Homeowner Guide
What garage floor problems show up in Michigan homes?
Michigan garage floors fail in a short list of ways: road salt lifts thin films, freeze-thaw opens cracks, hot tires pull soft epoxy, and 1940–1980 slabs without a vapor barrier push moisture under a DIY kit, so the symptom you see on the shovel or the tire patch is usually chemistry and prep, not bad luck.
This page is symptom-first. Each heading is what you actually say in the bay. The fix cost is marked [VERIFY] unless it already lives on the published calculator adders.
If the coating is unknown epoxy, the install rule on this site is 100% removal to bare concrete. There is no skim-and-recoat on a mystery film.
Why did the coating come up with the snow shovel?
The film was too thin or poorly bonded, and freeze-thaw plus chloride turned the edge into a lift tab.
Symptom: flakes or sheets ride the shovel after a January storm. Likely cause: no diamond grind, a paint-thickness epoxy, or salt-scaling concrete under the film.
DIY-able: no, not if the field is lifting. Typical fix cost: [VERIFY] for a full strip; calculator coating-removal adders on a new quote are $1–$2 / sq ft extra.
A flood coat is the repair path when more than 50% of the field shows pinholes or a salt-scaling network, after the failed film is gone.
Why did hot tires peel circles out of my epoxy?
That is hot-tire pickup on a soft or under-cured epoxy, not a random stain.
Symptom: half-moon prints where you parked after a highway drive. Likely cause: aromatic epoxy that never reached full cure, or a film that stayed thermoplastic in summer heat.
DIY-able: no. Patching the circles on top of the same chemistry repeats the failure. Typical fix cost: [VERIFY].
Polyaspartic systems on this site are the garage build we spec for salt, oils, and hot tires when the slab is prepped. Standard epoxy is listed at 3–7 years residential; polyaspartic at 15–20 years with normal use.
Why is my bare garage still dusty no matter how much I sweep?
The slab is chalking. A coating does not stick to dust, and sweeping does not stop it.
Symptom: gray film on shoes and freezer lids. Likely cause: laitance, freeze-thaw scaling, or never-sealed open concrete.
DIY-able: sweeping and a big-box sealer will not lock it down for Michigan salt. Typical fix cost: [VERIFY] as a standalone dust-proof; a full grind-and-coat sits in the $5–$12 / sq ft garage range.
Why did bubbles and craters show up a week after we coated?
Moisture vapor or outgassing pushed through the film, which is common on pre-1990 Metro Detroit slabs with no vapor barrier.
Symptom: pinholes, bubbles, or a blister field. Likely cause: MVER at or above 4.0 lbs / 1,000 sq ft / 24 hr, or coating a new pour before 28 days.
DIY-able: no. Typical fix cost: [VERIFY]. Calculator moisture adders on a correct rebuild are $0.50–$1.25 / sq ft extra, plus 100% strip if the film already failed.
Why did the garage floor turn amber near the overhead door?
Aromatic epoxy chalks and ambers in UV. Daylight at the door is enough.
Symptom: yellow band at the apron. Likely cause: epoxy without an aliphatic / polyaspartic topcoat.
DIY-able: painting over amber epoxy is not a UV fix. Typical fix cost: [VERIFY]. A UV-stable polyaspartic topcoat is the chemistry this site specs for sun-exposed bays.
Why did the kit from the warehouse store peel in one winter?
Most kits are thin epoxy with no grind, and Michigan chloride plus freeze-thaw will find that edge.
Symptom: peeling at joints, hot-tire prints, or a whole field lifting. Likely cause: no CSP 2 profile, oil still in the slab, or epoxy applied in a January 50°F–90°F miss.
DIY-able: no second kit on top. Failed unknown epoxy is 100% removal. Typical fix cost: [VERIFY] plus the $1–$2 / sq ft removal adder on a replacement quote.
What do people ask after a Michigan garage floor fails?
It is usually a thin film on unground concrete plus chloride and freeze-thaw. Road salt turns a weak edge into a shovel tab. The product name matters less than whether the slab was diamond-ground and whether the chemistry can take hot tires.
No. Those circles mean the film went thermoplastic under a hot tire. Coating the same chemistry over the print repeats it. The published repair path for failed unknown epoxy is 100% removal to bare concrete.
Dusting means the slab is shedding. A coating can lock it down after a grind, which is why professionally installed garage systems are published at $5–$12 / sq ft. Sweeping and a roll-on sealer will not survive Michigan salt.
This site’s default ceiling for a direct bond is 4.0 lbs / 1,000 sq ft / 24 hr. At or above that, a moisture barrier is mandatory. 1940–1980 Metro Detroit garages often have no polyethylene vapor barrier, so the test is not optional.
UV at the overhead door ambers aromatic epoxy. Aliphatic polyaspartic topcoats are the UV-stable path this site publishes for daylight bays. Painting a new color over amber epoxy does not add UV stability.
A typical dollar to strip and rebuild a peeling garage is [VERIFY] as a packaged repair. What we can publish: coating removal adders are $1–$2 / sq ft extra on the calculator, and a full replacement sits in the $5–$12 / sq ft installed range after 100% removal.