How much does an epoxy garage floor cost?
Epoxy floors cost an average of $1,729 for one room but range from $1,208-$2,420. Homeowners report paying an average of $2,420 to apply an epoxy coating to their basement floors and $1,619 for decks and patios. Epoxy garage floors cost $1,667, on average.
Epoxy floor cost breakdown:
| Room | Average reported cost |
| Basement | $2,420 |
| Garage | $1,667 |
| Deck or patio | $1,619 |
| Bathroom | $1,208 |
How much you end up spending on epoxy garage floor coatings will depend on the size of your flooring area, the condition of the concrete and any add-ons you choose. Keep reading to learn more about epoxy flooring costs.
What's in this cost guide?
Epoxy is a hard plastic coating made from resins and hardeners used to seal and protect your floor. A coating of epoxy can be applied directly over the top of your existing concrete floor and is an especially popular coating for home garage floors.
Homeowners can use epoxy floors in home garages to help prevent dust and dirt from being tracked into your home, keep salt from damaging your cement floor, and resist oil and chemical drips in a workshop. They also have a sleek, high-gloss finish that creates a smooth, easy-to-clean surface that's free of cracks.
How much does it cost to epoxy a garage floor? Garage epoxy costs an average of $1,667. One of the biggest factors that can drive your garage floor coating costs up or down is the floor's total square footage and its condition.
For example, a Thumbtack Pro in Michigan mostly finishes two- or two-and-a-half-car garages, which are about 400-450 square feet. Below are epoxy garage floor cost estimates for various floor conditions and sizes:
How much does it cost to epoxy a 2-car garage?
| Garage floor condition | Floor square footage | Garage epoxy cost (per sq. ft.) | Total cost to epoxy garage floor |
| Fair shape | 400-450 | $3.00 | $1,200-$1,350 |
| Damaged concrete | 400-450 | $3.25 | $1,300-$1,463 |
| Fair shape; remove water-based epoxy | 400-450 | $3.25 | $1,300-$1,463 |
| Fair shape | 600-800 | $2.75 | $1,650-$2,200 |
| Fair shape | 10,000 (industrial floor) | $1.75 | $17,500 |
Epoxy flooring costs depend on your floor's current condition, its square footage and any color, decorative chips or anti-skid elements you choose to include. The cost estimates here reflect the cost to coat a concrete floor with professional-grade, 100% epoxy floor finishes.
Epoxy floor cost per square foot
The size of the floor you're coating with epoxy also affects the total project cost. The larger the floor, the higher the cost. However, the price per square foot usually drops for larger spaces.
Garage floor condition
The amount of work required to prepare your concrete floor for application will affect the cost to finish it with epoxy, says a Thumbtack pro who specializes in epoxy flooring in Waterford, Michigan. Before a shiny new epoxy coating can be applied, your concrete surface needs to be entirely clean and smooth.
In preparation, the epoxy flooring contractor will remove existing dirt, oil, and grease with a specialized diamond-grinding technique that ensures proper adhesion and a quality finish. They then vacuum the concrete with dustless HEPA equipment and blow out all dust and debris before patching cracks with 100% solid epoxy. Additional work that may be required for floor prep includes:
- Removing any previous epoxy floor coating
- Removing glue
- Concrete grinding
- VCT and mastic removal
- Crack filling
- Control joint sealant application
- Shot-blasting
These varying conditions are the reason why it may cost more for a coating of epoxy on your 400-square-foot garage than your neighbor's identically sized one. Here are three situations that show how these factors affect application cost:
- The concrete is in fair shape, and nothing beyond standard cleaning is needed to prep the floor for the epoxy installation. This scenario is ideal because it costs the least.
- The concrete has never been sealed, it's torn up by salt, and there's a lot of wear and tear. This situation will cost more because contractors need more time and materials to fill the cracks and pits.
- Your garage floor has a DIY'ed coat of water-based epoxy from a big box store, and now it's peeling. Contractors will first remove that epoxy floor coating and then grind down the concrete to prep it for primer. The extra labor will add to the overall cost. "Stay away from water-based epoxy — it will fail within a short period of time," says the Thumbtack pro.
Epoxy coating add-ons: color chips
Adding color chips to your coating will also increase your garage floor coating costs. Epoxy floors can be customized by choosing a tinted resin for all-over color or by adding decorative color chips. Decorative chips (also referred to as vinyl chips or color flakes) range in size from 1/32 of an inch to 1 inch. Choose one color or a blend of colors, such as white with gray and black, or blue plus white and silver.
When you add a full layer, these color chips can add strength to your epoxy floor, increasing its capacity for heavy loads and impact. Decorative chips are also a great camouflage for imperfections on your floor. You can also request special decorative chips that add skid resistance with a subtly raised texture that grips the bottom of shoes.
Epoxy is, at minimum, a two-day process, says the Thumbtack pro. It's critical to apply a primer coat the first day and allow it to dry overnight."Don't trust anyone who wants to apply the primer in the morning, go to lunch, then do the second step in the afternoon," he says.
The primer coat is one of the most important parts of the epoxy process. It's designed to penetrate the concrete and allow the epoxy to adhere — and it needs to dry overnight. Even the epoxy manufacturers won't warranty their product without a primer coat.
Ask your epoxy flooring contractor, "Will this be a two-day process?" and "Will you allow the primer coat to dry overnight?"
And remember that you can walk on a new epoxy floor 24-36 hours after application, but wait at least 48 hours to put items such as lawnmowers or boxes on it. Wait five to seven days before bringing in a vehicle.
While you can buy epoxy coatings in most hardware stores, applying epoxy is a messy and smelly project best left to a professional epoxy flooring specialist.
Hiring an epoxy flooring contractor often costs only a small fraction more than doing it yourself because professionals know exactly how much epoxy coating you need and have the proper tools to prepare the concrete flooring. They also have equipment that can speed the application and drying process. When you're ready to upgrade to an epoxy floor, reach out to reputable pros for quotes and be sure to:
- Read reviews and make sure the company has a good track record with clients.
- Confirm they hold a contracting license if your state requires it. For example, California's Contractors State License Board has a searchable database to verify a flooring contractor's license number.
- Request to see proof of liability insurance, workers' compensation and bonds. The liability insurance protects your home in case of an accident, and the bond protects you in the unfortunate event that the flooring company takes your money and then disappears.
- Ask for free cost estimates. The pros will come to your home or business, assess the current condition of your floor, look for cracks or chips that need to be addressed, measure the total square footage you want to finish and determine whether you want any color or decorative chips. They'll then give you a quote that includes a total estimate for the job and a price per square foot.
- Ask if they offer a warranty on their labor and product. But be wary of anyone offering a warranty that seems ridiculous. Some companies have been known to offer 10- or 15-year warranties and close a business after getting complaints, invalidating any remaining warranties.
Read our guide for more tips on how to hire contractors.
Find epoxy floor specialists on Thumbtack
If you're ready to transform your dull and cracked concrete floor into a shiny, protected epoxy garage floor, you'll need to hire a professional to help. Find experienced epoxy contractors near you on Thumbtack.
