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Epoxy Flooring in West Lake Hills, TX: Coating Floors During a Remodel

For West Lake Hills, TX homeowners remodeling older homes: when to coat the garage or other slabs in a renovation sequence, working with contractors and designers, old slabs, hillside access and protecting the new floor.

West Lake Hills, in Travis County just west of Austin, has many homes built from the 1950s through the 1980s on wooded hillside lots. A lot of them are being remodeled or expanded, and a garage floor coating often becomes part of a larger Renovation. Timing it right makes the difference between a floor that looks perfect at move-back day and one scratched by every trade that followed. This guide covers how to fit a coating into a remodel. It's written by Austin Epoxy Flooring Pro, with a 5.0 rating on Google, reachable 24 hours, 7 days a week at (512) 325-5434.

A note on our service area: we serve Austin and Georgetown, and our office is at 2025 Guadalupe St, Austin, TX 78705. We don't have an office in West Lake Hills, and West Lake Hills is outside our usual service area. If you're in West Lake Hills and want to talk about a project, call and we'll tell you honestly whether we can take it on. The advice below applies wherever your floor is.

Where the Floor Coating Fits in a Remodel

A typical renovation runs roughly: demolition, structural and foundation work, rough plumbing, electrical and HVAC, insulation and drywall, paint, cabinets and fixtures, flooring, and final punch list. The garage coating usually belongs near the end, after:

Electrical work in the garage, including lighting and outlets.
Drywall and paint on garage walls and ceilings.
Wall-mounted cabinets and storage.
Any concrete repair or slab work.

And before:

Floor-standing cabinets and workbenches.
Move-in of vehicles and stored belongings.

Why the Garage Gets Abused During a Remodel

During a renovation, the garage often becomes the job site's staging area: lumber, tools, saws, drywall stacks, paint buckets and dumpster runs. Coating too early means the floor takes all of that. Keeping the coating for the end protects it.

If the garage must be used for staging after coating, lay down breathable floor protection and agree with your general contractor on how it will be maintained.

Older Slabs in West Lake Hills

Homes from the 1950s–1980s often have:

Old paint and sealers.
Oil stains from decades of vehicles.
Cracks from hillside soil movement and limestone shifts.
Patches from past plumbing or additions.
No vapor barrier in many cases.
Seams where additions meet original slabs.

Grinding, repair and moisture testing handle these. The remodel is a good opportunity, since the garage is already empty.

Additions and New Slabs

If the remodel adds a new garage bay or room, the new slab needs time to cure before coating. Where new concrete meets old, there's a joint that should be treated, and the two surfaces may have different textures and heights. Grinding blends them, and full flake hides small differences.

Working With Your General Contractor

Get the coating on the schedule early, with a clear window.
Agree on who clears and cleans the garage before the coating crew arrives.
Coordinate power, since grinders need reliable outlets.
Plan protection if trades return.
Confirm the punch list includes a final walkthrough of the floor.

Working With Your Designer

Designers often want the garage to match the house. Bring cabinet, paint and trim samples when choosing flake blends or colors. Earth tones suit wooded lots and limestone; cooler grays suit modern remodels. Metallic epoxy at $6–$12 per square foot can extend into mudrooms, bars or game rooms.

Other Slabs to Consider During a Remodel

Mudrooms and laundry rooms on slab.
Covered patios and porches with UV-stable systems.
Wine rooms or basements on hillside lots.
Workshops or studios.

Hillside Access

West Lake Hills lots are often steep with narrow drives. During a remodel, drives may be crowded with dumpsters and trucks. Plan where the coating crew will park and stage equipment, and whether they'll need to wheel equipment from the street.

Dust and Living in the Home During a Remodel

If you're living in the home, grinding dust is a concern. Vacuum-attached grinders capture most dust at the source. Keep the house door closed and sealed, and run HVAC filters that catch fine dust.

An Illustrative Example

The following is an illustrative example, not a real job. Picture a 1970s home in West Lake Hills being remodeled, with a 2-car garage of about 440 square feet. The slab has old gray paint, an oil stain, a crack along a hillside settlement line and a patch where plumbing was rerouted. The remodel adds new garage lighting and wall cabinets. A plan: finish electrical, drywall, paint and wall cabinets; empty and clean the garage; grind off the paint, treat the oil, fill the crack and patch, test moisture and install a full-flake system with a UV-stable topcoat; then set floor cabinets after cure. The coating would likely fall in the 2-car range of $1,400–$2,200, toward the upper end due to removal and repairs.

