Mile High Coatings Podcast

Professional vs. DIY: Why Your Garage Floor Deserves Better

• David Nanninga • Episode 8

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 Are There Any DIY Coating Options, Or Is Professional Application Recommended?

Thinking about sprucing up your garage floor with one of those DIY epoxy kits from the hardware store? You might want to hit pause on that project.

David Nanninga, president of Mile High Coatings, pulls back the curtain on why those tempting DIY concrete coating kits so often lead to disappointment and wasted money. With over 17 years of experience—much of it spent fixing failed DIY floors—David shares critical insights that you won't find on product packaging.

The differences between professional-grade applications and consumer kits are stark and significant. From improper concrete preparation using acid etching (which leaves behind a fine powder that prevents proper adhesion) to insufficient materials (most kits include just 2-3 pounds of decorative flakes when professionals use 50+ pounds), DIY solutions cut corners that directly impact longevity. Perhaps most deceptive is the common claim that these products "resist hot tire pickup"—when in reality, many DIY coatings bond better to your car tires than to your concrete floor!

While there's certainly satisfaction in completing home projects yourself, concrete coatings represent an area where professional application consistently delivers superior results. As David explains, once you factor in the cost of additional tools, specialized repair materials, and potentially having to redo the entire project after premature failure, the supposed savings of DIY quickly evaporate.

Whether you're considering a garage floor, basement, patio, or commercial space coating, this episode provides crucial information to help you make an informed decision that will stand the test of time. Ready to create a durable, beautiful concrete surface that truly lasts? Listen now to discover why professional application makes all the difference.

To learn more about Mile High Coatings visit:
https://www.MileHighCoatings.com
Mile High Coatings
970-314-1023

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Mile High Coatings podcast, where we elevate your spaces to a new peak in quality. Hosted by David Nanega, president of Mile High Coatings, this podcast explores how expert residential painting, concrete coatings and epoxy flooring can transform garages, basements, patios and commercial spaces across Colorado's front range. So grab your favorite beverage, sit back and dive into the world of high-quality coatings.

Speaker 2:

DIY coating kits might seem tempting, but are they really built to last? David Nanica breaks down the pros and cons of going solo versus hiring a pro and what homeowners should know before they crack open a bucket. Welcome back everyone. I am Millie M, co-host and producer. Back in the studio with David Nanica, president of Mile High Coatings. How are you, david?

Speaker 3:

I'm pretty good and how are you I'm doing?

Speaker 2:

well, let's talk about something a lot of homeowners wonder Are there any DIY coding options or is professional application recommended?

Speaker 3:

Well, we probably know where I'm going to go with this one, but there are DIY options and I think probably most people are likely familiar with what you would find in a big box store you know your Home Depot, lowe's, you know hardware store type of places and certainly there are DIY kits that can be ordered online. But of course, you know, I've been doing over 17 years and and I have seen a lot of diy floors because people call us basically to fix or repair or completely redo their floor. Um, you know, after very you know it literally we've, we've done.

Speaker 3:

I've seen floors that are two, three weeks old and, um, they're already failing.

Speaker 3:

I mean it's, it's kind of ridiculous and you know, and occasionally uh you know you, you see some they're maybe a couple years old but again are clearly failing and um, and you know, those homeowners typically want to have those redone because they've they've already done it once. They used the DIY kit and, you know, failed for whatever reason. So kind of a quick rundown of some of the key differences between you know what, you know what we do, versus what you might find in a DIY, say, epoxy kit. I guess I should preface this with I. I'm specifically referring to garage floors. So, first and foremost, typically the epoxies that you find in a you know.

Speaker 1:

DIY kit.

Speaker 3:

They're going to be kind of consumer grade. They're going to be fairly easy to work with by design because, clearly, of a homeowner, this isn't something likely that a homeowner does often, you know, each and every day. They usually come with an acid mix. A lot of times it's citric acid. It could be something a little bit more aggressive, but the acid is to etch the concrete, which really is not a great way to concrete, which which really is not a great way. Um, and and when we first started, we actually did some acid etching on on floors, thinking that that was acceptable, because you look online and you know and and and whatever, do some some kind of basic research and it seems like, oh yeah, acid etching is a good way to prep for it it's's really not.

Speaker 3:

Primarily because what happens when you etch a floor with acid is it leaves behind what's called latents, so it's basically like fine powder. Essentially, what the acid is doing, it's eating the top layer of the concrete to produce some porosity and some profile is what it's called. But really it's also altering the pH of the concrete and in that latents that that super fine powder can.

