Worked case: a 1-car solid color epoxy garage in the historic district — steps and the price range

The scenario

Picture a Craftsman-style bungalow in the district with a one-car garage added behind the house some decades after the home itself. The concrete is bare, stained under where the car parks, and carries a few hairline cracks that run toward the door.

A tape measure along the walls gives 12 by 20 feet, the published average for a one-car garage. The owner uses the space for a car and a small workbench, and wants something easy to sweep and mop that does not cost much.

The installer grinds a test patch first. It shows no old paint, only oil and a slightly chalky surface, so the whole floor is ground, the cracks are cut and filled level, and a moisture check is made on the bare concrete before any primer goes down.

A fine grit goes into the top coat because the floor sees wet shoes and tools. The short wall under the garage door is coated in the same color so the threshold looks finished.

What the job involves

1. The owner clears the garage down to the walls and the installer marks cracks, oil spots and any chalky areas.
2. A shrouded diamond grinder with a vacuum runs over the whole floor, and the test patch tells whether old paint has to come up.
3. Cracks are cut and filled, then ground level, and a moisture check is made on a bare spot.
4. A primer soaks into the concrete and the pigmented epoxy is rolled out in one or two coats.
5. The clear top coat with a fine grit is rolled over the color, and the stem wall at the door is coated to match.
6. The garage is ventilated and stays closed to foot traffic until the data sheet allows it.

Materials and prep

• Shrouded diamond grinder and HEPA vacuum
• Crack filler and a primer
• Pigmented epoxy and a clear top coat with fine aggregate
• Rollers, squeegees and spiked shoes

Add-ons often paired with this job

• Coat the stem wall (garage-door threshold wall) — +$150–$400. The low wall at the garage door is coated in the same color so the threshold matches the floor.

Why it is done this way

On a small floor the arithmetic is easy to follow: a per-square-foot rate for the system, a surcharge for the cracks and one flat option. Because the garage is small, the flat option is a large share of the bill, and it is worth asking whether the stem wall is needed at all.

Solid color is the least forgiving of the four systems about prep, because a single flat color shows patches and tool marks that flakes would hide. That is why the crack work is priced as part of the job rather than left for later.

The calculator on the home page uses the same lines, so the table below can be checked against it in a minute.

What would change the price

• The test patch finds old paint and the garage needs removal first.
• A moisture reading comes back high and a vapor-barrier primer is added.
• The owner chooses flake in place of solid color.
• The garage is longer than the typical 20 feet.
• A wider crack needs the repair-area option.