DIY vs Hiring a pro?

[Bryan_S]

I'm building a house and would like to epoxy the garage floor. It's about 550 sq ft. I haven't called any of the local floor finishers yet but I'm curious if anyone has a general rough estimate for DIY cost vs hiring a floor coater. I've been pricing out kits from Legacy to try to get a rough idea of that cost and I'm curious, is it typical to spend double that cost to have it done professionally, 4 times more, 10% more? I just want to have a rough idea so if I get quotes that are unusually high or low I can realize someone is abnormal.

Thanks

 

[duneslider]

I can't answer this specifically but don't just base the decision off the price. Get references and call them. Go look at his work. Ask specifics about his process. Find someone that is going to do a perfect job and stand behind it. Find out what brand of materials he uses and call/visit the supplier and ask about him. Don't just drop a few grand and cross your fingers. If you get 2-3 quotes you will quickly know what the going rate is in your area.

 

[shaun oriold1]

I'm not sure what the going rate is for flooring out in NC. Im in the $5-7 range for a flake floor up here in Toronto. I can however give you tips hiring a pro.

As a flooring contractor, I'll tell you to educate yourself on the process, and materials. Then when the contractor tells you something, you can judge what he is saying as truth, or not. You can take a crappy contractor, and if he says something with enough conviction it will sound legit.

I find with my work, I use my own pictures as much as possible. I hate seeing people using stock photography in their brochures. IT means nothing of their ability. Go ask to see some of their work ( recent, and older jobs). I love showing off my work. My customers too! Ask about the materials, but calling/or visiting the supplier will probably be a waste of your time. - get the data sheets from the contractor. Having proper data sheets readily available ( not necessarily available at time of meeting) will ensure he is using a consistent product, not just buying the cheapest one currently available. It will also tell you a lot about the process, and product. Compare that to what they tell you in person.


Other random questions to ask /consider:
*Ask about how they handle warranty, how long of a warranty. ( dont fall for that lifetime ****)
*How long in business?
*Liability Insurance?
*Clean up?
*Are cracks included in the price, or are they extra?
*Ask them if they've ever screwed up a floor, and what the reason, and resolution was - I'd be weary if they say no...
*Ask about their equipment. Are they renting it, or do they own it, and know how to use it properly
*Are they testing for moisture with a moisture meter? What happens if the readings are high


You need to educate yourself on the product in general first, then evaluate the contractor's abilities. Most decent companies will probably be using a comparable product. But the whole experience will be different. I'm a total nerd with my company. I'll bore customers to death with the intricacies of diamond bond in relation to concrete hardness. Or CNC machine specs ( on the closet side of my business) I'm honest, and want to educate my customer as much as possible. Then when they tell their friends how happy they are, and how awesome I am, they're doing the selling for me!

As for your question of doing it yourself, or hiring it out. I'll just say, most of my customers are better off working at their jobs to make money to pay me, than to toil away learning how to do a floor. IF you're retired and want to fool around then go for it. Its a lot of fun. The machines are neat, and its rewarding to have done it yourself. Just be aware, I'd say half the floors I do are re-doing what the customer did themselves -Granted its usually from big box stores.

Shaun

 

[speedcheck]

Hi Shaun,
Do you any work in the Cambridge Ont. area ? I'm looking to get my floor done in the spring. Typical two car attached, house is 2 year old.


Thanks,
Mike

 

[retfr8flyr]

First, the slab needs to age at least a month before you put a floor down. When I was pricing my floor, the local cost to have it done was between $6-$10 sqft for a floor with flakes and clear top coat. I ended up doing my own floor, with top notch products and counting everything I spent, including storage pods, it worked out to abut $3.50 sqft. I included the equipment I purchased, grinders, grinding cups, dust collection and such also, even though I still have them and use them for other things now, in the total cost. This was almost 2 years ago and the floor still looks like the day I finished it.

 

[Shea]

Shaun just gave some excellent advice when choosing a contractor. In terms of DIY cost for a professional style multi-coat floor vs hiring someone else, it's hard to give an accurate estimate. It depends on where you buy your product, what tools you already have vs what you need to purchase, possible rental costs for grinding, and etc. Keeping that in mind, you will most likely be in the neighborhood of 30 - 45% of the cost of hiring someone else depending on what the going rate for a comparable floor is in your town.

As an example, a neighbor of ours down the street did his own floor last week. He did a primer coat, 100% solids color coat, full flakes, and two coats of polyurethane clear with some Shark Grip in the final coat. His garage was 390 sq ft. He had to repair some small cracks and a couple of divots in his slab. He also did the stem wall on 1 side.

He originally considered a reputable contractor in the area that gave him a competitive price of $2180. His out of pocket costs for product, Diamabrush grinding rental, and required supplies was $847. So he paid roughly 39% of the contractors quoted price plus his own time.

One thing that people forget to factor in when deciding to do a floor themselves is the additional costs for everything else you will need to get the job done besides product.

 

[NitroShark]

When I was pricing my floor, the local cost to have it done was between $6-$10 sqft for a floor with flakes and clear top coat. I ended up doing my own floor, with top notch products and counting everything I spent, including storage pods, it worked out to abut $3.50 sqft. I included the equipment I purchased, grinders, grinding cups, dust collection and such also, even though I still have them and use them for other things now, in the total cost. This was almost 2 years ago and the floor still looks like the day I finished it.

My DIY results were exactly the same as retfr8flyr......


Shawn

 

[mnavillus]

Depending on the products and materials you will use for a DIY + your time...you can typically save between 40%-60% of the cost by installing your own garage floor VS hire a professional contractor.

However (assuming you hire a reputable contractor) ask your self is that additonal cost worth (better surface preparations,better over all final product, and warranty and last but not least your time?

If it is?...then you have your answer!....if it's not? Than you are on the right forum to get great advice on how to perform your own installation.

Let me know should you have more questions?

good luck

 

[James-W]

However (assuming you hire a reputable contractor) ask your self is that additional cost worth better surface preparations, better over all final product, and warranty and last but not least your time?

I would say that is a very good way to look at it.

 

[workhurts]

The real question is this.

Do you think you will do a better or worse job than your average professional. I use the term professional loosely. Then it's a matter of expectations and what you can live with and then add the risk of failure.

What I personally hate more than anything else is paying someone to do a crappy job. I'm more than capable of doing that myself, thank you.

This isn't a jab at true professionals, but I don't really understand how anyone that does a job multiple times and is in a particular line of business can do things so wrong. From floors, to tile, to framing, to concrete to whatever ... the industry is full of professionals whose only profession is GCing and finding the cheapest crew that happens to be available at the time.

If you pay for it, get references and go look at the work. If you are doing simple epoxy and aren't going for some extravagant design or product, do your research ... prep the floor and put down a quality product. Not much can go really wrong.

For a garage that size, having help would be ... helpful.