5 Reasons to Get Your Garage Floor Coating in the Winter
A garage floor coating is a great way to add character to your garage while also making the flooring more durable. Imagine eating off of your garage floor. Okay—maybe not eating, but imagine for a moment your garage floor transformed: a clean space, free of oil, dirt, and grime, brightening up an otherwise dingy part of your home.
It’s called a floor coating, and the toughest among them is a little something called epoxy. You’ve probably heard the term epoxy flooring before. There’s good chance you’ve even walked across a floor that has been coated in epoxy. Epoxy coatings consist of a two-part chemical mixture. These are the highest-grade epoxies, but you can get them premixed for easier application.
There are other coatings, too, like a concrete sealer, urethane coatings, and polyaspartic coatings. Sealers are available in acrylic, latex, and urethane varieties and tend to be the least expensive coatings.
No matter the type of coating you choose, you’ll definitely want to have it applied by a professional. These are hazardous chemicals that require knowledge of their nature and application, otherwise you could be putting your safety at risk.
That being said, the question when to have these coatings applied remains. For homes in the colder climates, is it even possible to have a professional coat your garage floor in the colder months? The answer is: yes! In fact, you should strive to have a garage coating applied in the winter for these reasons:
1. Cold Temperatures Are No Problem
It’s freezing out, the snow is falling steadily, and lingering puddles have turned to ice. Obviously, this translates to the inability for any garage floor coating to properly adhere, right?
You’d be surprised to learn that certain coatings can, in fact, be applied in the dead of the winter. It’s all about chemistry and having an innate comprehension of the materials being used. A professional technician is trained and educated in these winter coating applications and can prepare the correct formula to negate the effects of the dropping temperatures.
Some winter variants can be applied in conditions as low as ten degrees. Flooring companies also come prepared to handle these cold temperatures. They bring in tools to heat the coating materials before application. Floor coating professionals are experienced enough to know how to accommodate for winter months and how to ensure their coating materials are seamlessly applied to even the coldest concrete slabs.
2. Winter Quality, Summer Quality—It’s All High Quality
You might be wondering if it would be better to wait until the summer, because warmer temperatures would mean a more efficiently applied coating. You should know that regardless of time of year, your garage floor coating will still be the same.
Many companies that offer winter coatings will have the same warranty for their products no matter the season. Coating companies can even get the process completed in a day during the winter, depending on weather conditions.
Your garage floor coating will still act as a perfect sealant, protecting your garage from water damage, UV rays, scratches, dents, and scuffs, all while allowing for easy clean up in this mess-prone space. Winter coatings aren’t limited to few options either, there many designs that can be implemented into the coating regardless of the temperature conditions.
3. Beat the Wait with Faster Installation
Homeowners wanting a garage coating for their floors probably are not educated in the fact that they can have this process executed in the winter. This is good news for you. Now that you know you’ll get the same high quality coating in the winter as you would during any other time of the year.
Customers will assume that coatings can only be done in the warmer months, and any professional flooring company will confirm that these warm seasons are their busiest time of the year.
You can outsmart the crowds by opting for flooring installation during the slow season. By getting your garage floor coatings installed in the winter, you can completely skip over the wait. That may not be the only perk in a winter floor coating. Flooring coating companies may offer special deals to boost their sales in their off-season, and combined with quick installation, doing this project in the winter is an all-around win-win.
4. Moisture, Moisture, Moisture
Yes, there’s still plenty of moisture in the air during the cold, dry winter season. And if there’s snow on the ground and it begins to melt to water, that will present an entirely other moisture-related problem for your unprotected garage floor.
Homeowners know the dangers of moisture and the damage it can wreak in any part of their home. Moisture can cause mold, weaken structural integrity, and for flooring, it can penetrate an unsealed surface, seeping in and causing cracks, drainage problems, and turn garages musky and damp.
Your garage is prone to moisture, especially in the winter. Cars parked inside of garages roll in with snow on their tires, which melt onto the floor’s naked surface. The cold temperatures worsen the situation and the result becomes cracks that ruin your garage’s floors.
There’s no better time to get your floors coated than in the winter. A layer of sealant will force moisture to stay on the surface instead of seeping into the layers below. Coatings wick moisture away with their impermeable chemical seal. Now, all you have left is minimal moisture cleanup.
And in addition to moisture, there’s also the salt. During the winter, we unknowingly track salt into our garage, discoloring and damaging its surface. Only a coating can seal off its surface. This will make water and salt much easier to clean up while protecting the layers underneath.
5. Transform Your Garage Floors
No longer will your garage be the dread of your home with a new garage floor coating. Refinishing your floors with even a clear sealant will make a remarkable difference in the feel of the garage.
Coatings are available in many design options, so you don’t have to settle on a clear layer. Colors, decorative flakes, and many more options are at your disposal in selecting a coating that will give your garage the makeover it deserves.
There’s no better time than to apply a new garage floor coating than the winter. With all of the sludge and salt tracked onto its floors and the dreariness of the season, a new coating can truly bring your garage to life.
Does Your Garage Need an Upgrade?
Don’t wait to install a new garage floor coating, especially if you’re stuck in winter weather. Winter is the prime time to coat your floor. If you wait until the spring you might be looking at damaged floors.
The more pleasant months will surely bring about heavier foot traffic on your garage floors, and with the common rainstorms introducing even more moisture than winter, you’ll want to be prepared.
If you find that your garage floor needs more than cosmetic help, you might need a new garage. You may have foundation problems that can only be fixed with a new garage.
If you’re considering a garage rebuild, you can count on Danley’s. We’re Chicagoland’s premier choice for garage building since 1959. Get your project started today with a free quote from Danley’s.
