I’ve been installing and repairing epoxy garage floors around Sutherland for a little over ten years now, mostly in homes where the garage is more than a place to park a car. A lot of my epoxy garage Sutherland work involves spaces that double as workshops, storage areas, or the unofficial entry point to the house. I’m a licensed flooring applicator by trade, but most of what I know came from real garages, not training rooms.
One of the first garages I ever coated in this area taught me how deceptive concrete can be. The slab looked clean and dry, and the owners had kept the space immaculate. A few months later, patches of the epoxy started to lift. Moisture was migrating up through the slab, something common in older Sutherland homes but easy to miss if you don’t test properly. That job forced me to change how I assess garages. Since then, moisture testing has been a standard step, no matter how “safe” the floor appears.
Garages take a different kind of abuse than any other room. Hot tyres roll in, oil drips get ignored for days, and heavy tools get dragged across the surface. I worked on one garage that belonged to a weekend mechanic who was tired of sweeping concrete dust every time he moved a toolbox. We installed a solid epoxy system with a mid-sheen finish. Months later, he mentioned that cleaning had gone from a chore to a quick hose and squeegee. That’s usually the point where people realise epoxy isn’t just cosmetic—it changes how the space functions.
I’m careful about expectations, though. I’ve had to talk people out of choosing ultra-gloss finishes because they’d seen them online. In practice, those surfaces show tyre marks easily and can feel slick when wet. For most epoxy garage projects in Sutherland, I steer people toward finishes that hide wear and provide some grip. They don’t photograph as dramatically, but they hold up better under daily use.
Rushing the process is another common mistake. I’ve seen DIY and budget installs where the floor was driven on before it had cured properly. Early in my career, I allowed a car back into a garage too soon because the owner needed the space. The coating survived, but tyre pickup marks became permanent. That experience made me strict about cure times, even if it means a bit of inconvenience up front.
From my experience, epoxy garages work best when they’re treated as working surfaces, not showrooms. Cracks need to be addressed honestly, moisture needs to be managed, and the finish should suit how the garage is actually used. I’ve advised against epoxy in garages with severe structural movement or chronic water intrusion because no coating fixes those problems.
After years of watching garage floors age, my view is simple: a good epoxy garage floor fades into the background. It handles heat, weight, and spills without demanding attention, which is exactly what most homeowners want from the space.