3/10

Stained or Dyed Concrete

• Cost: $2 to $14 psf materials and labor.

If you’re not me and don’t appreciate “concrete gray” as a hue, you might want to consider a dye or a stain. The main difference between them is that dyes soak into the pores, while stains actually react with the concrete mixture to provide a more permanent color change.

Because of the way a stain works, your color choices will be limited to earthy tones. So if your preferences lean to more vibrant colors, a dye is a better choice. Either way, you’ll also need to seal the concrete to preserve the color.

Some stains come pre-mixed with a sealer. If you don’t choose one of these, you’ll need to apply a seal coat separately.

4/10

Enamel Paint

• Cost: $2.50 to $5 psf materials and labor.

All the garage floor options mentioned so far leave the floor looking like the concrete it is. To make concrete look like something else, you’ll need a surface covering or a film coating. Enamel paint is the most basic film coating you can apply.

Cleaning the concrete, patching cracks and holes and applying a primer — all DIY-able tasks — are necessary preliminaries to finishing a concrete floor with floor enamel. It’s a reasonably durable finish, but isn’t recommended if the floor receives heavy impacts or excessive moisture, because it can chip and peel.

It’s easy to paint the floor yourself with a brush and roller. And there’s plenty of room for the creatively minded to use different colors to make interesting patterns. Looking for more ideas? We’ve curated a list of clever garage paint ideas for the floors, doors and interior walls.

5/10

Epoxy Paint

• Cost: $3 to $13 psf materials and labor.

Epoxy paint is one step up from floor enamel. It reacts chemically with a catalyst to provide a much harder surface. An epoxy garage floor is almost indestructible, which is why you’ll most often find it in industrial settings.

Besides being durable, epoxy floor paint looks great in the garage, and the surface is naturally slip-resistant.

I find it a little trickier to work with than floor enamel, because it begins to set as soon as you add the catalyst. Moreover, to achieve the best appearance, you must be meticulous about floor repairs before you apply it. These are two good reasons to hire a pro to epoxy your garage floor if you’re not confident in your DIY skills.