Highlights
Replacing garage flooring costs an average of $2,200.
Small flooring repairs or recoating can start as low as $300.
It can cost more than $4,000 to completely revamp garage flooring.
The total cost depends on the size of the area, the type of flooring material, and labor.
The garage is one place that gets pretty heavy foot traffic, as well as tire traffic from vehicles. This can quickly lead to a cracked surface which could be detrimental to the total foundation of your home. The total cost of a garage floor replacement will depend on square footage, what type of flooring material you choose from, and whether you need a full replacement or only repairs.
The low end of replacing a garage is around $300 for small repairs and DIY recoating, while the high end is around $4,100 for a complete resurfacing or new flooring in the garage.
How Much Does It Cost to Replace a Garage Floor by Square Footage?
On average, the cost to replace a garage floor is around $7 per square foot. One-car garages will run around 240 square feet while a two-car garage runs around 440 square feet.
The cost to replace a garage floor will depend on what parts of the job you tackle yourself. Doing minor repairs and recoating can save you around $3 to $4 per square foot.
Could I get a concrete slab instead?
If you're only working with a gravel pad, and there is no concrete foundation, you’d have to go with a concrete slab instead of pouring concrete. But if you have a concrete foundation or cement block walls around the area you want to build flooring, your best option is to pour a concrete floor.
Garage Floor Replacement Cost Breakdown
While the cost of living will determine labor, there are a few other items that are going to affect the final price of a garage floor replacement. Because you’re dealing with the concrete of the home, you need to consider the foundation if there are any cracks. And maybe you’re tired of the simple gray flooring and want to switch it up for another color stain!
Structural Testing
Since the garage floor is often a part of the concrete foundation of the home, you’re likely going to need to call out a structural engineer to verify that everything is okay. You might also be required to have a geotechnical engineer come out to test the soil to make sure the land is still suitable to build on.
Common prices for evaluations include:
Structural engineer: $550 for a single report
Geotechnical engineer: $1,500 for a single report
Repair
In the event that either of these reports brings about needs for repairs, then they are considered a priority and should be tackled first. These can be small repairs that only cost you around $10 to tackle yourself. Or it could be something major such as foundation repair, which could cost upwards of $19,000.
Staining
The garage doesn’t need to be a dull and boring place to only park your car. You can spruce it up by adding in different colors, though multiple different colors will raise the overall price.
Common prices by the number of stains include:
Single stain: $4 per square foot
Multi-stain: $10 per square foot
Stamped concrete: $14 per square foot
How Much Does It Cost to Replace a Garage Floor by Type?
Don’t feel like you’re stuck with the same concrete flooring that’s been there since you bought the home. While concrete flooring is the standard, you can always put different flooring over it if you want to change the purpose of the garage.
Concrete With Epoxy
Concrete with an epoxy coating is the best way to protect your garage from future problems. Epoxy goes over the concrete flooring about three times.
Epoxy is the garage equivalent to calcium for our bones. It helps keep the concrete strong so it has a higher resistance to cracking and helps keep any stains from soaking into the concrete. You’ll also find it adds a nice shine to the garage floor, so the garage tends to feel a little brighter.
To resurface a concrete floor and then coat it with epoxy, expect to pay around $2,200.
Vinyl Flooring
Maybe you’re looking to turn the garage into more of a utility room or entertainment space rather than a storage area. Vinyl flooring that you install yourself will run you around $1 to $2 per square foot, depending on the color and style of the flooring you choose.
Carpet
Carpet is the perfect solution if you need flooring with a little more padding when entertaining. Because carpet requires a few more steps than vinyl flooring, expect to pay around $3 to $5 per square foot for carpet installation.
Rubber
Rubber flooring is the best option out there if you want to double your garage as a home gym. It not only saves the flooring from your gym equipment, but you can still easily park your car on rubber flooring. Rubber flooring will run you an extra $1 to $2 per square foot.
Tile
Are you looking for a way to add character to your garage floor so it doesn’t have the same dull color? Adding tile flooring to your garage is a creative way to add a luxe feel to the garage while it still maintains its original purpose of simply parking your car.
Tile flooring consists of several different materials, with the average price of each costing around:
| Flooring Material | Cost |
|---|---|
| Ceramic | $3.75 per square foot |
| Porcelain | $6.50 per square foot |
| Porcelain Wood Tile | $7.50 per square foot |
| Rectified Tile | $8 per square foot |
| Slate | $10 per square foot |
| Glass | $10 per square foot |
How Much Does It Cost to Replace a Garage Floor Yourself?
You can certainly tackle this project yourself if you’ve worked with concrete in the past. By resurfacing a garage floor yourself, you’re probably only going to spend around $2 to $5 per square foot on average. You’ll need a few materials to get started though, which include:
80lb. bag of concrete mix: $5 per bag
5-gallon mixing bucket: $6
Darby to smooth the concrete: $50
Utility gloves: $15
Epoxy: $35 per gallon
Once the concrete portion of the garage is finished, you can then go about picking out the top layer of flooring. So if you wanted vinyl flooring, add on another $1 to $2 per square foot.
But if this is your first time tackling concrete and epoxy, it’s definitely worth it to hire a professional epoxy flooring company. It’ll cost you around $7 per square foot on average, but they’ll make sure they get the major repairs taken care of and that the epoxy settles and protects your garage floor effectively. That way, you’re not having to redo this project in six months.
FAQs
How long does it take to replace a garage floor?
Resurfacing takes about eight hours on average, with another couple hours over three days to do the epoxy. Epoxy goes on in three coats, with each coat taking 24 hours to dry.
What does epoxy do?
Epoxy helps protect your garage floor from moisture, staining, and cracks over time. Concrete itself is typically porous, which the epoxy fills and creates a smooth finish. Installing garage floor epoxy may also extend the lifespan of your garage to upwards of 20 years.
What do you do if your garage floor is sinking and cracking?
If your cement garage floor is sinking and cracking and is over a basement or crawl space, do not park in the garage. Call a local structural engineer out ASAP to address the problem.
If it’s not over anything, then it depends on the severity. Cracking is normal over time, but you should call out a structural engineer if the garage continues to sink and crack in a very quick amount of time.
What is the best garage floor coating?
There are two main types of garage floor coating you can consider, epoxy and polyaspartic. With epoxy coating, it comes in at a more affordable price but loses when it comes to durability and long-term use. Polyaspartic coatings cost more and are slippier, but they withstand accidents better and don’t tend to fade.
Talk to your garage floor installer to see what option works best for you.
