Why Your Garage Floor Paint Has Started To Peel Away Away

Whenever you first realize that your epoxy garage floor paint has begun to peel, your initial reaction may be to place blame to the product itself. I mean, if the coating is tarnishing, then it has to be some cheap, ripoff product, correct? Well, not necessarily so. In truth, this "cheap" and "inferior" floor coating normally won't peel, dull, crack or even wear away. Most likely, if your garage flooring is having a peeling problem, it is more of a moisture problem.

The Effect Of Moisture On Epoxy Garage Floor Paint

Although epoxy does a wonderful job of protecting the concrete garage floor from water in the air, such as rain or humidity, it can't do a thing against water coming from below. The seal that the paint creates can keep everything from water to brake fluid from hitting the concrete floor. Oil, for example, will just sit right on top of epoxy paint until it is cleaned off.

Concrete Is Porous

Since the concrete for your garage floor sits underground, both its sides and bottom are able to absorb any liquids that they find there. Even if something were to somehow get to the concrete there to stain it, you'd never see the actual stain, so the primary worry is water. Unfortunately, this water that is absorbed into the concrete must evaporate. That wonderful epoxy garage floor seal suddenly becomes its own worst enemy. It's a dual edged sword: it will keep the moisture in just as it keeps moisture out. As the water rises through the concrete, it begins to create bubbles under the garage floor paint. As the bubbles expand, they will eventually burst, causing the dreaded epoxy paint peeling.

Epoxy Garage Floor Paint: Killed By Humidity?

There are a few different factors that are area related that can cause this peeling effect. Overall humidity can play a large part. If the area is humid, then everything stays a bit damp, including the ground and any untreated wood that the garage is made of. Concrete will slowly absorb moisture from both of these sources. The situation will be multiplied dramatically if water is able to pool against the concrete in any place.

Ground Water Is Water, Too

The height of your water table can also affect the garage floor coating. The water table is, put loosely, the surface of the ground water. If the water table sits high, this means that the water is sitting close to the bottom of your concrete, and the water will try to use the relatively porous garage flooring to make its way to the surface to evaporate. If the soil in your area tends to stay relatively moist, even when the earth is cracking only a few miles away from a heavy drought, then beware. It's very likely that you have a high water table.

Check out Sweet Garage Floor for more information on garage floor paint.