, they will be fixed.
Issue #2 – Prep
I’ve always been told, the devil hides in the details.
So, here’s another one for you guys as to why you can’t rush quality.
And yes, I did take these myself as well.
There are two issues at hand here. Well, at least for me anyways.
One is the increased chance of pealing (increased chance does not mean it will peal, you’re just increasing your chances of doing so) and the other is the aesthetics.
Since the article is about completing the job in one day, and the increased chance of pealing could have been avoided, we’ll discuss only the aesthetic part of it: Because THAT would have prevented from being completed in one day.
Let’s analyze one picture at a time:
Picture #1: you have what we like to call popcorn, small rectangle. We would have patched that up.
Picture #1 and more so picture #2: Aside from the sloppiness of the finish (it looks like it dripped, more so in the middle), the entire line looks exceptionally rough, like when they pulled the form some material came with it.
We would have smoothed that out.
Picture #3: Big chunk missing, inside red rectangle. We would have patched and molded that back that too.
And here is the reason as to WHY we could not do it in a day:
The material we use, which as far as quality goes, is the best we know, requires a MINIMUM of SIXTEEN HOURS before any resin can be applied on it.
Which that translates to: Unless you gave me a blank cheque and told me to finish your garage in one day (doing it my way, of course), which would mean fixing those blemishes from the pictures above, it would take two days.
Issue #3 – Cost
So, not only do we have to hurry the heck up, because you know, we’re trying to get this thing done in one day and it’s 95 degrees outside, and of course, we’re skipping some of the aesthetically pleasing prep, because you know, who cares if it looks good, right?
A+ or a C-. you still passed the class!
(Here I go again trying to do a little sarcasm through writing)
BUT NOW, we need to have 4 guys on your 2-car garage in order to make it happen correctly?
As any business owner what their most expensive cost is and most of them will say LABOR.
Having 4 guys doing a floor coating over a 2-car garage is overkill.
Now, what should you guys do if someone saying they are more than capable of doing a 2-car garage in a day, but only show up with two guys?
Well?
That’s up to you. Say and do whatever you’d like.
With that said though, I would tell them to do a 180 and get stepping.
Issue #4 – Temperature
TOO DANG HOT!!!
Specific polyurea polyaspartics were made for specific temperature. Most polyaspartics used in regular residential and commercial settings, such as the Poly GL 90 or PennTek Xp275 (I pointed these out because the GL series and the PennTek lineup are what my competitors tend to use. I use the Surfkoat products as well) are pretty specific on their application temperature: somewhere between 50F and 80F.
“Felipe man, I thought you’ve stated in your garage epoxy floor that polyaspartic could go as low as negative 40 degrees and as high as 130 degrees. What gives?”
Sure!
You can always special order a polyaspartic that goes well below zero degrees and well above one hundred degrees as well.
keyword: special order.
Also, I have no idea what their specs are, working time, etc. I don’t use them, so please don’t ask. I do not know.
The polyaspartics we use are rated for somewhere between 50F and 80F.
But here is what I do know.
As I’ve learned this one the hard way.
If you try to topcoat with this stuff and it’s 100 degrees outside, even if it’s not in direct sunlight, it could still cook.
(Remember, I learned this lesson the hard way)
The manufacture gives temperature ranges for a reason!
Which means anything outside of 50 to 80 degrees, could result in the floor not coming out right.
Which means any decent installer would return THE NEXT DAY to fix it for FREE.
Working for free doesn’t sound good to me. I’m sure it doesn’t sound good to you. Or anyone, really.
Which now turned your 1-day garage epoxy floor install into a 1 working to get paid day, and one working for free day.
“Felipe man, then how would I get my garage done in the summer?????
It’s Tennessee and from May-ish to September-ish you can cook an egg outside!
Does that mean I have to wait?????”
No, it does not. You will NOT have to wait to get out of the “heat zone” time of the year if you will, to get your garage done.
That just means that we would show up at your project site and laydown the product at around maybe 10 o’clock at night.
The temperature is significantly cooler at night, and it will stay cool until maybe 9 to 10am.
You guys are from the south, you know depending on the day, it’s damn near 100 degrees by 11 in the morning.
TOO DANG COLD!!
On the flip side of the heat would be if it’s too cold.
Never tried installing any sort of anything inside a non-heated garage, so I’m not sure what happens.
I’m thinking the material may not cure, or it would take forever and ever to do so.
