Garage Floor Epoxy in Lewisville, TX

Garage floor epoxy is the job most Lewisville homeowners call us about. In this market more people search for an epoxy garage floor than for epoxy flooring of any other kind. The reasons are easy to see on a walk through the neighborhoods: oil spots under the cars, sand and lake water under the boat, and a lot of 1990s slabs wearing a store kit that has started to peel.

What a 30-year-old slab looks like

Point2Homes, summarizing American Community Survey data, puts the median year built for Lewisville housing at 1997. That puts a typical garage floor here near the 30-year mark. We usually find some mix of these:

• Oil and transmission fluid stains soaked into the concrete under each car
• Hairline cracks running from the door corners or along the control joints
• Garage paint or a kit coating lifting where the tires sit
• A dusty, sanded-down surface near the door from years of grit
• Rust marks from a trailer jack, a toolbox or a freezer
• A low spot by the drain or the door where water collects after a storm

Preparation is most of the job

Coating failures almost always trace back to the bond. Etching or a pressure wash cleans the surface but leaves old sealer and weak top concrete in place. We grind the full floor with diamond tooling, edges and corners included, to open the pores and expose sound concrete. Old paint or kit coatings come off in that step. Deep oil stains get degreased and ground again until the concrete takes resin. Cracks and spalls are filled and ground flush before any coating goes down.

Building the floor

A typical garage floor epoxy system has three layers. The base coat is an epoxy that soaks into the ground concrete and bonds. The middle layer is either a full broadcast of colored flakes or a solid pigmented coat. The top layer is a clear coat that takes the abrasion, the chemicals and the sun. Bob Vila notes that higher-grade, 100% solids coatings cost about 20 to 30% more than thinner ones, and that thickness is where the difference in wear comes from.

Boats, trailers and lake gear

Lewisville has the largest boat-sales market in Texas by volume, and a lot of boats spend the off-season in a garage. Trailer tires are easy on a coated floor. The trailer jack is harder, because it sets the whole tongue weight on a small foot. Outboards and boat batteries can drip fuel, oil and acid. On those floors we build extra thickness under the trailer, choose a topcoat rated for fuel and oil, and suggest a jack pad. Sand from the beach acts like sandpaper, so a broadcast flake finish that hides grit is a good fit.

Heat and timing

Lewisville's average July high is 94.1°F, and a closed garage gets hotter. HomeGuide recommends applying epoxy between 60°F and 85°F. On summer jobs we start at first light, keep the door positioned to manage sun on the slab, and mix smaller batches. HomeGuide says to stay off a new epoxy floor for 16 to 24 hours and to wait 2 to 7 days to drive on it. If you need the garage back faster, ask about a polyaspartic topcoat.

Keeping it clean

Sweep or dust-mop grit weekly, since sand is what dulls a topcoat. Wipe up fuel and battery acid when you see them. A pH-neutral cleaner and a soft mop are enough for routine washing. Put a pad under the trailer jack and under motorcycle kickstands.