epoxy or stain??

[TKK]

I have a new barn and have a large enclosed room that will be my shop/man cave. I am trying to decide between doing the floor in epoxy (used on garage floors) versus staining the concrete. Advantages or disadvantages to each? Thanks

[dru.bishop73]

Concrete stain is easy to do, easy to clean and looks really cool. Man cave in a barn is pretty much a perfect application for that. The only downside are that it can be tough on your feet/legs if you spend a lot of time on it (assuming it will only have occasional use though?). Also, anything accidentally dropped will not survive impact. I've not used the epoxy. I think it is a more fussy to apply, but it might help with these last two?

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[Christianhuff]

I'm doing epoxy on my new garage, will let you know how it goes and will be done in 2-3 days.

[Bullseye07]

Epoxy coating is much more durable

[bbqfan5909]

Epoxy all day, my garage floor awesome. Did stained concrete in my last home, wasn't all that impressed.

[TKK]

the epoxy is roughly double the stained concrete. Will not spend a huge amount of time on it - I like the stained look better than the epoxy but also want to do what will hold up best

[QuackerWacker83]

I would do stain. If you don't like it you can always go over it with epoxy.

[JakeGraves]

If you are ever welding, cutting, or grinding the epoxy will melt. I would stain it. Either way, the concrete needs to have s good finish with minimal cracks.

[Snakelover]

When we had our covered patio stained, they went over it with a clear sealer. The particular product they used is a single-part system, not epoxy. It's pretty durable, but I have no idea how resistant it is to various chemicals, etc. I think one thing that is universal anytime you have a sealer put on a smooth surface is that if it gets wet, it's slippery. We ended up putting on another coat with a non-skid additive. That made it safer when wet, but also harder to clean, so it was a trade-off. Anyway, if you go the stained route, you can always add a coat of sealer when you see it starting to get worn down to the color. No paint product is "forever" and it sometimes proves better to go cheaper with the intent of reapplying every so many years. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[TKK]

When we had our covered patio stained, they went over it with a clear sealer. The particular product they used is a single-part system, not epoxy. It's pretty durable, but I have no idea how resistant it is to various chemicals, etc. I think one thing that is universal anytime you have a sealer put on a smooth surface is that if it gets wet, it's slippery. We ended up putting on another coat with a non-skid additive. That made it safer when wet, but also harder to clean, so it was a trade-off. Anyway, if you go the stained route, you can always add a coat of sealer when you see it starting to get worn down to the color. No paint product is "forever" and it sometimes proves better to go cheaper with the intent of reapplying every so many years. Good luck with whatever you decide.

great info guys - thanks

[Tbar]

If your 4 wheeler leaks a little oil which coating will make up clean up easier?

[Christianhuff]

Epoxy

[cj7zrcool]

A garage/shop floor is probably a little different, but we had our whole house (3K sft) done in metallic epoxy last year and love it. Much more durable than stain. We paid $5/sft, but I think it's $5.75-$6 now.

[RMW]

Stain

[TKK]

A garage/shop floor is probably a little different, but we had our whole house (3K sft) done in metallic epoxy last year and love it. Much more durable than stain. We paid $5/sft, but I think it's $5.75-$6 now.

they are quoting me $4.00 a foot for epoxy here - never seen an entire house done that way - pics would be great