Most garage coatings that fail in Southwest Florida were never a “bad epoxy.” They were a pretty film on a slab nobody measured. We install from Naples through Sarasota, Bradenton, and Tampa Bay the other way: see the house, test the concrete, grind, then coat. Giraffe Coatings, trained crew.
What you are actually buying
The chip blend is the photograph. The job is whether that film is keyed into sound concrete that can hold it through August tires and a wet season. We will not sell you the photograph without the prep.
01
Appointment day — at the house
Measure, color options, and a concrete hardness test on the slab so the grind matches this pour.
Hardness tells us how that slab needs to be ground so the coating has a key — not a shine. We do this every visit.
02
Written quote after the slab
Square footage and repairs come from the visit. Door-to-door and same-day “from the photo” numbers skip that on purpose. If we cannot stand behind the slab, we walk.
03
Diamond grind — the key
Coatings stick because the liquid flows into a mechanically opened surface and hardens as a lock. We diamond grind. We do not acid etch. Too little profile and the film sits on a skin and peels. The grind is matched to the system we are installing — a garage film is not a kitchen mortar, and we do not treat them as one recipe.
04
Repair, then coat
Cracks and spalls get filled so the finish does not telegraph every rut. Then the system we quoted — usually a hybrid garage film with a UV-stable wear coat — not a weekend kit from a box store.
05
Return to service
Most residential garages are one workday on site after prep. Foot traffic, wheeled traffic, and parking a car are three different clocks on the data sheet. Recoat windows are not park-on times. The quote lists the printed times for that system. We do not sell “drive tomorrow.”
What we will not do
- Quote a Florida garage from a texted photo.
- Acid etch and call it prep.
- Paint over a peeling kit.
- Put a garage flake system on a pool deck because the bag was already open.
- Promise park-on times the data sheet does not print.
Those are how floors fail here. We would rather lose the job than own that redo.
Garage is not outdoor
Manufacturer garage-and-shop overviews name garages and shops. A lanai or pool deck is a different exposure — sun, splash, wet feet. We quote outdoor only when a product data sheet names that use. Pool deck and patio →
If you already have a failing floor
The failed film comes off. Then the same tests, then a recast — not a second layer on a first failure. Why garage epoxy peels in Florida heat →
Builders and GCs
Same tests, written spec, COI on request, nights when the building has to stay open. Do not send us a punch-list date and a photo of a new slab. For general contractors →
Install questions
Do you quote garage epoxy from a photo?
No. Florida slabs vary house to house. We come to the property, measure, talk color, run a concrete hardness test, then write the number.
Why test the concrete if you are going to grind anyway?
The grind has to match that slab. A concrete hardness test on appointment day tells us how to prep this floor — not a generic recipe.
Do you acid etch?
No. We diamond grind. Acid does not give a reliable key on the slabs we see here, and residue works against adhesion.
Is this the same process as a patio or pool deck?
No. Garage systems are specified for garages and shops. Outdoor slabs get their own look and their own quote — only when a data sheet names that exposure.
When can I park on it?
The quote lists the printed times from that product’s data sheet for foot traffic, wheeled traffic, and parking. We do not sell “drive tomorrow” as a guarantee.
Can you coat over a peeling kit?
Not as a paint-over. The failed film comes off with a grind. Then we test and recast. See why garage epoxy peels in Florida heat.