Most residential garage floors we install are a one-day job. That only works if the room is actually ready when we pull up, so here is the honest prep list — what you handle, what we handle, and the two or three decisions worth making before the morning of.
Everything has to come out. Everything.
The floor gets ground wall to wall, so the garage has to be empty. Not mostly empty. Empty. Cars, bikes, totes, the extra fridge, the lawn mower, the stack of paint cans, the kids' sports gear, the box you have not opened since the last move.
Start a week out, not the night before. People consistently underestimate a garage, and the folks who start early are the ones who are not stacking bins in the driveway in the dark. If you have a covered spot, a side yard, or a neighbor with room, line it up in advance — and check the weather for whatever ends up outside.
Anything bolted to the wall or floor
Wall cabinets, shelving standards, workbenches, bike hooks, floor-mounted racks, and car lifts all need a plan. If they touch the floor, they are in the way of the grinder. If they hang low on the wall, they are in the way of the edge work.
Tell me what is mounted when I quote the job, not on install day. That way we either build the time into the schedule or you get it handled beforehand, and nobody is standing around with a drill while the crew waits.
The fridge, the freezer, and the pets
The garage refrigerator is the classic one. It has to move, and it will be unplugged for the day, so eat the ice cream or make room inside the house. If you have a chest freezer full of food, tell me early and we will talk about timing.
Pets need a plan too. Grinding is loud, and there will be a door open and people moving in and out all day. The freshly coated floor also needs to stay off limits until it is ready, and a dog does not read tape.
What we need from the house
Power and water access, a clear path from the driveway to the garage, and enough room to park the truck and trailer reasonably close. We run 20-grit diamond grinding with dust extraction, which keeps the dust down enormously compared to open grinding, but it is still construction work — I would close the door between the garage and the house and pull anything precious off the shared wall.
One more: make sure your garage door opens and closes properly. If the opener has been temperamental, mention it. That door is going up and down all day.
Decisions to make before the morning
Two things are much easier to settle in advance than at seven in the morning.
First, color. We carry 517 Torginol flake blends plus 36 UV+ colors, and you can browse all of them on our color page. Pick with your own light in mind, not a screen.
Second, slip. Our standard coatings are not slip-resistant, and an anti-slip additive is available as a paid upgrade. If the space is going to get wet — a bay where you wash vehicles, a floor that catches snowmelt off the cars all winter — decide on that before install day, because it is part of how the floor is built, not something to add afterward.
What the day actually looks like
We mask and protect, grind the slab open, chase and repair cracks, then lay the 100% solids cycloaliphatic epoxy body coat and broadcast flake across the whole floor. Once it takes, the excess flake gets scraped back, and the commercial-grade polyaspartic topcoat goes on last.
Then comes the part everyone wants a number for: when can I walk on it and when can I park on it. Those windows depend on the system, the temperature, and the day, so I will give you the exact times for your floor before I leave rather than guess at them here. Follow them. The most preventable damage I have ever seen on a new floor came from a car going back in early.
After it is yours again
Sweep the grit out, wipe spills instead of letting them sit, and put felt or plastic under anything with hard feet that is going to slide. That is genuinely the whole maintenance routine — I get into what actually shortens a floor's life in how long an epoxy floor really lasts.
If the garage is going to be empty anyway, it is also the ideal moment to deal with the walls, lighting, and baseboards in the same push, which is what our garage makeover work is for.
Questions about your specific garage? Call or text me at 505-352-4674 or send the free quote form. I will walk the space with you first, free, so install day has no surprises in it.