Annual Epoxy-Coat Contest

[rugerlady]

It's that time of year again! I want your best stories as to why you deserve a free epoxy floor. I will be giving a Full Premium kit (500SF) to the winner, 2nd place will be the winners choosing (Full Kit or 1/2 premium kit). I always love to hear the funny stories, pictures are a plus! Enjoy and have fun with it. The contest will start now and end April 20th at midnight.

 

[wornoutoldman]

First off thank you for offering this.

I missed the last contest so I'll be back later to edit this post with photos and a "why I should win" story...

 

[homerrod]

I've done my research and came to the conclusion that epoxy-coat is the best I can buy with 100% solids. I'm a single 29 yr old guy with a mortage and have been slowly updating my house for the pass 3yrs now. It will prob take me another while to save all my pennies, before I can have my floors looking this cool. Please pick me and help me be the cool guy of the neighborhood. My neighbors are easy influence and I'm sure once they see my floors they will diffenitly want to do their floors too.

 

[kd3pc]

I built my garage last summer, and although I traded my last 1200 sportster for the labor, I at least put down some sealer. A few short weeks ago, I dripped about two tablespoons of gasoline, while replacing the fuel system on my riding mower. I am sure that had I seen the drips and cleaned them up, the sealer would still be intact. Even dead bug juice appears to dissolve it.

As my budget was tight, when I built the garage, I did what I could, but for me the epoxy would be the cat's meow, and likely last the rest of my life. And since the product should be available this summer, should I win (and of course I should) - I can get my son to help me clear the garage and remove the sealer and do it right this time.

Lesson learned, should have done it right the first time.

Thanks Christine and best wishes to all the entrants.

 

[woody6799]

I bought my house at 23 years old as a falling down foreclosure. I decided to put my car dreams on hold while I took the time to rebuild a home and make a good long term decision. I am now 28 years old, married, and still working on this house! Every room has been torn down to studs, re-insulated, given new windows, electric, and everything else. I have refinished the original oak floors, replaced the furnace, put on a new roof, and most recently gutted and rebuilt the kitchen.

Finally, after all this time and tens of thousands of dollars, my wife and I talked and I was given the blessing to buy my toy. I searched for months before I found one that matched my exact criteria... a 2003 Mustang Cobra, Dark Shadow Gray. My 11 year itch was finally scratched. I cleaned out the garage, put her in her new home and finally start planning the garage reno A few weeks go by and the wife approaches me with some news... she wants to go back to school... not just any school, nursing school.

There goes the fun money. The goes the Cobra money. There goes the garage money. Want to talk about a popped balloon!

This woman will be the death of me!

Some pics of the gem on her throne!




I would love a new floor! Hopefully it would start a much needed project!

but how do I say no to her?

 

[Scud67]

Thanks for the offer Christine, but 500 sf would not cover even half of my floor...

I would enter this, but then I need to come up with the money to do the rest of the floor and that just won't happen anytime in the near future. Plus, my garage is already the "envy" of everyone who sees it - just imagine if I had this flooring installed! I think someone would burn it down just because they would be SO jealous! Of course, the floor would probably be the only thing to survive such an attack, but that is beside the point..... alas, I can only dream of having such a nice floor in my already awesome shop.....

 

[rick21765]

This contest couldn't have come at a better time. In February 2013, I injured my back while on a traffic stop (I am a police officer). I tried to go the minimally invasive route by trying physical therapy, chiropractors, and steroid injections. Nothing helped my back. I had back surgery in November 2013 to fix things. Needless to say, things around the house here have really gone untouched. My garage is really in desperate need of some help. The first thing it needs is a good cleaning.



My wife would love to get the garage to look like it did a year ago. We used to be able to fit two cars in here!!


I have some real big plans for the garage. I want to make it a mini museum to pay tribute to my recently retired K9 partner and all his achievements.



He worked with me for over 8 years and it has been a huge adjustment for me to go to work without him. At least he is waiting for me when I get home. I want to decorate the walls with pictures, awards and plaques we have earned over the years.



