DIY epoxy garage floor kit vs hiring a professional

These are prices a retailer and a maker list on their own sites, read on October 13, 2026. Prices change, and stores set their own.

• Rust-Oleum EPOXYShield, 2.5-car kit: one retailer lists it at $189.88 in US dollars. The listing says it covers up to 450 to 500 sq ft, and the data sheet says one coat is enough under most circumstances. By our arithmetic that is about 38 to 42 cents a square foot. The etch and the decorative chips are in the box.^{[1, 3]}
• H&C Shield-Crete: Sherwin-Williams, which makes it, lists the kit at $155.99 in US dollars, a list price for its US stores. One kit covers 200 to 250 sq ft, depending on how porous the concrete is. By our arithmetic that is about 62 to 78 cents a square foot. The kit holds the epoxy, the activator, a cleaner and degreaser, and a nonskid additive. Flakes and a clear coat are sold separately.^{[19, 20]}

Our arithmetic for a whole garage

No maker or retailer we read publishes a kit price for a whole garage, so the totals below are ours. The inputs are each kit's listed price and stated coverage, and the floor areas are ones the installers further down use. Coverage is the maker's figure for one coat, and H&C says it depends on how porous the concrete is.^{[3, 19, 20]}

• 2-car garage of 440 sq ft: one EPOXYShield 2.5-car kit at $189.88 in US dollars, which is about 43 cents a square foot. Or two Shield-Crete kits, 2 times $155.99, which is $311.98 for 400 to 500 sq ft of coverage.^{[3, 6, 8, 19]}
• 2-car garage of 576 sq ft, the largest any US installer below counts as a 2-car: that is past one EPOXYShield kit's 450 to 500 sq ft, so two kits, 2 times $189.88, which is $379.76 in US dollars. Or three Shield-Crete kits, 3 times $155.99, which is $467.97.^{[3, 5, 19]}
• 3-car garage of 660 sq ft: two EPOXYShield 2.5-car kits, $379.76 in US dollars, cover up to 900 to 1,000 sq ft.^{[3, 6]}
• 1-car garage of 264 sq ft: we have no listed price for the 1-car EPOXYShield kit. One 2.5-car kit at $189.88 in US dollars covers it. That kit holds two pouches of about 250 sq ft each, so one pouch falls just short, and so does one Shield-Crete kit.^{[1, 3, 6, 19]}

The kit price is not the whole bill. Rust-Oleum's data sheet names a degreaser and an anti-skid additive that are sold separately, and its product page suggests a clear topcoat for best results. The instructions also call for a roller frame and cover, a brush, a stiff bristle brush and a squeegee. We have no listed prices for these, so they are not in our totals.^{[1, 18]}

If you grind the floor instead of etching it, add a grinder rental. H&C says grinding gives the best performance, and Precision Epoxy Flooring, an Ohio installer, tells homeowners set on doing it themselves to rent a real grinder. We found no rental price that meets our sourcing rule, so we give none.^{[20, 25]}

For Canada we have no kit price to show. Rust-Oleum's own pages list no prices, and Sherwin-Williams says the prices on its site are for its US stores.^{[18, 19]}

These are installers' own published prices for a whole garage, the same rows as our guide to cost by garage size. Each was read again on the installer's own page on October 13, 2026. Installers do not all mean the same floor area by 1-car, 2-car or 3-car, so the area is shown with each price.