I tend to follow manufacturers suggested everything, so I don’t run into any situations as to where “I should have known better” becomes reality.
“Felipe man, so does that mean I cannot get my garage installed in December or January???
Does that mean I have to wait if it’s too cold???”
POTENTIALLY, yes, it does.
If you do not have a heated garage, anything below 50 degrees at the coldest time of the day, you take the chance of product not curing. If product does not cure, you got problems.
You won’t be able to grind it off because it is not cured, you will have to SCRAPE that off in order to remove it.
Have fun.
“But my garage is insulated so nothing in the garage freezes!
I should be ok, right???”
That means nothing for the product.
Odds are your garage is insulated to keep THE WATER THAT FLOWS THROUGH your water tanks/tankless heater and its pipes from freezing.
That’s it.
Water freezes at around 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
Therefore, to prevent any issues, they insulate your garage to keep it from going down that cold.
35-40 degrees is nowhere near the MINIMUM 50 degrees the manufacture tells me I need to be at in order to work.
MORAL OF THE TEMPERATURE ISSUE
TOO HOT OUTSIDE:
NO GO DURING REGULAR BUSINESS HOURS.
(Do not worry though, not all is lost.
Call us, because we do custom work, we’re used to having to work some funky hours to meet our client’s demands.)
TOO COLD:
NO GO. PERIOD. YOU MUST WAIT.
(Sorry, that one we cannot do anything about. You’re going to have to wait or get some heaters in that garage.)
Issue #5 – Manufacturer’s Instructions
Go on Google or go on our 4x stronger than epoxy and click on any of the data sheets for any of the resins. Doesn’t matter which one.
Now, search for the word “moisture”. Some manufactures will say it in plain language: you have to test for it, while others skip the indication and tell you that you have to put a moisture barrier and that’s that.
Let’s take the Poly GL 90 as the example. The installer is “suppose to” get a piece of plastic that is roughly 4 ft by 4 ft and tape it down on the garage really well. Now, the installed is supposed to WAIT TWENTY-FOUR HOURS. Listen to what I just wrote down. TWENTY-FOUR HOURS. How is the installer supposed to get the work done in one day?
Sure, the installer can call ahead, or tell the client to do so in the estimate, but is the client actually going to do it?
And if so, will they do it correctly?
Issue #6 – Vapor Barrier
Some slabs may require a vapor barrier. “But Felipe, I don’t have any moisture problems.”
Then we go “But client, how would you know? Concrete breathes, if you have problems, you’d never know about it without doing something.”
Here at Rossi DCE, we always explain this process in great detail.
Vapor Barrier alone takes up to twenty-four hours.
Therefore, how can the installer do the garage floor in one day?
Now the installer is installing a floor that they have no idea if it has moisture issues or not because instead of the installer trying to do what is best for you, the client, they are trying to get in and out in one day.
Priorities, right?
Issue #7 – Legality
This is probably the most expensive thing no one ever talks about.
If the installer were to install a garage floor coating without doing the moisture test, or without much less mentioning the whole vapor barrier speech, and something goes south, they are screwed in court if they get sued.
Who do you think the judge would side with?
What do you think the judge would say?
I’ve never been sued or been to court over work I’ve done, nor do I ever plan to, but I’ve been told it goes something like this:
Judge looks over to installer after hearing both sides of the story and goes:
“You are the professional. You should have known better. Now go fix that floor for free!”
“Oh yeah, by the way, don’t forget; you have to pay for the client’s lawyer, court fees, and blah blah blah!”
I once had one installer tell me that they got sued for a 2-car garage. After everything was said and done, the installer was out a LOT of money.
I don’t know about anyone reading this, but I am in business to make money, not lose money.
I get it, sometimes you lost money on a job here and there, it happens. Having to go back to fix stuff for free is never (well, should never) be the goal though. My opinion, of course.
Let’s do it right the first and avoid going to court.
Though I highly doubt most people would sue over a 2-car garage, we don’t ever want to be in the predicament when that thought is even a question.
1-day garage epoxy floor – Conclusion about Issues
I’m sure if I sat here longer, I could come up with even more issues as to why the one-day install is just not worth it for the client.
And yes, I know, all the issues I’ve pointed out were a bit one-sided, I get that too.
Nevertheless, they are still issues and problems that could be runed into, and well, we rather avoid them whenever possible.