Common Remodel Timing Mistakes

Coating first because the garage is empty at the start, then letting trades scratch it for months.
Forgetting the electrician, then drilling and dropping debris on a new floor.
Painting walls after coating, risking drips and roller splatter.
Installing a lift after coating without planning anchors.
Moving furniture back before full cure.
No final walkthrough of the floor before the contractor leaves.

Protecting a Finished Floor From Trades

If trades must work in the garage after coating:

Lay breathable protection, not plastic sheeting that can trap moisture against a fresh floor.
Tape seams and keep protection secured so it doesn't shift.
Pad ladder feet and keep sharp tools off the floor.
No mixing of mortar, mud or paint on the floor.
Remove protection as soon as work is done and clean underneath.

Budgeting the Coating in a Remodel Budget

Floor coating is usually a small line in a remodel budget, but surprises can grow it:

Old coatings that need removal.
Hidden cracks under stored items.
Moisture requiring a primer.
Additional rooms added late.

Ask for an itemized estimate early, ideally after demolition if the slab will be exposed, and keep a small contingency.

Garages Converted to Living Space

Some remodels convert part of the garage into a gym, office or studio. If the converted space stays on slab, a coating can serve as the finished floor, especially metallic or solid-color systems. Living spaces may need insulation, a raised subfloor or other finishes depending on comfort and code requirements; your contractor and designer can advise.

Lifts, EV Chargers and Garage Upgrades

Remodels often add an EV charger, a car lift or a heated workshop. Plan:

EV charger: install before coating and keep cable management off the floor.
Car lift: decide whether to install before or after coating, and check slab strength first.
Heaters and mini-splits: install before coating if they involve ceiling or wall work.

Trees, Shade and Wooded Lots

Many West Lake Hills homes sit under oaks and cedars. Leaves, pollen and tannins blow into garages and onto patios. Coated surfaces are easier to clean. Keep gutters clear, use walk-off mats and sweep regularly, especially in spring pollen season.

Final Walkthrough

At the end of the coating, walk the floor with the crew and your general contractor. Look at edges, transitions, stem walls and the garage door line. Note anything for touch-up before other trades finish. Keep the care guidance with your remodel documents.

Questions to Ask Before You Hire

When should you come in relative to other trades?
How will you handle old paint and patches?
How do you treat seams between old and new slabs?
What protection should go down if trades return?
How long until floor cabinets and vehicles can go in?

A Sample Remodel Sequence for the Garage

Here's how garage work might be sequenced inside a larger remodel:

Demolition: old shelving, cabinets and fixtures removed; the slab is exposed.
Assessment: the coating contractor visits to inspect the slab, test moisture and estimate, so repairs can be scheduled early.
Concrete work: any slab repairs, new pours for additions or trench patches for plumbing.
Rough-in: electrical, plumbing and HVAC run through walls and ceilings.
Insulation and drywall on garage walls and ceiling, if included.
Paint on walls and ceiling.
Wall-mounted storage, slatwall and overhead racks.
Floor coating, with the garage empty and clean.
Cure.
Floor-standing cabinets, workbench and appliances.
Garage door seal and final details.
Move-in.

Visiting early, at step 2, lets the coating contractor flag problems while the concrete crew is still on site, which can save time later.

When Concrete Repair Comes First

Some slabs need more than coating repairs. Large heaved sections, wide active cracks or badly sloped areas may need a concrete contractor before the coating. In a remodel, that's often easy to add, since a concrete crew may already be on site for other work. New patches and pours need time to cure before coating, so build that into the schedule.

Interior Slab Rooms in Hillside Homes

Hillside homes in West Lake Hills sometimes have lower-level rooms on slab, partly below grade. These can be good candidates for coatings, but moisture is a bigger question: below-grade walls and slabs can let moisture in. Testing is essential, and a moisture-mitigating primer may be needed. If water actively comes in during storms, that needs to be fixed with drainage or waterproofing before any coating.

Matching the Look Across Spaces

Remodels often aim for a consistent look. A matching flake blend from the garage into a mudroom ties spaces together. A metallic floor in a bar or game room can echo the color palette of the house. Ask to see how the same blend looks under different lighting in each room.

