‘home and family’ Tagged Posts

Believe It Or Not, Garage Floor Finishes Are Important If You Want Your Concrete To Not Look All Gross And Cracked

If you want to make sure that the floor in your garage will resist grease, acid, and oil, you'll need to use a good finishing compound. This is what y...

 

If you want to make sure that the floor in your garage will resist grease, acid, and oil, you’ll need to use a good finishing compound. This is what you would call garage floor finishes that help maintain your concrete garage floor for years, sometimes decades. The purpose of these compounds is to protect your floor from any and all liquids that will hit it over the years. Without some sort of finish applied early in its life, your concrete will definitely end up stained and unattractive.

Epoxy Garage Floor Paint: The Most Popular Finish

Probably the most used compound for protecting concrete would be epoxy garage floor paint. Using an epoxy garage floor coating helps keep garage flooring from looking aged. There are, of course, many garage floor finishes on the market, but for the best protection, epoxy garage floor coatings are always the way to go for cheap, effective results.

Some Garage Floor Finishes Are Difficult To Install

Although they’re the best, epoxy garage floor finishes are sometimes quite hard to apply. Getting it brushed evenly, especially on larger garage floors, can be a huge pain, and the mixing alone is not a small job. There is no small amount of tricks that professionals use to keep issues from popping up later and help the installation go smoother. Sometimes having a pro install your finish just makes more sense.

Are Modern Garage Floor Finishes Easier Than Older Ones?

It has become much simpler for the average homeowner to to apply garage floor finishes to their own garage in more recent years. Applications of these compounds have become easier and simpler due to the newer compounds which were created specifically for homeowners to install with no help. Although technological advancement certainly has played a part, increased competition from garage floor coverings like tiles and mats, which are simpler to apply, have also spurred innovation.

There’s Still A Lot To Do

All of that being considered, it’s still not the easiest job to do. There are still time constraints, and the floor must be very clean before you even start. Etching is always a good idea before applying any concrete coating, so be sure to investigate that option as well. Some epoxy garage floor paint kits even come with etching fluid, as well as instructions on how to use it. Some of these etching fluids even clean the concrete at the same time.

Check out my site, Sweet Garage Flooring, for more information on garage floor finishes of all kinds, including paints, stains, and sealers.

categories: garage flooring,flooring,home improvement,do it,yourself,home and family,automotive,repair,shopping,how,to,cars,outdoors,guide

Epoxy Garage Floor Coatings Are All Over The Place

 

Epoxy garage floor coatings are all the rage. Long gone are the old browns and grays that used to be associated with any type of garage floor paint. Today’s garage floor finishes are often a shiny red, or sometimes even clear. Any time you see really eye-catching garage floors on TV, if they’re a solid color, or only have flecks of color, then you’re most likely looking at epoxy. Nearly all garage floor coatings nowadays will include the words epoxy, acrylic, and resin, but most people don’t really know what these terms mean. In this article, we’ll take a look at epoxy, what it is, and why it’s used in practically every modern garage floor coating.

What The Heck Is Epoxy?

You may have used “superglue” or epoxy to glue together something you would have not expected to ever have fallen apart on the whole. Now, if there was any mixing at all, then it was most likely epoxy. The reason for this is because the definition of epoxy is technically a mixture including both epoxide, where the term is derived from, and polyamine. When both of the chemicals are mixed together and then cured, the resulting compound creates a rockhard adhesive that we familiarize with epoxy. The curing phase for epoxy is varied regulated by its application or use. For garage flooring, it normally takes a few hours for the curing process of epoxy, in comparison to the adhesive epoxy, which only takes a few minutes to mix up.

Is Epoxy The Strongest Of Garage Floor Coatings?

The most durable garage flooring is generally accepted to be epoxy. The nature of the chemical mixture creates a compound that will resist everything from UV rays to rainwater, in addition to anything your car may throw at it. Since it’s hard, though, it’s not always pleasant to sit on, though it is better on your knees and back than a bare concrete garage floor.

If You Want To Compare Alternative Garage Floor Coatings To Epoxy, Read This First!

While you are browsing through garage flooring selections, you might notice some of the garage floor paint being labeled as being acrylic or water based. Conventionally, those are epoxy coatings too, but might or might not have been mixed adversely than the garage floor coatings obviously made to be epoxy. And for various reasons, some businesses appear to believe that labeling something that is the same as something else with an altered name will increase their profits. Take notice of the large labels like Quikrete garage floor or RustOleum being more forthright and blatantly labeling their own products as epoxy.

You Guessed It, Epoxy Is Now The New Future Of Garage Floor Coatings!