Trying to do a 2-garage floor in one day is most definitely doable, but it doesn’t make sense if I, the installer, am thinking in the best interest of my client. We’ve already proved that contrary to popular belief, a 1-day garage epoxy floor install is NOT 4x stronger than epoxy.
There is no real benefit to rush something if you have time. Again, my opinion. Yours to actually decide.
Like I said though, for the average non-caring person these issues might be ok, but for the nit-picky professional who is always thinking in the best interest of their client that I am, these issues, they’re not.
1-day garage epoxy floor – Why do companies do them then?
This section is completely opinion-based.
I say this quite a bit, “follow the money. You may not always be right, but you will always be logical.”
It’s really simple as to why the 1-day garage epoxy floor is favored by many companies. It saves them money.
Ask any business owner out there what their most expensive cost is, and they’ll probably answer with labor.
Say a job is usually done in 2 days. Suddenly, I figured out how to do in one day.
GAME CHANGER FOR ME!!
Even though I may know it is not the best way to go about it, who cares?
As long as the grade is at or above a C-, well, Cs get degrees!
Another reason I think too is because they are not afraid of getting sued. For two reasons, I think.
Reason #1 – I’ve spent some time in the north. From MY experience, people out there are a little bit too sue happy. When I got down here, I realize people here just don’t seem like the “sue everyone for everything” type of people. Maybe suing is a northern thing?
Who knows.
Reason #2 – It may cost more money to sue than what the garage floor is actually worth.
I don’t know about you, but if it cost me 10,000 to sue you for 5,000 worth of work, it doesn’t sound like good math to me.
Sure, you may get everything that you want, the floor redone, damages, etc. but, you may also just get my floor redone.
There are too many variables that could play into it as well to determine what you would actually get.
How good their lawyer is, how good your lawyer is, the jury, the judge, etc.
So yeah, if company A is saving on labor and not worried about any real legal repercussions, then yeah, it is all good in their world!
Remember, this is all opinion based and I have no idea as to why companies opt for the 1-day install.
And truth be told, don’t care.
I don’t tell people how to run their business, I Just run mine best I can, doing what is best for our clients.
PERIOD.
1-day garage epoxy floor – Where it makes sense.
Since I’ve spent all this time writing about how it makes no sense to have it done in most people’s garage, from the issues I’ve listed and everything you’ve read so far, I would like to give a scenario as to where it WOULD make sense to have this done and I will counter all the issues that I’ve listed up above.
We are going to take a hospital emergency room.
They want a floor that has some slip resistant to it, easy to clean, very durable, and most importantly, MINIMAL downtime.
Here is why it makes sense THEN:
Issue #1, #2 and #3 – time, prep and cost.
Solution:
It is an ER in a hospital, they have the money to spend.
Meaning, I would quote accordingly to have at least 4 guys, maybe more depending on the size, to be on their specific project.
That way I wouldn’t run into any issues, and the manpower is already there to fix anything needed quickly.
The hospital has the funds to make sure everything gets done correctly.
And if they have things to patch like in issue #2, well, they have the money in order for me to get creative and make it work with something that I will be able to put resin down in less than the 16 hours stated up there.
Issue #4 – Temperature
Solution:
It’s inside a building. As long as the AC is running, I don’t have to worry about the 100-degree weather outside.
It’ll be a nice 70-degree work area the entire time.
And if it’s cold, well, they’ll have the heater.
Issue #5 and #6 – Manufacture’s suggestion and Vapor barrier.
Solution:
If the goal is to TRULLY get done in a day, we can bypass issue #4 and go straight into the issue #5, which is the vapor barrier.
“Felipe man, you said the vapor barrier takes 24 hours, how can we do it in one day?
You’re contradicting yourself here buddy.”
Actually, no I am not.
They do make vapor barrier that meets spec that would allow us to do this one day. The ER is just paying a premium for it.
This would most DEFINITELY require the extra manpower to do it, but they are already going to be there, so it’s not an issue.
And if the ER in on the second story or something, we can skip the vapor barrier all together.
Issue #7 – Legality
Solution:
See, the hospital most definitely has the money to sue the installer. No problem.
However, since we here at Rossi DCE ALWAYS do our floor coatings to the T, everything time, we do not concern ourselves with any legality issues.
See how you can most definitely do a one day install adequately and efficiently if you TRULLY needed to and had to?
Of course, the client just needs to fork over some more money, but hey, it CAN be done!