Living Elsewhere During the Remodel

Many West Lake Hills homeowners move out during a major remodel. That makes scheduling easier: the crew can work without worrying about family routines, dust in living spaces or pets. Arrange access through your general contractor, and ask for photos at the end of the coating day if you can't visit. Plan a walkthrough before move-back so any touch-ups happen while the garage is still empty.

Coating a Garage That Will Be Used for Move-Back Storage

At the end of a remodel, the garage often fills with boxes and furniture coming back from storage. Make sure the floor has fully cured before that happens. Use furniture pads and dollies with soft wheels, keep heavy items off the floor where possible and avoid dragging. A little care during move-back keeps the floor looking new.

Remodeling Older Patios and Pool Decks

Remodels often include outdoor spaces: patios, pool decks and outdoor kitchens. Older outdoor slabs may have stains, sealers, paint and cracks from tree roots and soil. A UV-stable polyaspartic system with texture, at $3–$7 per square foot, refreshes them. Schedule outdoor coatings after landscaping and hardscape work, since crews, wheelbarrows and pallets of stone are hard on new coatings.

Documenting the Work

Keep the coating estimate, product names, install date, moisture readings and care guidance with your remodel documents. If you sell the home later, buyers and inspectors appreciate clear records of recent improvements, and if you ever need a touch-up, the details make matching easy.

Older Homes and Lead Paint

Homes built before 1978 may have lead-based paint on walls, trim or even old floor coatings. If your garage floor has very old paint, mention it before grinding begins so testing and precautions can be arranged. Your general contractor may already have a plan for lead-safe work in the rest of the home.

Choosing a Finish for a Remodeled Garage

Remodeled garages usually get finishes that match the new house rather than a purely practical look. Full flake remains the most forgiving choice for a garage that's parked in daily, and blends can be tuned to the new palette: warm grays with white oak and limestone, charcoal blends with black window frames and modern trim, or cream and tan with traditional finishes. If the garage doubles as a gym, office or showroom, a solid color or metallic may suit, with the understanding that those show wear more. Bring samples of cabinets, wall paint and trim to the color selection, and look at the flake under the new garage lighting rather than in daylight alone. Ask the crew to coat the stem walls in the same blend for a finished edge, and plan texture near the door for rainy days. A well-matched floor makes the garage feel like part of the remodel rather than an afterthought.

Permits and Inspections

Floor coatings inside a garage usually don't need a permit on their own, but the remodel around them often does. Your general contractor handles permits and inspections for structural, electrical and plumbing work. Schedule the coating after any inspections that require access to the garage floor or walls, so inspectors aren't walking across a fresh coating and nothing needs to be opened up afterward. If a final inspection does need garage access after coating, ask inspectors to wear clean shoes and keep ladders padded, and walk the floor together afterward to check for any scuffs or marks that need a quick touch-up before move-in.

Prices

Our homepage ranges: 1-car garages $800–$1,200, 2-car garages $1,400–$2,200, 3-car garages $2,000–$3,200. Polyaspartic systems $3–$7 per square foot, metallic epoxy $6–$12 per square foot and commercial floors $2–$5 per square foot. Repairs, coating removal and special conditions are listed separately in a written estimate.

Contact

Austin Epoxy Flooring Pro serves Austin and Georgetown, with an office at 2025 Guadalupe St, Austin, TX 78705. We don't have an office in West Lake Hills. 5.0 rating on Google. Open 24 hours, 7 days a week, with same-day response: (512) 325-5434 or austinepoxypro@gmail.com.

Request a Free Estimate

Call or text (512) 325-5434 (open 24 hours, 7 days a week) or use the free estimate form. Send the approximate square footage, how the space is used, photos of the current concrete, and your timing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have an office in West Lake Hills?

No. We serve Austin and Georgetown from our office at 2025 Guadalupe St, Austin. Call (512) 325-5434 to ask whether we can take on a West Lake Hills project.

When should the garage be coated in a remodel?

Near the end, after electrical, drywall, paint and wall cabinets, and before floor cabinets and move-in.

Can the garage be used for staging after coating?

It's better not to. If necessary, use breathable floor protection.

Can new and old slabs be coated together?

Yes, once the new slab has cured. The seam is treated as a joint.

Do older slabs cost more?

Usually, because of paint removal, oil stains and crack repair.

Can other rooms be coated during the remodel?

Yes: mudrooms, laundry rooms, patios, wine rooms and workshops on slab.