A DIY epoxy kit from the hardware store costs a fraction of a professional floor, and the box photo looks a lot like ours. So what's actually different? Here's an honest look from a crew that installs these floors for a living.
What's in most DIY kits
Most kits include a cleaner or etching solution, one coat of colour (often water-based) and a small bag of decorative flake. The plan is to clean the floor, roll on a single coat, sprinkle some flake and you're done in a weekend.
Where kits fall short
- Prep: kits rely on cleaning or etching. Without a floor grinder, the weak top layer of the concrete stays, and that's what the coating ends up stuck to.
- Thickness: one thin coat wears through fast where tires turn and can lift under hot tires.
- No real topcoat: most kits have no clear, UV-stable topcoat, so the surface scratches and can yellow near the door.
- Light flake: a sprinkle of flake looks speckled; a full broadcast covers the whole floor and hides dust and wear.
- No crack repair: cracks show right through a thin coat.
What a professional floor adds
Our garage floors go down over three days. We diamond-grind the concrete, repair cracks and damaged spots, then put down a primer and vapour barrier. Day 2 is the basecoat with a full flake broadcast. Day 3 is a clear polyaspartic topcoat that's tough, easy to clean and won't yellow in the sun. Built in layers like this, a flake floor lasts 15 to 25 years with normal care, and ours come with a 2-year workmanship warranty.
When a DIY kit makes sense
If the space is a low-traffic storage area, you don't park in it and you mostly want it to look cleaner for a while, a kit can be fine. Do the prep as thoroughly as you can and keep your expectations realistic.
When to hire a pro
If you park on the floor, if the concrete has cracks or old coatings, if it's a basement with any moisture, or if you want it to last for years, a professional install is worth it. Redoing a failed kit costs more than doing it once, because the peeling coating has to be ground off first.
Curious what your floor would take? We bring our 72-colour flake wheel to every free on-site estimate and give you an exact price.