The One Project I Refused to DIY in My Garage

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We are finally taking on our garage remodel, like you saw in the last post. We got everything prepped, the walls painted and the new ceiling lights hung, and now it was time to tackle the floors.

This was one project we refused to DIY ourselves.

A garage floor coating is a big undertaking, and if it isn’t done correctly it can start peeling over time, which we absolutely did not want. We’ve heard plenty of horror stories from people who DIYed their floors and only a few years later the coating was already lifting.

Here is what we were working with before touching the garage, you can see paint and stains everywhere! Not to mention the huge mess and no organization!

So we decided to hire Premier Garage in McKinney, Texas, and they were amazing! Truly. They even went above and beyond for us. Here is their social media page too.

Let me show you what they did.

They showed up right as the sun was coming up and immediately got everything set up and ready to go.

The first thing they did was use a huge diamond grinder to grind down the concrete floor. This removes any residue and roughs up the surface so the coating can properly bond to it. Then they went back to make sure they didn’t miss anything that needed to be addressed.

Then one of the guys started applying the first coat (a base layer) along the step up into the garage, along the garage walls where the concrete comes up and at the transition from the driveway. While that was still wet, the other technician followed behind him broadcasting the paint flakes into the coating.

Then they started at the back of the garage on the step-up and worked their way forward toward the driveway. What was also really cool, in the third picture below you can see he’s wearing spiked shoes that strap onto his regular shoes. They let him walk across the wet coating without messing it up.

Once that base coat was all applied, they started adding the flakes and placed a piece of cardboard in the center of the garage… more on that in a minute. This is the “above and beyond” I was talking about, and I’m really excited about this feature. It was cool watching them sprinkle the flakes everywhere, very satisfying! And the guys were so cool and didn’t mind me watching and taking photos and videos. I did ask their permission first.

Once all the flakes were applied, they brushed off the cardboard and removed it, leaving a clean rectangular shape in the center.

And that’s where they wrapped up day one. It was already looking so good! If you can’t tell, we chose a white/light gray base with red, white, and blue flakes because…’Merica! (and Texas, of course).

If we hadn’t asked for this extra feature, they probably could have finished in a single day, but the extra couple of days was 100% worth it.

The next day they came back and started by using scraper tools (they honestly looked like mini snow shovels) to scrape off any excess flakes sticking up from the surface.

Once that was done, it was time for the special feature! Can you tell in the pictures below what they’re doing? They used pieces of that cardboard with a star cut out to apply another layer of the under coat. Then they measured and shaped off another smaller rectangle and added more undercoat. Their supervisor was there today because this part was really important to him that they got it right, he helped A LOT!

Then they added white flakes inside the rectangle and over the star.

While that was drying, they moved on to the next rectangle. Are you starting to see what they’re creating yet?

If you guessed a Texas flag, you’re right! It was already looking so good at this point. It was a little chilly that day and it takes longer to dry in the cold, so they had a huge heater out blowing into the garage as you can see in the photo below.

They really went above and beyond with the detail on this. They even got down on the floor and carefully used a scraper to keep the colors in their designated areas, then vacuumed up the excess flakes.

Then it was time for the blue around the white star. They applied another layer of coating and carefully worked around the star so none of it bled into the white. The level of detail here was honestly impressive. You can see below that they push the flakes down with a flat metal tool to make sure they stick really well.

It looks pretty dark at this stage, but this isn’t the final look. They were letting the flakes fully set into the coating before coming back to scrapping off and vacuum up the excess.

Once it had dried enough, they went back over it with those same scraper tools and then vacuumed up the excess flakes on the white and red areas, the blue was still somewhat fresh so they wanted to let that sit over night.

Aaahhhhh! And that wrapped up day two! Just a few more things left to finish on day three.

On day three, one technician came back to do the touch-ups and finish everything up. When I went out to check on the progress, he was using a cut off wheel to clean up the edge where the garage floor meets the driveway so it would look smooth and finished.

Then they scraped the blue section of the flag that had been left to cure overnight and completed any final touch-ups.

The blue wasn’t quite as dark as he wanted, so he added a little more clear epoxy and sprinkled on additional blue flakes.

Once that was done, they started by adding a clear coat to the perimeter where the concrete came up and the step ups and then went from the back of the garage and worked their way toward the driveway applying the clear topcoat. They mixed the coating, poured it out, and used a spreader to work it across the floor, covering everything evenly.

They had a really nice set up with a drop cloth as well, making sure nothing got spilled on the drive way.

I even put together a little video for you with a fun transition for the epoxied floors!

I am beyond thrilled with how this turned out, so is Tyler!

He couldn’t WAIT to park his African Twin next to the flag and take a pic since they are both red, white and blue!

What do you think? Would you tackle a project like this yourself, or would you hire a professional instead?

And don’t worry, the garage won’t be this empty for long! We did have to wait 72 hours before moving everything back in to give the coating time to cure and harden properly. But we have huge plans for this garage/workshop, starting with my side!