1-day garage epoxy floor – One more thing
See how if time is more valuable than money it makes sense to have a 1-day garage epoxy floor install?
Let me make some numbers up:
AGAIN, NUMBERS ARE COMPLETELY MADE UP FOR YOU GUYS TO GET THE POINT
COMPLETELY MADE-UP EXAMPLE:
We estimate 20,000 dollars for the ER to do their flake floor in one day, or 15,000 dollars to do it in two days.
That ER profits 100,000 dollars a day.
It makes more sense to have it done in one day because the ER’s profit is much higher than what they are paying us.
The only other time that would make sense to us to even consider a 1-day garage epoxy floor install is if the project area is big enough.
Say a large area, 2000 square feet or something and it is INSIDE, and they do NOT need a vapor barrier.
Since we would most likely already have the manpower, as long as there’s some good airflow in there, it could potentially make sense to do.
1-day garage epoxy floor – Final Thoughts
Hopefully after reading the entire article, you guys are beginning to understand that there are too many things that can go wrong, or the cost would be just too high to justify it.
And in a nutshell, those are the two reasons as to why we really don’t do the 1-day garage epoxy floor install: Too many things that could wrong, or most people just don’t want to pay for it to be done right.
And no, that’s not being cheap or anything of the sort, that is literally going “does it make sense to pay extra if we have the time?”
Our answer: “No, it does not!”
I wouldn’t pay the difference, so what makes me think anyone else would?
Also, please read the 4x stronger than epoxy article to understand that there is NOTHING, and I do mean ABSOLUTY NOTHING, that makes a 1-day garage epoxy floor install better than a standard straightforward 2-day install. It is NOT stronger, more durable, blah blah blah.
And yes, I am sure if any of my competitors are reading this OR if they give an estimate and the potential client pulls this page on them, I have NO DOUBT AT ALL that they will play down EVERYTHING I literally just wrote.
Which is fair, I have nothing against criticism, after all, that’s how we improve.
With that said though, future client, in the same manner, attention to detail and informativeness provided here, ask them to disprove everything I just wrote.
And if they can do that, (and disprove the 4x stronger than epoxy as article as well. Why? That article and this article go hand in hand.) future client, please, ask them to call us, I would LOVE to hear their explanation as to WHY a 1-day garage epoxy floor install is better.
1-day garage epoxy floor – To the point
Simply put, the point of this article was to educate you.
We use full transparency and honesty to strengthen our credibility as a company.
in order to provide the best quality and service, we will always use the best quality products available to the market and the method that most make sense for you, the client.
When it comes to doing a garage epoxy floor, we believe the 2-3-day method (depending on prep) is the best option for most clients.
Simply put, you get what you pay for. While that is easier said than done, this is also why we will always take the time to educate you, the client.
Summary for those who did not want to read all of it (I know, it was a long read, but it had to be),
but are willing to take my word for it.
We don’t typically do the 1-day garage epoxy floor install in garages because we believe they are NOT the best option for most of our clients. Between the possible issues and the additional cost, we do not believe it is worth it. We wouldn’t pay the difference, what makes us think that you would?
I believe the reason why these 1-day garage epoxy floor installs are so common is because they’re more concern with their bottom line and are not really worried about getting sued if it turns out to be a crapshoot job. That’s just my opinion, of course.
That’s not to say that it cannot be done nor that there are not specific locations that a 1-day garage epoxy floor install would make sense. In some specific scenarios it would make perfect sense to have a 1-day garage epoxy floor install done, say an ER in a hospital or something.
Since you guys are reading the short version, because well, you trust me, then I want you guys to remember this very next thing I am going to say.
We believe this is how you should decide as to have a 1-day garage epoxy floor install or not.
Ready?
If time is more valuable than money, then yes, it makes perfect sense to have a 1-day garage epoxy floor install.
I will say it one more time for the people in the back:
*** IF TIME IS MORE VALUABLE THAN MONEY, THEN IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE TO HAVE A 1-DAY GARAGE EPOXY FLOOR INSTALL. ***
Got it?
For most people who have time, we don’t believe the extra cost to do a 1-day garage epoxy floor install correctly make sense.
THE END
Wow, this was much, much, much shorter to read!
I wrote the long and very detailed version for those that didn’t just “take my word for it.”
Which I am hoping SOME of you guys will ACTUALLY read it so I can say I wrote it for a reason!
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