In US dollars

Read down the columns. In US dollars, four installers publish $1,500 to $3,900 for a 1-car garage, six publish $2,200 to $6,500 for a 2-car garage, and four publish $3,600 to $11,700 for a 3-car garage. Each end is one installer's figure, the lowest and the highest published, not an average.^{[4- to 9]}

Most of the floors in this table are not epoxy. TORQ, A1, Integrity and Professional Garage Concepts price polyurea and polyaspartic systems. Red Diamond prices a flake epoxy floor.^{[4- to 7, 9]} Dallas Epoxy Guys, also in the Dallas area, lists its flake systems at $5.50 to $7.00 a square foot in US dollars.^[27]

In Canadian dollars

Read down the columns. In Canadian dollars, six installers publish a 1-car price, from $1,400 to $3,040. Eight publish $2,400 to $5,500+ for a 2-car garage, and five publish $4,000 to $8,500+ for a 3-car garage. Metallic floors are left out of those ranges and cost more.^{[10- to 17]}

A small garage often pays a minimum charge instead of a rate per square foot. In US dollars, Dallas Epoxy Guys sets a $2,500 minimum on home floors up to 400 sq ft, and Ace Garage Pros starts floor coating at $1,850.^{[26, 27]} In Canadian dollars, M&M Floors has an $1,800 minimum on-site charge.^[16] So a 1-car garage is where a kit saves the largest share of the bill.

For every installer by garage size, the minimum charges and a calculator for your own floor, see epoxy garage floor cost by size and the epoxy garage floor cost calculator.

Take a 2-car garage of 440 sq ft, the size Integrity Concrete Coatings and Ace Garage Pros both price. In US dollars, both start at $2,640, and one EPOXYShield 2.5-car kit is listed at $189.88. By our arithmetic the gap is about $2,450 at the low end, before the cleaner, tools and topcoat a kit job also needs.^{[3, 6, 8]}

Put another way, in US dollars the lowest of those professional prices, $2,640, is the price of almost 14 kits at $189.88, by our arithmetic. Materials alone will never favor hiring. What the extra money buys is in the next four sections: the prep, the thickness, the time and the warranty.^{[3, 6, 8]}

Dallas Epoxy Guys gives the installer's reason for the gap: kits are cheaper because they usually include thinner materials, limited prep and fewer layers, and they are less durable.^[27]

Makers on both sides say prep decides the result. Rust-Oleum's kit sheet says "Preparation is critical to performance", and Sherwin-Williams calls surface preparation "an extremely important factor".^{[1, 28]}

A kit is prepared with a cleaner and a chemical etch. Rust-Oleum's instructions: remove oil spots with a degreaser, mix the bag of etch with two gallons of water, scrub it in with a stiff bristle brush one 10 by 10 ft section at a time, and rinse each section. Then wipe a finger over the dry floor, and rinse and scrub again if it picks up dust. The etch is a mild citric acid, and the sheet says not to use muriatic acid.^[1]

H&C allows either route for Shield-Crete: mechanical profiling or an acid etch, until the surface feels like 120 grit sandpaper or rougher. It adds that for best performance you grind.^[20] RockSolid comes with its own etch. Its sheet says that where water beads on the concrete, a test patch is needed, and sanding or mechanical abrading may be required if the patch does not bond.^[21]

A professional floor is prepared with machines. Simiron calls for diamond grinding or shot blasting to a concrete surface profile (CSP) of 3 or greater, Sika for CSP 3 to 4, and Elite Crete for about CSP 3 by mechanical abrasion. CSP is the International Concrete Repair Institute's roughness scale, from CSP 1 (least rough) to CSP 10 (roughest).^{[22, 24, 29, 30]}

Sherwin-Williams explains why its industry moved away from acid. It says acid etching tends to leave a CSP 1 to 2 profile, cannot remove curing compounds or oily deposits, can leave a residue that blocks bonding, and adds water to the slab.^{[31, 32]} That advice is written for thick professional systems, which it says need CSP 3 or more. The same article says a CSP 1 to 2 profile suits only very thin systems, and a water-based kit is a thin coating whose own instructions call for the etch.^{[1, 31]}

Installers describe grinding as the core of the job. TORQ Coatings says day one is grinding, crack repair and surface profiling, and that prep is 30 to 50 percent of the cost.^[4] Dallas Epoxy Guys says grinding opens the concrete and helps remove weak surface material, old coatings, sealers and contaminants. Ace Garage Pros calls acid etching inconsistent.^{[26, 27]}

Moisture is checked differently too. A kit asks you to tape a 2 ft by 2 ft plastic sheet to the floor for 24 hours and look for droplets or darker concrete.^[1] Simiron sets measured limits: no more than 3 lb per 1,000 sq ft per 24 hours by ASTM F1869, and no more than 75% relative humidity in the slab by ASTM F2170.^[22]

A mil is one thousandth of an inch. Solids by volume is the share of the wet coating that stays on the floor once the water or solvent has left. Here is what the makers' data sheets state.

