Worked case: a two-car flake epoxy garage in Rancho Carrillo, old peeling coating removed first — what happens and what it costs

The scenario

Picture a two-car garage in a neighborhood of older homes, with a slab a little over 400 square feet. An earlier owner painted the floor with a one-part epoxy paint, and the paint has had many seasons to wear. Near the garage door the paint has curled and lifted in sheets, and at the back wall it still looks fine. Tire marks and a few oil stains darken the middle. The walls hold shelves and the stem wall, the low concrete wall around the room, is bare and dusty.

The new owner wants a speckled flake floor and a coating on the stem wall so the room looks finished. The question is what to do with the paint. A quick scrape with a putty knife at the door lifts it in sheets, which says the old film has no grip on the slab. New coating over it would peel in the same shapes.

The starting conditions at a glance:

• Size: two-car garage, 440 square feet
• Existing floor: an old paint-type coating, peeling near the door and sound at the back
• Slab: several decades old, with hairline cracks and oil spots
• System: full-broadcast flake epoxy with a clear top coat, stem wall included

What the job involves

1. The installer scrapes a corner of the old coating with a putty knife; because it lifts in sheets, the whole film is treated as failed and marked for removal rather than recoating.
2. A diamond grinder with a vacuum and dust shroud takes the old film off in passes, and a scarifier works the thicker stubborn patches; the door stays open and a fan pushes the dust outward.
3. A moisture check follows, because paint can hide a damp slab; a calcium chloride test or in-slab probes give a reading before any new coating goes down.
4. Cracks are routed, filled and ground flush, and the oil stains are degreased and ground a second time.
5. A primer and a 100%-solids epoxy base are rolled in sections; the flake is thrown by hand until the floor is covered, and the stem wall is coated to the same system.
6. Once the base has cured, loose flake is scraped and swept, a clear top coat locks the flake in, and the data sheet sets the day for foot traffic and the day for the vehicles.

Materials and prep

• Diamond grinder and scarifier with dust shroud and vacuum
• Putty knife, moisture test supplies and a fan for ventilation
• Flexible crack filler and patch mortar
• Epoxy primer, 100%-solids epoxy base, vinyl flake in the chosen blend and a clear top coat
• Rollers, squeegees, a flake broadcast bucket, spiked shoes and tape for the stem wall edge

Add-ons often paired with this job

• Custom flake blend — +$100–$300. A custom blend of flake colors lets the floor match cabinets and walls.
• Coat the entry steps or landing — +$100–$300. The entry steps from the house are coated in the same system.
• Move the garage contents out and back — +$150–$400. Moving the shelving and boxes out and back is a flat line the owner can take on.

Why it is done this way

Removal is the first decision, because the failure is in the old film. A new coating bonds only as well as the layer under it, so a film that already lifts will lift again. The scrape test is a cheap way to see which kind of floor is in front of the installer.

A moisture check belongs here as well. Old paint can sit on a damp slab, and when the paint is gone the slab is the next thing to test. If the reading is high, a moisture-mitigating primer goes down, or the job is reconsidered.

The flake finish suits a garage whose slab has a lot of history. The chips hide small pits and patches that survive the grind, and the texture is a little grippier than a smooth color. The stem wall is a small area that makes the room look done.

The old coating line of $1–$3 per square foot pays for the removal. Without it the price would be a flake floor on a bare slab. With it the range climbs, and the owner can see exactly which line adds what.

The alternatives that were weighed and set aside:

• Recoating over the paint would save the removal line and bring the same peeling back.
• Solid-color epoxy would cost $3–$6 per square foot but would show the patches the grind leaves behind.

What would change the price

• Old film that is thicker or harder than a paint needs scarifying and raises the removal line.
• A reading above the primer threshold adds the damp-slab line of $2–$4 per square foot.
• A three-car-wide garage changes the area and every line scales with it.
• Partial flake broadcast changes the material used and is priced on its own line.
• A stem wall with lots of cracks or a rough surface needs separate repair.