Hello Garage Coats our Garage Floor – Mix & Apply the Epoxy

Once the construction of the garage bathroom was finished, the ceiling and walls painted, the new garage door and exterior door installed, we were ready for the exposed concrete floor to be coated. Diane and I were excited that Hello Garage was finally coming out to coat our concrete garage floor. We had already been briefed about the process, which begins with grinding down the surface, using an angle grinder (crack chaser) to cut out, widen, and clean random cracks, vacuum up the dust and debris, then apply several layers of products to permanently coat the concrete floor with a beautiful, durable finish. The process is very noisy, dusty, stinky and yet fascinating to watch, so rather than assemble a very long video of the entire process, I decided to break it up into several logical parts. This video is part 2.

The four most important design features in the conversion of our garage are the full bathroom, the insulated garage door with windows, the glass exterior door, and a beautifully coated concrete floor.

Background:
Diane and I love our small ranch-style home in Sequim, Washington where we retired in 2017 – especially the unobstructed southern view of the Olympic Mountains and our almost level half-acre lot, with beautiful gardens and a private, fenced-in backyard. Built in 1978 with 2x4 exterior walls, which was to code at the time, our two-bedroom house has only 1,260 square feet of living space. It was originally a three-bedroom home until we opened the hallway wall of the middle bedroom and installed a French door leading out to our backyard. This modification expanded our living space while giving us both a northern view of our backyard gardens through the glass French doors and a breathtaking view of the Olympic Mountains through our south-facing picture windows while sitting at our dining room table.

Still, we both want more living space.

We explored adding on to our existing house, but because of the low ceilings and gable roof that is sloped on both the front and back sides of the house, and its 2x4 exterior wall construction, the estimates by several contractors ranged from extremely costly to impossible. Our only option for expanding our living space is by converting the attached 24x24 foot garage. We can accomplish this by installing a ductless heat pump, coating the concrete floor, insulating the attic, installing an insulated garage door with windows, building a small bathroom, installing a kitchenette, etc. Essentially, we could make this into a studio apartment where a family member or live-in caregiver could stay and assist us when we are unable to care for ourselves. Envisioning the possibilities, we could even rent out this small apartment to a professional single adult or couple. There is a major shortage of affordable housing here in Sequim and Port Angeles. Many residents in our area have converted spaces in their garage or home or have built an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) that they rent out to earn additional income. Besides increasing our living space, this will increase the value of our home. There are many benefits to this home improvement. However, there is one major drawback – losing our garage with no alternative for parking our cars out of the elements, most importantly my 1931 Ford Model A pickup.