The national average cost to install epoxy flooring in your garage is $1,870 - $2,700. How much you pay will depend on the size of your flooring, condition of the concrete, and any add-ons you choose.
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 concrete floor, and is an especially popular coating for home garage floors. Homeowners can use epoxy floors in 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 free of cracks.
While you can buy epoxy coatings in most hardware stores, applying epoxy is a messy and smelly project best left to a 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.
Before you hire a flooring contractor to install an epoxy garage floor in your home, get an estimate on epoxy flooring and installation costs with this breakdown.
What impacts the cost of an epoxy garage floor?
The cost to finish your floor with epoxy depends on the current condition of your floor, the floor's 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.
Condition of the concrete floor
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 flooring in Waterford, Michigan. Before a shiny new epoxy coating can be applied, your concrete surface needs to be entirely clean and smooth.
To prepare floors, 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:
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:
Square feet of flooring
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.
The Thumbtack Pro in Michigan mostly finishes two- or two-and-a-half-car garages, which are about 400-450 square feet. Below are example costs from his flooring company to lay a coating of epoxy on a garage floor, based on floor condition and size:
| Garage floor condition | Garage floor size (in square feet) | Cost per square foot | Total cost |
| Fair shape | 400 - 450 | $3 | $1,200 - $1,350 |
| Damaged concrete | 400 - 450 | $3.25 | $1,300 - $1462.50 |
| Fair shape with water-based epoxy that needs to be removed | 400 - 450 | $3.25 | $1,300-$1462.50 |
| Fair shape | 600-800 | $2.75 | $1,650-$2,200 |
| Fair shape | 10,000 industrial floor | $1.75 | $17,500 |
Application process for epoxy coating on garage floors
Epoxy is, at minimum, a two-day process, says a Thumbtack pro and floor coating specialist in Michigan. 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.
To ensure that you're covered, ask the epoxy flooring contractor: 'Will this be a two-day process?' and 'Will you allow the primer coat to dry overnight?'
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.
Epoxy 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 an 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 in your floor.
You can also request special decorative chips that add skid resistance with a subtly raised texture that grips the bottom of shoes.
Caring for your epoxy floors
After your epoxy floor has been installed, take care of it to prevent any costly repairs. Keep your epoxy floor clean and remove water with a squeegee to keep it glossy for eight to ten years.
How to hire a contractor to epoxy your garage floor
When you're ready to upgrade to an epoxy floor, reach out to reputable pros for quotes and be sure to:
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 epoxy contractor near you on Thumbtack to install epoxy coating on your garage or workshop floor.