c/garage-renovation

23

diana_kim66•16d ago

Talked to a concrete guy at Home Depot last weekend

He saw me loading bags of self-leveling compound and asked what floor thickness I was shooting for. When I said a quarter inch he laughed and said I'd be grinding it all back off within a year. Is there a standard minimum thickness people actually use for garage floors?

1

willowg88•19d ago

Serious question about garage floor epoxy and why I changed my method

My buddy Mike told me I was wasting my time with the cheap roller-on epoxy kits from Home Depot. He said I needed to use a two-part polyaspartic coating instead, which cost me about $450 for my 2-car garage in Phoenix. I had been doing it wrong for years, just putting a thin coat down and wondering why it peeled up in 6 months. Has anyone else had better luck with the more expensive stuff or am I just getting hustled by the pro painters?

3

emeryj66•22d ago

That week I tried to insulate my garage doors and made everything worse

Last October I spent a whole Saturday putting up those foam board panels on both garage doors. Thought I was being smart cutting down on the cold drafts. By Wednesday the moisture buildup was so bad I had water dripping down the metal tracks. Had to rip it all out and start over with a proper vapor barrier setup. Anyone else tried DIY insulation and ended up with a bigger problem than you started with?

5

king.eric•23d ago

Found out garage epoxy really needs 60 degree temps minimum

I started my floor coating in late October when it was 55 degrees and it peeled up in three spots within a month. Read the fine print on the can and realized that detail explains everything. Anyone else mess this up their first time?

10

ward.kim•23d ago

Epoxy floor went wrong when I didn't dry the concrete enough first

I was doing my garage floor in Phoenix back in March. Read all the instructions, prepped the surface, even did the acid etch. But I guess I didn't let it dry long enough after the last rinse. Laid down the epoxy and within an hour it started bubbling up in spots. Had to stop halfway through and scrape it all off while it was still tacky. Lost about $120 in materials. Has anyone else had moisture issues with their garage floor coating?

22

the_piper•24d ago

Spent 6 hours patching drywall in my garage, still looks like a disaster

I decided to fix the holes in my garage drywall from previous shelves. Thought it would be a quick 2 hour job tops. After 6 hours of mudding, sanding, and re-mudding, the texture is still all wrong. The old paint is peeling around the patches too. Has anyone actually made garage drywall repairs look seamless without hiring a pro?

20

the_leo•24d ago

TIL garage epoxy kits are rated for weight differently than I thought

After my car tire lifted a 6 inch square of my floor paint last weekend, I called the manufacturer and found out their 'heavy duty' rating was tested with a 500 pound stationary weight, not a 3,000 pound car rolling over it, so has anyone else had their coating fail from actual driving?

27

bennett.harper•24d ago

Spent $40 on a foam insulation kit for my garage door. Huge mistake.

I saw guys online raving about these DIY foam board kits for garage doors. Picked one up from the hardware store for $40 and spent a Saturday cutting and sticking it on. Problem is, the adhesive failed after two weeks and half the panels fell off. Now I have sticky residue all over my door and regular insulation looks way better. Anyone else try these and have a better method for keeping them stuck?

3

the_sam•26d ago

Swapped my old workbench for a DIY folding one

Used to have this massive wooden bench taking up half the garage. Could barely park my truck. Last month I built a folding one from a YouTube tutorial. Cost me $60 in plywood and hinges. Now I just flip it down when I need it. Anyone else try a space saving setup that actually worked?

16

jamie_webb67•27d ago

Stop painting garage floors without etching first

Saw a guy on Nextdoor show off his new epoxy floor and it's already peeling after 3 months. He skipped the etching step, whole thing is wasted. Anyone else dealing with customers or neighbors cutting corners on prep?

13

lewis.mila•27d ago

Vent: Sliced my finger on a sharp shelf edge in my own workshop

Was reaching for a can of paint in my garage in Austin last month and a metal shelf bracket caught my hand. Needed 4 stitches and couldn't work on any projects for a week. Anyone else got scars from their own garage setup?

4

logan658•28d ago

Took me 6 weekends to figure out why my garage door kept reversing

I spent almost 2 months chasing a ghost. My garage door would go down about halfway then shoot back up. Replaced the springs, checked the sensors, even bought a new logic board. Turned out the track was just a tiny bit out of alignment near the top where I never looked. A quick tap with a hammer and some grease fixed it in 5 minutes after all that work. Anyone else spend way too long on something this simple?

3

the_tessa•28d ago

Almost gave up after my garage roof leaked during a rainstorm last Sunday

I was two days into insulating and drywalling when a storm rolled through and water started dripping right onto my brand new workbench. Had to tear down 4 sheets of drywall and start over because the wood got all warped. Has anyone else had to redo a big chunk of their garage project due to weather?

6

ray_williams•28d ago

Tried epoxy floor coating myself, garage looks like a zebra now

I watched like 20 YouTube videos and thought I had it down. Mixed the two parts together in a bucket but I didn't stir it long enough. Now there's light spots and dark spots all over my garage floor in my house in Phoenix. Learn from me - pay someone or stir that stuff for a full 5 minutes minimum. Has anyone else messed up garage floor epoxy and found a way to fix it without grinding everything down?

10

michael_green44•29d ago

Had to choose between epoxy and polyaspartic for my garage floor, went with the cheaper option

Was getting quotes for my 2 car garage in Austin and epoxy was gonna be about $1200 while polyaspartic was almost double that. I went with epoxy because my buddy said it holds up fine if you prep right. Did the whole thing myself over a weekend, acid etch and all. It's been 4 months and honestly no complaints so far. Anyone else cheap out on their floor coating and regret it later?

15

juliarodriguez•1mo ago

Shoutout to the guy who told me I was storing my paint cans wrong

My neighbor Dave saw me stacking latex paint on the concrete floor and said the temperature swings would ruin them in 6 months. I moved everything to a shelf against the insulated wall, and a year later every can still mixes up perfectly. Anyone else get a random tip that saved you from buying new supplies?

5

evan_cooper73•1mo ago

Threw away $300 on cheap epoxy before trying a proper 2-part system for my garage floor

After 6 months of peeling and yellowing from the $40 kit at the home center, I redid it with a real 2-part urethane from a proper floor supply place and it's been rock solid through a whole winter of salt and snow melt, anyone else make the same mistake with the cheap stuff?

17

king.eric•1mo ago

Took me 3 garages to figure out I was hanging drywall upside down

I've renovated three garages over the past 7 years and every single one had a weird jagged edge near the ceiling where the drywall meets the joists. Last week my buddy who does this for a living walked in while I was finishing up garage number four and just stared at me. He asked why I was hanging the sheets with the tapered edge facing the floor. I had no idea the long tapered sides are supposed to butt up against each other for a smooth flat seam, not face the concrete. All those years I just assumed the factory edge belonged on the bottom near the slab. Has anyone else realized way too deep into a project they were doing a basic step completely backwards?

13

karenb97•1mo ago

Worst garage project week ever - my floor epoxy cure went sideways

I spent 4 days prepping and coating my garage floor with Rust-Oleum epoxy last Tuesday and a leaky roof dripped water right into the wet finish overnight, leaving permanent white circles everywhere has anyone dealt with fixing epoxy blotches without stripping the whole thing?

7

gavin_hunt5•1mo ago

Cheap Amazon lift (Vevor) vs Ace Garage Storage?

Is it worth paying a bit more for an Ace Garage Storage motorized lift over the cheap Vevor ones on Amazon? I'm installing it myself but I want something safe.