Of course, this would not be complete without a great looking floor. When I started looking into which product to choose, I quickly learned the 100% epoxy product was the best to choose. Unfortunately, money has been tight because of the back injury. I was thinking about trying one of the water based products out there but I keep coming back to the 100% epoxy (mostly in part because of this terrific forum). The leader in my mind has been Epoxy-Coat because it is available at Lowe's but mainly because of the great reviews on here and the Lowe's website.

I hope I am fortunate enough to win the contest. I think it's great you do this annually. It just shows there are terrific companies still out there concerned with customer service.


I am also going to include a link to the newspaper article the local paper did about my partner and his achievements. I am really going to miss being a K9 handler but God has blessed me with the best partner and best job for 8 years.

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20140328/news/140328425/

If you watch the video attached to the article, I did my best not to get choked up. I intentionally didn't look at my wife or mother to avoid this. Unfortunately, my human partner started to get emotional and that got me going!

 

[Slippin3]

Not even tossing my hat into the ring after reading Ricks.

Good luck!

 

[irregardless]

Not even tossing my hat into the ring after reading Ricks.

Good luck!

x2...

 

[rugerlady]

That was a good story!

 

[rugerlady]

bump.....come on guys, there has to more good storeies out there!!

 

[AnthonyJ124]

Not even tossing my hat into the ring after reading Ricks.

Good luck!

X3. I won't even try to beat out that awesome K9.

 

[Hpozzuoli]

My 4yr old daughter likes to go in my toolbox, take my screw drivers, and start digging inside of the little holes I have in my floor. When she is done with digging she likes to pour water in the hole to make a pool. Now I have a crater faced floor with small holes. This winter didn't help so now I am faced with covering the floor before next winter. 3 holes in the top of the pic and one on the bottom right.

 

[rick21765]

Not even tossing my hat into the ring after reading Ricks.

Good luck!

x2...

X3. I won't even try to beat out that awesome K9.

Thank you guys for the support guys! It really means a lot. I think it's terrific Christine and the folks at Epoxy-Coat do this annually (sometimes multiple times a year). I have been busy at work and haven't checked the post in awhile. I was kind of surprised there were not more posts on here. Take advantage of their generosity and post some more stories.

Good luck to all.

 

[BUGTHUG]

Even if you give me 500sf, I would still need to buy 700sf more. So if you want to make some money from giving some away, here's your chance
I have fresh concrete, nows the time to coat it? Yes

 

[bochnak]

If I win, I'll document it with articles and YT vids on my blog:

http://www.howtomotorcyclerepair.com/

I think my audience would enjoy it also

 

[rampin]

After 55 years the old garage floor will be needing a new face! This face has seen many of cold winters bringing in snow and salt to weather and age me. You ask yes after 55 years I still have acne (you may call it pock marks or spalling) but I also have a few wrinkles or cracks that really are making me look bad.
So I went to the floor doctor and he recommended a face lift! Not just any ordinary face lift but a premium face lift by Epoxy Coat! Yes! Epoxy Coat to the rescue! Please help me! I do have a few good years left in me and would like to look young again!!!!

 

[wornoutoldman]

In the interest of bumping this thread (and for the win!) I offer here, for the first time ever, a look into my rediculously small SoCal garage...








The Good:

1) Although small it is mighty. It has managed to swallow up 35 years of tool collecting, motorcycles, car parts, etc.

2) Plus I can park my (see wifes) car inside with plenty of room to open doors and get people, pets, groceries in and out. Also as I am about 20 miles from the coast it is more of a dessert climate and the sun is brutal on vehicles paint and interiors. Getting into a cool car is a real plus here.

3) The small size forces better decisions. I can't hoard too hard as there would be no place to keep everything. As I get older I (like many others) am continually downsizing "stuff" in my quest for the appropriate amount of possessions I want tying me down.

4) The garage is attached to the house so the playground is only a few short steps away at any moment.

5) As a displaced midwesterner the 365 days of veritable sunshine and zero humidity each year makes for quality garage time most any time and is a welcome reprieve from artic cold/snow, freezing rain, mosquitos I left behind.


The Bad:

1) At 22 deep by 18 wide this is the smallest garage I've ever owned in my adult life.

2) Ahhhmmmm...... yeah that's about it for the bad.

Oh and it really needs an Epoxy-Coat floor finish!

Here's wishing everyone good luck and.... Pick Me! Pick Me!

