Garage Floor Coating in Georgetown, SC

Old town, old concrete

Georgetown is one of the oldest cities in South Carolina, and its historic district, on the National Register since 1971, has homes from as early as the 1730s on wide, shaded streets. Garages are rarely original to houses that old. They are usually later additions or detached buildings, with concrete that may be decades old, frequently with no vapor barrier beneath it, paint or stains on top and cracks from settling and roots.

An old slab can still take a great coating. It needs more prep: grinding off paint and stains down to clean concrete, filling cracks and pits, and a moisture test, because a slab with nothing under it draws ground moisture freely. See grinding vs acid etching.

Five rivers and a bay

The Waccamaw, Great Pee Dee, Black and Sampit rivers all come together at Winyah Bay beside Georgetown. When upstream rain rolls down the Pee Dee basin and meets a high tide, water backs into low parts of town. Ahead of the river crest after Hurricane Florence in 2018, nearly 8,000 residents were urged to leave, and a 1737 house on Front Street faced the threat of flooding for the first time.

A coating cannot keep a flood out of a garage. What it does is make the cleanup easier: river silt hoses off a sealed floor, while bare concrete holds stains and smell. After any flood the slab has to dry out and be checked before it is coated. More in why coatings peel near the coast.

Newer homes outside downtown

Away from the historic streets, newer neighborhoods along the bay and rivers have newer slabs. They are easier to prep but still get ground, because a smooth troweled finish gives a coating nothing to grip. Humid air off the water still condenses on them on muggy mornings, so flake texture and optional Shark Bite non skid are worth a look.

Frequently asked questions