How to Pimp Your Garage Floor {On a Budget}
A few weekends ago Prince Charming and I worked on our garage….BIG time! We got up early and went to bed late. We took ibuprofen to make it through the aches and pains that that much DIY will give you and we made BIG things happen around here.
You see there’s a back story to this post but it’s so long that I’m not going to bore you with it. In the end it’s one of those personal things that really only means something to Prince Charming and me anyway. The long and the short is that for 12 years we’ve been saving to add a garage onto our house. 12. Long. Years. We thought it would happen 7 years ago. It didn’t. I was disappointed. And mad. But in the end it taught me that good things really do come to those who wait.
What’s so important about a garage you ask? Well if you don’t have one then you understand. For the last 12 years, after I have parked my car, I’ve been tiptoeing on wobbly stepping stones to get into my house. Carrying groceries in through the grass covered wobbly stepping stones. Getting soaked in the rain, running to the door. I know cry me a river right?! I’m not complaining I’m just explaining. Well maybe I’m complaining too but just bear with me I’m getting to the point.
So it took 12 years and while it was hard to wait I am thrilled that we did, cause this new garage means the world to us and we LURVE it!!!
But now onto the point of this post. Staining our garage floor. You may remember our barn renovation that I told you about earlier this year. We worked really hard getting the barn into better shape for my workshop {and possibly future store}. While doing that I discovered an amazing way to make concrete look like tile with stain. So it was no surprise that we decided to do the same look in our new garage.
As you can see we started out with average concrete that had cured for about 3 months or so.
Then we taped off sections in a diamond/angle pattern. I prefer to do this pattern apposed to a regular square pattern because it tricks your eye into thinking a room is bigger than it really is. I do this when laying actual tile too.
Next it was time to start staining. I used Behr Semi-Transparent Concrete Stain tinted in Dark Coal.
Applying the stain is fairly easy and can be done with a roller. We chose to apply it with a cloth because we like to have more control over how much actually goes onto the floor and create more variation by using more or less in each area.
After allowing the stain to penetrate, this takes about an hour or so, we removed the tape carefully.
It takes a lot of tape.
Once all the tape was removed we sealed the concrete with Behr Low-Lustre sealer. I like low luster because I’m not a fan of glossy floors but there are several different finished to choose from.
As you are applying the sealer your concrete tends to look milky, don’t worry once it’s dry it’s all the same sheen.
And here you have it. Since we finished the floor we’ve done several more projects that you can view by clicking on the links below.
~Build a Barndoor to conceal our closet
~Stenciled the existing concrete floor
In the end transforming your garage floor takes a lot of hard work and less than $50 in materials. Anyone can do it if you put forth the time and effort. Happy DIY’ing my friends!
This looks amazing! You guys did a great job.
Thanks Sonya!
My question is….how does keeping it clean work. I am seriously contemplating this for inside our house (living room and two bedrooms) but I wonder how well it will hold up to sweeping and mopping all the time.
Hi Mary,
Let me be clear…I drive my giant SUV on and off of this floor daily and my husband pressure washes it frequently. It holds up perfectly. We are clean freaks around here. It’s been over two years since I stained it and it still looks as good as it did the first day it was done.
Thanks,
Beth
Wow! Your garage floor looks so nice!
Thanks Paula!
Your floor looks amazing ~ I wouldn’t mind this in my kitchen!
Thanks Mary Beth-I’m about to do it in a full basement for a client. It’s definitely indoor/outdoor friendly.
🙂 Beth
Beth this looks wonderful! I’ve pinned to save for a future project in our garage!
Thanks Wendi. I can’t wait to see how yours turns out.
Blessings,
Beth
Looks great, Beth!!! That was a lot of tape and measuring, but so worth the effort!!! ~Christy
Thanks Christy!!!!
I can’t wait to try this in my 1400 sq ft basement! We’ve had light colored berber over the past 12 years, and throw in raising kids and cats and dogs, well lets just say the berber isn’t light colored anymore. It’s downright nasty, even when it’s “clean”. I’ve been itching to pull up the carpet and expose the concrete, and now I’ve got a plan…thanks!
You’re very welcome Hunter. Email me a picture of it when you get it done.
Blessings,
Beth
How long did it take for the sealer to dry?
Hi Cindy-it takes about an hour for it to dry so you can walk on it and overnight before you can drive on it.
Thanks,
Beth
so excited to do this in our new home! I do have a question though…what type of tape DoD you use? I’d like to buy the correct one the first time to make sure that the stain doesn’t bleed through. Thanks in advance!
The first time, on the barn floor, I used scotch blue and the second time do our garage I used gorilla. They both worked well. The gorilla tape was easier to tear into thin strips. You will have a little bleed through no matter what you use. But it looks purposeful.
Good luck with your project!!!! Let me know how it goes.
Blessings,
Beth
Beth,
Thank you so very much for the directions and the inspiration ! I am going to do this to my concrete patio this year. If that goes well I may tackle my garage.
Thank you very much!!!!
Judy
Great job!! Can I do this to older concrete floors?
Hi Marlene,
I don’t see why not. As long as they haven’t been previously sealed they should be fine.
🙂 Beth
Your floor looks amazing! I’m thinking of doing this to our back patio. One question, how far apart are your tape lines and how did you get them straight?
Hi! Thanks, my lines were about 18″ apart. I really just took my time and measured, measured, measured. It was time consuming but so worth it. It would look great on a patio.