• EPOXYShield water-based kit: about 53% solids by volume, and 3.0 to 3.5 mils dry in one coat.^[1]
• H&C Shield-Crete: about 41% solids by volume. Its data page gives no dry thickness.^[20]
• RockSolid: 96% solids by volume, from a blend of epoxy, urethane and polyurea. Its data sheet gives coverage of 200 to 250 sq ft a pouch and no dry thickness.^[21]
• Professional epoxy base coat: Simiron's 1100SL is 100% solids. In Simiron's flake system it goes down at 8 to 12 mils, over a primer of 3 to 8 mils.^{[2, 22]}
• Finished professional flake floor: about 60 mils nominal (Simiron), or a nominal 1/16 inch (Sherwin-Williams), with the chip layer and the topcoat.^{[2, 23]}

By our arithmetic, 60 mils is about 17 to 20 times the 3.0 to 3.5 mils of a one-coat kit. Not all of it is resin. Simiron's primer, base coat and topcoat add up to about 20 to 34 mils dry, again by our arithmetic, and the chip layer makes up the rest.^{[1, 2]}

The chips differ as well. Rust-Oleum's 1 lb bag of decorative chips for its DIY coatings covers 125 to 250 sq ft. A professional broadcast covers the whole wet floor at about 5 to 7 sq ft per lb.^{[2, 29, 33]}

M&M Floors, near Edmonton, describes the same gap from the installer's side. It says kits use 3 to 4 mil water-based resins, and that it installs 20 to 35 mils of 100% solids resin.^[16]

High solids alone do not make a kit a professional floor. RockSolid is 96% solids, and it is still a one-coat product that goes down over an etch.^[21]

With a kit, the labor is yours. After the etch, Rust-Oleum says to let the floor dry completely, and H&C says to let it dry at least 24 hours before coating. Both say new concrete has to cure 28 days first.^{[1, 20]}

Once the two parts are mixed, the clock runs. EPOXYShield has to stand for a time that depends on the temperature, and then be used within 2 hours at 60 to 70°F, 1.5 hours at 71 to 80°F or 1 hour at 81 to 85°F. It goes down in 4 by 4 ft sections with the chips scattered as you go, and the sheet says to keep a wet edge.^[1] RockSolid gives 45 minutes to 1 hour.^[21]

When each floor is ready

• EPOXYShield: light foot traffic in 12 to 16 hours, heavy items and normal foot traffic in 24 to 48 hours, and vehicles in 3 days. Those times are for 70°F and 50% humidity, and the sheet says to allow more when it is cooler.^[1]
• H&C Shield-Crete: foot traffic in 18 hours, heavy traffic in 72 hours and full cure in 7 days, at 77°F.^[20]
• RockSolid: foot traffic in 8 to 10 hours and vehicles in 24 to 36 hours, depending on temperature and humidity. Its product page says 24 hours. We went with the data sheet.^{[21, 34]}
• Professional epoxy base coat (Simiron 1100SL): heavy traffic in 2 days and full cure in 5 days, at 72°F.^[22]
• Professional polyurea and polyaspartic: Professional Garage Concepts says a standard two-car garage on a sound slab is ground, coated and topcoated in a single day, with parking 24 hours after the topcoat.^[7]
• Professional flake epoxy under a polyaspartic topcoat: M&M Floors says most home garages take 1 working day, with vehicles back after 5 to 7 days.^[16]

