A few years ago we had our driveway widened to allow easier access for multiple cars and trucks with large trailers. Our home was positioned in a curve at that time, and the ditch line was too steep to drive through, so for several days we had to figure out where to park our vehicles and enter our property. By planning the preconstruction side prior of our installation, we were able to make ease out of what would have been a hard situation. Like our driveway project, homeowners who want an epoxy garage floor might not know what to expect or how to prepare before the installation date of the coating. There are a few basic things that you can do to make sure your installation goes as smoothly as possible.
First, determine the new or temporary location of belongings.
Once you have reviewed everything you have stored in the garage, it’s time to decide where you’re going to move the items. This can be seen as a daunting task, but it’s actually a great opportunity to organize any clutter. See below for some useful tips on how to temporarily store or repurpose your belongings.
- Move items to the back porch or basement
- Donate useful items to charities or non-profit organizations (if you haven’t used it in 12 months you might not need it anyways)
- Throw away useless items
- Sell items in a yard sale or online through known listing sites
- Place items in permanent or temporary storage like PODS, U-Haul truck or trailer, or a conventional storage locker
- Contact friends, family or even neighbors to see if you are able to temporarily move items to their garage
If none of these work for you, you can place some items in the driveway. Just make sure to cover them with a tarp and secure it so that it doesn’t blow away in wind gusts or leak moisture onto your belongings. If you happen to take this route, please utilize only one lane of the driveway and keep a 5’-10’ clearance in front of your garage door so the flooring crew has enough access for your upgraded garage floor installation.
The next thing you will do once you’ve moved everything on the floor that can be moved, is move any belongings that are hanging on your garage wall at least 3’ from the floor. Items within 3’ of the floor must be removed as they may obstruct our grinders and crew members preparing the concrete along the wall. Some wall items may be damaged by a few flake broadcasts or minor dust and are not within 3’ of the floor, so you may want to remove these. If any valuables such as electronics or highly sensitive items can’t be moved, these should be wrapped in plastic to guarantee protection from flakes or dust. A HEPA vacuum will be used with both hand and walk behind grinders to maintain silica, however, it is best practice to wrap these items.
Thirdly, remove any movable fixtures taking up floor space
to ensure the coating covers as much of the floor as possible, this includes things like nonpermanent cabinets and utility sinks. Your hot water heater can stay, these are normally on a stand. If your storage cabinets are not built into the wall, you will want to remove them. If you don’t move them prior to your installation and they deteriorate over time, you will have bare concrete under this part of your floor and will have to replace the faulty cabinet to cover the floor again. Utility sinks normally have detachable legs and are easily disconnected from the plumbing. Verify that you have a removable utility sink and your water supply to this sink is turned off prior to removing it.
Fourth is not required, but could be a good idea. This may be the time for any maintenance that’s needing to be done, such as touch up repairs on sheetrock, paint and weatherstripping around doors etc… If your garage door seals are floor mounted, verify they are not in need of replacement and will match the aesthetics of the new floor.
Lastly, the coatings we use are low VOC and low odor, however we do recommend and ask that you turn off any HVAC units located in your garage. They will need to stay off during the installation and the cure time after. Once your floor is turned back over to you for use, HVAC units can be turned back on in the garage. This ensures no dust or odors are pulled into the system and your home if they are tied together. If further determination is required, a crew member can advise on the type of HVAC system you have in the garage and best recommendations can be provided.
Now that you know what to do, here’s what NOT to do
during the installation day and cure time. It is important that certain home maintenance items are not completed within proximity of your garage. These items can have blow over debris from wind that can get trapped in the coating system. This includes: using leaf blowers and lawnmowers, trimming of shrubs and trees, installation of mulch, painting or sealing, pressure washing and other projects of that nature. Inside the garage there are things that a homeowner may feel is necessary, but truly are not. These include: removing sealers or paint (our grinding process will remove this for you), filling in cracks or joints (we will repair any cracks or joints that are in need, most of the products available to a homeowner do not bond properly), deep clean the garage floor (just sweeping normal debris off the floor is fine using a broom).
Now that you’ve covered all the things that you need to do to prepare for your installation, sit back, relax, and get ready for your new floor to be transformed!