 

[pauleyman]

I don't have a funny story but boy do I have a story. I'm just like all of you and enjoy projects in my garage. All of that stopped for me May 20th last year and here is my garage.

I lost a 25 year collection of tools and garage implements and the worst is the car parts that I cannot replace as they are long since out of production.
Now that all the red tape has been cut I am set to close on my new home tomorrow. I have managed to build my dream 3 car garage with all but one thing. An epoxy floor. Since the concrete is fresh I'd love to do this now instead of later. Thank you for making this contest available. Crossing my fingers.

 

[920kip]

Cool Kawi. You won't need one of those flying tiger candles. You also have a nicely organized garage.

 

[600SL]

My Epoxy story

About 7 years ago I went to Home Depot and purchased there top of the line epoxy Rustoleum system installed with a 3 year warranty.

They come down and do the estimate and ask me what color flakes I want and I said I don't want any flakes. They said OK measured everything and gave me the estimate a few days later. I said good lets go and I had the garage cleaned out the following weekend and requested them to come down.

The first guy comes down to grind the floor it looks great then the next day I get a call at work. It is the guy to paint the floor. He advises me that he cant paint the floor without putting down flakes because it will be slippery and I might fall on my ****. He advises me that if I want no flakes I would have to come home from work and sign a waiver of liability. I became very angry with the guy and advised him that this was not the time to have this conversation, I also told him that if he couldn't put the floor in now to pack up and leave. c

Consequently he agreed to do it. It lasted nicely through the first winter. The next winter every time it got below 32°F the floor started to lift. One day I come in in the morning and a 48" x 18" section was lifted and lolled up lying on the floor.

I picked the piece up rolled it up and put it in a bag and went down to HD. I told the lady at the service desk that I was not satisfied with the floor and that I did not want it repaired I wanted a refund. She advised me that they would have to send someone down to look at it. I advised here that she didn't have to send anyone down because I brought it with me and I rolled out the 4' piece of epoxy.

First I got the jaw dropping stare, then she said OK but we still have to send someone down. So they come down and advise me that they will have to do a test for water seepage and that if there is evidence of water they would not be responsible. Of course we got into an argument and I advised them that if there was a test for water seepage that they did not do before they put the floor down then they were responsible.

Well they did the water seepage test and it came back "inconclusive", whatever that means. But they agreed to honor the warranty and refund my money.

While I got my money back they didn't come back unpack my garage and strip off the paint and put everything back. That was left to me when I redid it myself. Trust me that is most of the job.

Not sure what happened with this epoxy. I believe the contraction rates between the epoxy and the concrete were so dissimilar that when it got cold the shear stresses exceeded the bond strength. You could actually hear it start to disbond and watch it curl away from the floor as the outside temperature dropped for the night. This was not a 100% solids epoxy system.

 

[my68spit]

Well, this probably doesn't hold a candle to some of these other stories, but here goes:

At a very young age, my father started teaching me about small engine repair, large engine repair, regular maintenance on cars, irregular maintenance on cars, etc. His garage became the neighborhood "shop" for bicycle repair, ramp design/build/test for said bicycles. Over the years the garage saw many cars come and go. We changed oil together on all the family cars, we went through two project cars (an old Fiat and an old Triumph), we went through one of those project cars catching on fire.
The garage became a paint-shop for cars and science fair projects.
The garage became a wood-shop for boy scout projects and a shed building headquarters.
The garage became a entrepreneurship HQ as well when my father encouraged my brother and I to start a neighborhood recycling organization effort WAY before the waste management companies caught on and gave everyone special bins for it. We smashed the entire neighborhood's aluminum cans with sledge hammers on that floor and Slung bundles of old newspapers and magazines together on that floor.
The garage became a special place to me because it meant I was spending time with my father. Learning from him. Laughing with him. Growing with him.

I didn't realize it at the time when it was happening, but now that I have a little boy of my own, I understand what a special place that was. I also now understand just what a beating we put that garage floor through!

Recently he asked me about refinishing his floor. He is retired now, and doesn't need a "working" garage anymore. He wants a nice looking floor. A floor that's easy to clean in the winter. And I want to be the one to give it to him. It has taken a beating over the last 30+ years and it's time for that floor to be as good as new again...for my dad.