Installers do not agree on how long the visit takes. Integrity and A1 install in one day. TORQ Coatings gives 2 to 3 days and says proper prep cannot be rushed, and Red Diamond builds its floor over two to three days.^{[4- to 6, 9]}

Recoat windows matter if you plan a clear topcoat. RockSolid lists a 7 day recoat window without sanding. H&C allows more coats within five days, and after that the floor has to be scuff sanded first.^{[20, 21]}

Weather limits a kit too. EPOXYShield needs the air, the material and the floor between 60 and 85°F, the floor at least 5°F above the dew point, and humidity no higher than 85%.^[1]

Kit makers promise little in writing. Rust-Oleum's data sheets for EPOXYShield and RockSolid say their statements do not constitute a warranty, and that its liability, if any, is limited to replacing defective materials.^{[1, 21]} Its EPOXYShield product page lists a "no peel promise" among the features and gives no terms on the page.^[18] The H&C Shield-Crete data page we read states no warranty.^[20]

The makers of professional resin do not promise much more. Simiron warrants its epoxy against material defects for one year and excludes labor. Sika warrants its product for one year and limits the remedy to the purchase price or a replacement, also without labor. So a long floor warranty comes from the installer, not from the resin maker.^{[22, 24]} CAA-Quebec notes that without a professional installer, the manufacturer's warranty is often limited to one year.^[35]

What the installers on this page state

• Integrity Concrete Coatings: a lifetime warranty on residential floors under a roof, garages included. It covers peeling, chipping, blistering, delamination from a properly prepared slab and fading from UV exposure, and it transfers to the next owner. It does not cover cracks in the slab.^[6]
• Red Diamond Epoxy: a lifetime warranty against delamination.^[9]
• Ace Garage Pros: a written limited warranty, up to 15 years on qualifying residential systems.^[26]
• Epoxy Experts: 15 years in writing against peeling and delamination on flake and solid colour garage floors up to 1,000 sq ft, and 5 years on metallic. It does not cover cracks in the concrete, moisture coming up through the slab or chemical damage.^[13]
• Epoxy Dudes: a 15-year workmanship warranty.^[12]
• Wish Coatings: a 20-year warranty on colour and adhesion on concrete.^[14]
• Whitcrete: a 10 year warranty with its installation.^[17]
• Surface Coating Experts and M&M Floors: 5 years each, a workmanship warranty at the first and a written warranty at the second.^{[10, 16]}

These are the installers' own words, not our judgment of how any of them handles a claim. Two of the warranties above exclude cracks in the slab, and one excludes moisture from below.^{[6, 13]} Ask for the warranty in writing, and read what it leaves out.

We give no failure rate, because no source we read measures one. What follows is what the makers' own instructions warn about.

• A sealed floor. If a drop of water beads on the concrete, a sealer is present and the coating may not adhere properly. Rust-Oleum says the sealer has to be removed first.^[1]
• Moisture in the slab. Rust-Oleum says the kit is not intended for floors that have a moisture problem. If the plastic sheet test shows droplets or darker concrete, it calls for its Moisture Stop product before any coating.^[1]
• Loose or spalled concrete. Rust-Oleum says the coating will not perform properly over it, and to repair damaged areas first.^[1]
• A poor rinse. Rust-Oleum says that if the floor is not thoroughly cleaned and rinsed, the coating may not adhere properly.^[1]
• Tire residue. H&C warns that vehicle tires can leave chemicals in the driving lanes, which may show as dark brown stains and may prevent proper adhesion.^[20]
• Old paint. Rust-Oleum's tape test: cut an X through the old coating, press duct tape over it and pull it off fast. If more than 25% comes off, do not coat until the old paint is completely removed. RockSolid's limit is 10%, and H&C does not recommend putting Shield-Crete over an existing coating.^{[1, 20, 21]}
• Mixing and timing. H&C says improperly mixed resin may not harden, may leave soft spots or may vary in color. Rust-Oleum says to keep a wet edge to prevent lap marks and gloss differences, and to use the mix within its pot life.^{[1, 20]}
• A slippery floor. Both makers say a coated floor can be slippery when wet, and both name an anti-slip additive.^{[1, 20]}
• Sun. EPOXYShield is for indoor use only, and H&C says UV exposure may fade Shield-Crete's color over time.^{[18, 20]}
• Lead in old paint. Both sheets warn that sanding or scraping old paint can release lead dust.^{[1, 20]}

