Thursday, December 10, 2009

For What Reason Would One Use Garage Floor Stain In Place Of One Of The Other Coverings Or Coatings?

A garage floor stain is not a good thing, right? Doesn't that generally mean that the rags and cleaning solvents need to come out? Generally, yes, that is the case, but staining your garage flooring may not always be so undesirable. You're probably familiar with the idea of wood staining, and the same basic principle works with garage floors as well. It is true, a concrete garage floor, as well as any other masonry, can be imbued with a colored stain. Are you wondering why one would want to do such a thing? Just keep reading for more details.

Can Garage Floor Stain Protect My Concrete?

It's very simple: garage floor stain does not protect your concrete. Now, that being said, there are some products that label themselves as stain that say they include some sort of protection. For the most part, those products are a combination of two chemicals in one package: garage floor stain, and some sort of sealant. This is a very good thing for the buyer because even after you have applied stain to your flooring, you will definitely want to use a sealant, so buying it in one package with directions to match just makes sense. However, keep in mind, you don't have to stain your concrete to get the sealant. Clear garage floor sealing products are also available separately.

Epoxy Is Hard To Apply...Is Garage Floor Stain?

It's not hard at all. Actually, aside from using a garage floor mat, staining has got to be the easiest of any of the garage floor finishes to use. As with every garage floor coating, the concrete will need to be spotless before starting to have everything come out correctly. Besides that, applying stain really is a lot more like normal painting than, well, garage floor paint! The main step is just applying with a paint roller, after which you wait for it to dry.

Does Garage Floor Stain Cost A Lot?

Stain is very inexpensive, making all of the other garage floor coatings look downright outrageous, except when you add the cost of sealing it afterward. Actually, even then, stain usually compares in price to epoxy garage floor paint, as long as you figure both being installed by yourself, and if you do need to have someone do the install, stain is still much, much cheaper. This is due to the one coat application of most garage floor stain products, as opposed to the multiple coats and all the mixing that is required for an epoxy garage floor coating.

Why Should I Even Consider Garage Floor Stain?

There's really only one reason to use a stain, either inside the home or outside in your garage, and that is for looks. Most people don't have a need for any kind of protection, except maybe from the elements, but they do like unique things, which garage floor stain definitely is. Before you apply it, though, just make sure that staining will do what you need done in a garage floor coating.