 

[LuckyRPS13]

Why do I deserve a free epoxy floor... It would be really great if I did. I am an extremely loaded down Dad. I work 12 days on 2 days off, 64+ hours a week, 128+ hours every 12 days. Then to improve my life, I signed up for college as a full time student. Like I said I am a busy guy. The idea is to decrease the time spent working to live and increase the time at home with my 3 kids and disabled wife, enjoying my life. Right now I am in the process of building a project car and buying a house. It has plenty of room for the family and a modest 2 car attached garage that is screaming for me to finish it, and my project car in it. Seeing how I will be spending almost my entire life savings purchasing, general maintenance, buying appliances, and other things in general to make my family comfortable before I drop a dime on myself, it would be nice to have some thing extra for me. With the way the dead line ends on this giveaway it would work out perfect on allowing me to epoxy-coat the whole garage before I move a single tool or part in.

Thank you for your consideration and time reading through this.

Brandon

 

[Adriana]

Hey Christine....you can not imagine just how much I have had to listen to my fiancé talk about epoxy coatings. I get random pictures of all different types and colors of coatings. I get information about water based epoxy and 100% solid epoxy. I'm to my ears in hearing about degreasers, etchers, squeegees and paint rollers. He even has me dreaming about epoxy floors.

So with that all said let me tell you a little about why I feel my fiancé deserves an Epoxy Coat Kit for his garage. He has worked so hard to achieve the American Dream of owning a home. He comes from humble roots and knows first hand that with sacrifices and perseverance anything is possible. He takes great pride in his home. Though he has big dreams for making upgrades to the house after bills are paid, there isn't much money left. We have started a penny jar for the garage floors, but as you can see, we still have a long way to go.



Not only is my fiancé a hard working, intelligent and humble hearted man...he has also been a great partner to me and an incredible step-father to my son. My fiancé is a caring and compassionate man who also has great morals and values. I'm so proud to call this man my future husband and to know that he will be a living role model for my boy makes me incredibly happy. I would love to give this gift to my fiancé from my son and I for Father's Day. It takes a great man to fully accept a woman and her son and I feel like entering this contest for him is the least I can do after all he has done for us.

It would be dream fulfilling to have beautiful and top quality epoxy floors. There are many great candidates who are all deserving and I wish them all the best of luck. But please!!! Please, help me put an end to the epoxy talks, messages, pictures and dreams!!!

Thank you for this opportunity,
Adriana

 

[stealthz]

I'd love to get the chance to coat my 2 car garage floor. Since week one after building the house it has been abused and needed to be coated and with back to back deployments and trips around the world haven't had time yet. This next few months I'll finally have time to look into finishing the entire garage from top to bottom. It has been the place of changing oil, to our prized German Shepherd giving birth to her puppies during her down time from training.
As much as my wife hates it when I go to the "Garage", we all know its where friends and family get together. I can't tell you everything that we use it for and how great it would be to be selected, as there are a ton of great stories. I can tell you that it is used daily besides our cars, and will be used to its full potential. PLUS my nieghbors are influenced quite well. Never seen some one copy another after their car purchase. There is a reason we have our garages nick names Club House 1 and 2.
Thank you for the opportunity and I hope I am selected.

 

[rugerlady]

Ok folks! Long overdue announcement of the winners! drum roll please....
1st place rick21765
2nd place pauleyman

Thank you all for participating! Call me at the office to collect your prizes.

 

[bochnak]

Congrats to the winners! Looking forward to pics!

 

[woody6799]

Congrats fellas!

 

[SunsetsAndFriends]

Congratulations to the winners and to everyone who participated. This is pretty special. Thanks Christine! Thanks Epoxy-Coat!

 

[rick21765]

Wow! This is great news. I will call you early next week. Thanks again Epoxy-Coat!!

 

[pauleyman]

WOOHOO! Now who wants to help me install? Thank you Christine.

 

[68sixspeed]

congrats to Rick and his K9 they deserve it. God bless our men in uniform, home and away, 2 legs or 4. And Pauleyman, best of luck on rebuilding.

 

[rick21765]

congrats to Rick and his K9 they deserve it. God bless our men in uniform, home and away, 2 legs or 4. And Pauleyman, best of luck on rebuilding.

Thanks! I really appreciate that.