A professional floor has limits of its own. Simiron's epoxy sheet says tire marking may occur, that joints designed to move may show through the floor if they are not honored, and that on a slab with no moisture barrier under it, ground moisture can exceed the limit whatever an earlier test said.^[22] Sika says its epoxy will discolor over time in sunlight, and that a UV resistant topcoat may not prevent it.^[24]

Installers who are called to failed kits point to the same causes as the instructions. Dallas Epoxy Guys says most DIY failures happen because the concrete was not mechanically prepared, moisture was not considered, or the coating was not strong enough for vehicle traffic.^[27] Precision Epoxy Flooring says a failed coating has to be ground off before a new system can go down, which adds labor to the later job.^[25] Both sell professional installs, so read them as a seller's view.

No data sheet we read gives a lifespan in years, for a kit or for a professional floor.^{[1, 20- to 22, 24]} Rust-Oleum's product pages say EPOXYShield protects "for years to come" and that RockSolid "will last a lifetime". Neither page names a test behind the claim.^{[18, 34]}

Installers do give numbers for kits, and every one of them sells the alternative.

• Polished Floors, a Toronto-area installer: 2 to 5 years for a water-based DIY kit, and 10 to 15 years for a professional multi-coat system.^[36]
• GLI Epoxy Flooring, in Toronto: box-store kits start to peel within one to three years under normal car traffic.^[11]
• M&M Floors, near Edmonton: most DIY epoxy peels within 2 to 3 Edmonton winters.^[16]
• Wish Coatings, near Vancouver: 1 to 5 years for a kit, and 15 to 20 for its own floors.^[14]

Treat these as sellers' estimates for their own climates, not test results. All four are in Canada, and GLI names salt, snowmelt and freeze-thaw cycles as what a garage slab faces there.^[11]

A kit is a fair choice when the floor suits it and you accept what it is. The conditions below come from the kit makers' own sheets.

• The concrete is sound, bare, unsealed and dry. That is the floor Rust-Oleum says the kit is designed for: in good sound condition, free of curing agents and sealers, with no moisture problem.^[1]
• The garage is indoors and the floor is out of direct sun.^{[18, 20]}
• It is a 1-car garage or another small floor. In US dollars, installers' minimums of $1,850 and $2,500 apply there, against $155.99 to $189.88 for a kit.^{[3, 19, 26, 27]}
• The budget is the limit, or you may not stay in the house long. A kit puts a true 2-part epoxy on the floor for a small fraction of an installed price.^{[1, 3, 6]}
• You can give it the time: a full clean, etch and rinse, a dry floor, a session of rolling inside the pot life, and 3 days with the car outside.^[1]
• The weather fits. EPOXYShield needs 60 to 85°F.^[1]
• You accept a thin coat and are willing to redo it. Rust-Oleum's sheet covers previously coated floors: remove loose paint, pass the tape test and scuff sand the whole surface.^[1]

Professional Garage Concepts, a Dallas-Fort Worth installer, makes a similar point about chemistry: epoxy kits have a workable pot life, while polyaspartic is not a homeowner product.^[7]

If you want more than a kit and still want to do it yourself, Precision Epoxy Flooring suggests renting a real grinder, buying 100% solids material from a coatings supplier and planning a separate topcoat. It adds that the learning curve on working time and flake broadcast is steep.^[25] Simiron says not to mix more of its 100% solids epoxy than can be applied in 10 to 15 minutes.^[22]

If your choice is between a kit and one-can garage floor paint, or between epoxy and polyaspartic, see epoxy vs garage floor paint and polyaspartic vs epoxy garage floors.