Speaker 3:

basically, it doesn't go anywhere, it sits down in the concrete, so you got a really really really rinse it off very well, otherwise you're essentially putting, you know, coating over powder your dusty concrete, even if you think it's really clean. So there's that. Plus, the kits come with, like you know, a couple of pounds, maybe three pounds of flakes, which is not nearly enough flakes to to cover most garage floors. I mean, when we, when we broadcast our flakes, I mean we usually have minimum 50 pounds and usually, you know, could be a couple hundred pounds of flakes that we broadcast on the floor, and so you can really tell the DIY floor is because the flakes are really sporadic, they can get heavy in light spots, because they're just not enough to do a nice consistent coat. The kits usually are one coat plus flakes and that's it.

Speaker 3:

You might be able to find kits with a clear coat, whereas we do a three-coat application and we're not using, obviously, a consumer-grade epoxy. We're using industrial-grade products like polyaspartic. We have other coating systems that we use, depending on what the use of the floor is and depending on what the customer is looking to get out of it. So it could be epoxy, it could be urethanes. The use of the floor is and, depending on you know, what the customer is looking to get out of it. So it could be epoxy, it could be urethanes, and and so the other thing to consider too is if concrete repairs need to be done. You know the diy kits don't come with repair materials, so then, so then homeowners have to figure out okay, what, how do I repair this? What do I need to use to repair? And a lot of times the products you might find at Home Depot aren't, you know, or those.

Speaker 3:

I don't want to call it Home Depot specifically, but just anywhere, in any, any you know, hardware store usually aren't going to be sufficient in probably a lot of cases the other sort of this is where I have a love-hate relationship with a DIY floor.

Speaker 3:

Or I should say, the kits is right on the box. You know, they often will say resist hot tire pickup. And it's crazy to me that they can put that on there, because very clearly they do not resist hot tire pickup. And what that is essentially is, once the coating is dry and cured, you drive your, you know, you park your vehicle on it, that tire obviously rolls on it, it sits on it, that epoxy basically bonds to the tire and so when the car backs out the next time it basically pulls off the coating from the concrete. So it's crazy that it actually will bond better to the tire than to the concrete. So our floors have a lifetime warranty. Never have hot tire pickup. That's essentially just a non-issue. You know, we diamond grind our concrete, we make sure we have really good prep, we have dust collection, we clean up the floors really well before we coat it, so so yeah people exploring DIY floors.

Speaker 3:

I think maybe might want to kind of be prepared for to maybe be let down or disappointed in the long-term results, and of course you know to maybe be let down or disappointed in the long-term results and of course you know, you know, looking on YouTube or whatever you know, for you know how to do it, how to actually do it always makes it look easier than it really is. So those are probably some important things. Some other DIY concrete applications are concrete stains and I've seen a lot of those fail because usually the technology that again that you find at a big box store, you know the, the stains, the they just don't bond well and you know we, you know we just see issues with them all the time people call us to to basically come and redo their you know their patio or their walkway, or redo their you know their patio or their walkway or their porch basement, you know whatever it is because they stay in the concrete thinking, you know, thinking they did it right and they probably followed the directions correctly and it just doesn't last.

Speaker 3:

So we have definitely some other options there for people that want, you know, a nice outdoor. You know coating that's going to last.

Speaker 2:

What I'm hearing you say is don't try this at home. I remember from our previous conversation Well, I just remember from our previous conversations about you talking about the chemicals that are involved and I just personally wouldn't feel comfortable dealing with those types of things, and I heard someone make a statement once that the cheap comes out expensive. So, like you said, you might think you're saving some money by doing it yourself, but if you have to call in a professional to come and fix you know what what's wrong, you're just ending up spending more money. So I know a lot of us have graduated from YouTube university, but leave it to the professionals.

Speaker 3:

Well, and you know, the other thing too that a lot of people don't necessarily take into consideration is, you know, they may not have all the equipment or the tools needed to do that. So then they got to purchase you know supplies basically to do all this. And then if they think, oh yeah, I'm going to do it right, I'm going to diamond grind it, you got to go've got to go find for one. Good luck finding a place to rent an actual, a decent diamond grinder, plus dust collection and all Really it does.

Speaker 3:

by the time you factor in those real costs, it generally doesn't really make sense, unless you're just gung-ho and you just really love that satisfaction of doing something yourself which don't get me wrong is great, but if you don't necessarily want to do it but you're trying to just save money, I'd maybe caution you to reconsider that.

Speaker 2:

Well, I appreciate you, david. Thank you so much for helping us understand the real differences between DIY and professional results, and in this case, let's go professional and call David with Mile High Coatings. We'll see you next time on the Mile High Coatings podcast.

Speaker 3:

Sounds good.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for tuning in to the Mile High Coatings podcast. Ready to give your space a fresh, durable finish, visit milehighcoatingscom for a free price quote or call 970-314-1023. At Mile High Coatings, we're not just painting walls, we're setting a new peak in quality. Until next time, keep your standards high and your coatings higher.