Even though epoxy’s most attractive attribute, the ability to withstand the worst chemicals, has been in circulation for a long while, the technology is worth the price. A great example of this is brake fluid, when left alone, can destroy clothes by seeming to “eat” them, will just easily come off of epoxy garage floor coating. Probably not too far in the future there will be a new technology for a car or something that might be able to deteriorate epoxy, but for now, it is a safe choice. Meaning, the best garage floor coating you should require is epoxy.

Check out Sweet Garage Floor for more information on garage floor coatings.

categories: garage flooring,flooring,home improvement,do it yourself,home and family,home repair,home,automotive,repair,shopping,how to,cars,outdoors,guide

Comparing Garage Floor Mats To Epoxy

 

After reading all about all of the different types of garage flooring, you’ve decided that you either want epoxy paint or a garage floor mat. Well, both garage floors have advantages and disadvantages, so let’s look at some of both. Hopefully, once we’re done, you will have a better grasp on both garage floors. Keep in mind that, for this article, we will not be talking about compartment mats, but rather how entire garage floor coverings compare to epoxy paint. Since the smaller garage floor mats are typically not sold in packages intended to cover whole garage floors, it wouldn’t make much sense to compare them to epoxy paint.

A Garage Floor Mat Is Easier To Install Than Epoxy Garage Floor Paint

That is pretty much a “duh!” factor. A garage floor mat only requires the cutting and the placing, while epoxy paint takes not only hours to install, but also in between steps it takes hours to dry. Before you begin installing it is also a much bigger hassle because you need to prepare by cleaning your garage to be immaculate. But, installing a mat on above dust, dirt, or grime works just the same. If you really need a “quick fix,” then you should really consider garage floor mats.

Garage Floor Mats Are More Expensive Than Epoxy Garage Floor Paint

A garage floor mat, generally speaking, is likely to cost around $200, which is around three times how much epoxy garage floor coating costs. This difference in pricing really makes sense if you think about what you’re buying, and not just the end product. A garage floor covering gives you a pre-assembled solution while epoxy garage floor paint requires some assembly. If you have to pay someone to install your epoxy garage floor coating, though, the price will change radically since it takes hours to install, so be sure to figure that in as well if you don’t plan to install your own coating. If paying someone to install it, epoxy will almost always cost more in comparison to a garage floor mat.

Epoxy Garage Floor Paint Is More Durable Than A Garage Floor Mat

Even though epoxy does change things, it has the advantage as far as its durability and its longevity. In applying the epoxy floor paint, you inevitably change the nature of your garage floor. Meanwhile, applying a garage floor covering will do only that; cover it. Although it is unlikely in nature, it is very well possible that both could become damaged and stained, so when that happens you will definitely see the price difference in the replacement of swapping out a new floor mat and a repainting job. But, you will then also be out of the $200 or so for the floor covering. To make a well educated choice, you need to be asking how much and what your garage floor will be taking on.

And The Winner Is…

There’s no way that there could be a clear winner for that would be appropriate for all garage floors. There is a reason that both options are available, and it’s because they both sell, which means they’re both useful to someone. It’s up to you, the buyer, to decide which is best for your particular situation. If money is no object, you can always consider doing both, or possibly using compartment mats on top of an epoxy garage floor coating. Whichever way you go, good luck, and enjoy your new garage flooring!

Check out Sweet Garage Floor for more information on garage floor mats.

Double Your Outdoor Living Space With A Caravan Porch Awning

 

Caravan porch awnings have given made it a lot easier for caravan enthusiasts to explore far and wide. These enable the holidaymakers to extend the storage area of their caravan whenever required. Apart from that, these attractive looking awnings add style to any caravan.

Most of the awnings available in the market are made up of polyester or acrylic. These carry frames made of aluminum or steel to make them resistant to bad weather.

You can choose from a host of colors, shapes and sizes that these awnings are available in, depending upon the holiday spot, weather there and of course, your caravan.

One of the major disadvantages that a caravan porch awning had was its tough installation. It was never easy to erect these bulky awnings at start of a holiday and bring them down at the end. They were also difficult to transport. Their large size and heavy weight always caused a problem in the transit.

However, with the advancement in the technology, this problem has somewhat been taken care off. Now, the caravan porch awnings are much lighter than what these used to be earlier. Their lighter weights ensure their easy erection as well as dismantle.

Moreover, their easy installation is further ensured by strong zips and easy to erect frames that these are provided with.

The advancement in technology has reduced the prices of these caravan awnings considerably. When compared with full porch awnings, these are available at a much lower cost and that too, in more attractive designs and colors.

Caravan porch awnings are easily available on rental basis as well. You can surf through various websites that can offer you with attractive awnings on per day rent basis on per week rent basis depending on the holiday period.

So next time, when you plan to go for a caravan trip, ensure that caravan porch awnings are a part of it.

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