Good luck with your project!
Beth
The directions indicate using an etching prep as well as a primer…. Did you use either of those or just go straight from bare concrete to stain and then sealer? I’m very interested in doing my garage floor as well!
Thanks!
Tyler
Hi Tyler,
Since my concrete was new I just applied it straight to the bare concrete and it soaked right in. After that dried I applied the sealer. 🙂
Good luck with your project!
Beth
ACK! So I see in another post that you discuss the stenciled floor. Please disregard my question.
BTW, LOVE the stencil, it’s wonderful.
Rebecca.
how do i prepare a concrete floor that has had stick-on carpet squares. what is necessary before stain can be applied?
nice look!
Hi Gary,
I’ve never dealt with that type of service so I can only tell you what I would do in your shoes. I would think there is some sort of sander that would remove the leftover glue residue. After that, I would try staining a small area and go from there. If the stain does not adhere or look good I would proceed with paint instead. I hope this helps!
Blessings,
Beth
Hi! I love this idea, and I see in previous comments you agree that it would work on a patio (we don’t have a garage but I would like to do this on the concrete surrounding our fire pit). Do you think it would need to be redone a lot if the concrete were completely exposed to weather?
Hi Tallie,
I think if you seal it adequately it should hold up well. I’d suggest 3 coats and maybe re-coating with sealer every other year or even yearly if needed. Good luck with your project! Thanks for being here!
Blessings,
Beth
This is fabulous!! You did an amazing job–the concrete looks just like stone tile! I am wondering…could you use a similar technique to make existing tile look like stone? I want to change white porcelain to look like gray stone (sort of like yours). Would I be able to paint /stain it to achieve that look? Thanks!
Marliese,
I know there are products to tint porcelain but I’m not sure if this would work. The surface needs to be porous in order to soak up the stain. If I were you I’d try staining a small area that’s not noticeable and see how it looks. I hope this helps! Good luck with your project!
Blessings,
Beth
Thanks for your reply! I just might give it a try…
Marliese – Did you try this on the tile? Did it work if you did? I love the look and we have white tile in our basement I would like to change. 🙂
I would love to do this in garage but live in Chicago and we have bad winters and bring in salt on our cars. How long ago did you stain and have care caused any problems?
Hi Pat,
I stained it over a year ago and it’s held up well. In your area I’d suggest sealing it a couple times.
Thanks,
Beth
Hello, your floor looks amazing. I will be trying this in my garage and on my patio. Ive looked at several other tutorials and you make it seem so easy. Did you treat the concrete first by power washing and then using an acid or use a diamond blade grinder to etch the surface? I was told by several hardware stores and concrete companies I was going to hire to do it, that you have to do that or the stain and sealer will peel up and you’ll have to constantly redo it. How has yours held up? I really don’t want to have to do all that.
Hi Octavious,
Since I was working with new unsealed concrete I was able to just apply the stain and sealer with no issues. It’s been over a year now and it still looks as great as it did the day I finished. Your prep will depend on what has previously been applied to your concrete.
Good luck with your project!
Beth
Did you use a different type of tape this time? Last time you cut the Scotch painter’s tape– and this time it looks different. Which would you recommend?
Hi Tracy,
I did. This time I used the Gorilla brand of duck tape. I was easier to tear. Either tape will work well though.
Thanks,
Beth
Makes me wish I had concrete somewhere to do this to. LOL.
Hahahahahah Judy! It is a lot of work but also really fun!
🙂 Beth
Hi I love this idea. My garage concrete is not that new looking. It’s used hard so it’s kind of dirty looking. What should I do for prep before I do this. Any suggestions would be so appreciated thank you. Carol
Hi Carol,
Each time I’ve done this technique I’ve done it on new concrete. I would suggest pressure washing yours if it isn’t new and then waiting a couple days for it to dry before staining it. Thanks for reading!
Beth
Hi, so I made an oopsy. I was cleaning our children’s toys outside on our concrete patio and accidentally got Clorox on it, which in turn lightened my concrete patio. Do you think the concrete paint would work to patch up where I bleached it? My patio is close to the same color your garage floor is now.
Thanks
Hi Nick,
I would try a test spot and see how it goes. It might be a little lighter in that area but since it’s a stain that might look even better. You could also just clean the whole floor with bleach before staining to get a more uniform look.
I hope this helps. Thanks for reading!
Beth
like it I would do my cellar floors but with no tape, was wondering if I can get light and dark with fruit sprayer? maybe use two different colors?? lay a base coat and then use spray with a darker stain! your thoughts!
Hi John,
I’m not sure about a fruit sprayer? You could just have the stain tinted a darker color.
Thanks,
Beth
Hi Beth,
I love this and I totally want to pull up the Pergo and try it. When we removed the carpet in the basement and pulled out the nails, it left shallow divits where the concrete chipped out. I’m totally into imperfect but would rather not have holes in it. Any ideas of how I can fill these holes. I thought about filling with some kind of clear epoxy and just letting these not stainable place be different.
Do you think epoxy would work? This is old concrete in 20 year old house. BTW, last time I came up to Nashville from Birmingham I visited your store. So cute!!! I will be back!!!!
Hi Amy,
I’m not sure epoxy would adhere to the concrete longterm. Hmmmmmmm I think I would just let them fill up with the clear topcoat sealer after staining. Thank you so much for coming to the shop!!!!
🙂 Beth