Garage Floor ideas.

[babak]

This has been discussed before but I have some further questions I need some advice with. My options to floor the garage are:

--Racedeck or its variants, perhaps the Freeflow
--Traditional tiles
--Epoxy, not a good idea, my floor is old enough that it would peel off fairly quickly

Any thoughts advice? What have you done and what do you like/dislike about your solution?

[SweetDaddyD]

At the company I worked for before moving, we had a very old floor and a company came in and put down an epoxy floor that held up great. Hot tires, forklifts, pallet jacks, etc. I think you need to do an acid etch treatment to make it work really good though.

[JimK]

Just did the epoxy stuff to half the garage last Friday. Looks great, is cheap
($62 for enough to do about a stall and a half at Lowe's) and is pretty easy.
I'd try it first before spending 10 times as much for Racedeck, etc.

[mikester]

Yep, if the floor is prepped properly, epoxy would work. I've done the DIY route and the professional route, definitely think it's worth having the work done by a firm that specializes, and will stand behind their work. The results can be very nice !

[codymac]

Originally Posted by babak

Any thoughts advice? What have you done and what do you like/dislike about your solution?

Mine is pretty old too - and it's patterned with sections and a brushed finish.

I got a stiff bristle push broom and the cheapest powdered laundry detergent I could find and scrubbed the floor down. Simple, cheap, clean.

The downside is that it doesn't look like I spent a fortune on the floor - the up side is that I didn't spend a fortune on the floor.

[babak]

Originally Posted by JimK

Just did the epoxy stuff to half the garage last Friday. Looks great, is cheap
($62 for enough to do about a stall and a half at Lowe's) and is pretty easy.
I'd try it first before spending 10 times as much for Racedeck, etc.

Thanks to you both. My other idea is to do traditional tile. But I may do the Epoxy. How hard is the acid etching? How hard is the applications and how long did it take you? Is it something that a couple of relative noobies can do without screwing it up?

[Domino]

I have the epoxy floor with the flakes of different colors. It was installed on a 15 year old concrete floor and it is fantastic. Wouldn't hesitate to do it again. I had this (click on Diamond Deck Flooring after the long intro) place install it for around $3 per sq ft (home show special).

You could do the acid-wash yourself but I wouldn't recommend it. You need really good ventilation or a respirator. The acid-wash is a key step in the installation.

[babak]

Originally Posted by Domino

I had this (click on Diamond Deck Flooring after the long intro) place install it for around $3 per sq ft (home show special).

$3/sqft is racedeck price, wow. I was under the impression that epoxy was going to be considerably cheaper.

[babak]

Originally Posted by JimK

Just did the epoxy stuff to half the garage last Friday. Looks great, is cheap
($62 for enough to do about a stall and a half at Lowe's) and is pretty easy.
I'd try it first before spending 10 times as much for Racedeck, etc.

How long did it take you? How long before you can park on it? Trying to see if I need to find a home for the Elise overnight.

[SweetDaddyD]

I think most of them etch with muriatic acid. I know it held up great on the commercial garage floor at my workplace. But my buddies dad did his polebarn and thought he did everything right. Waited a couple years for the concrete to cure, prepped it with something, painted with whatever the best thing he could get from Home Depot or Lowes was, waited 3 days before driving on it, and the first time in the tires lifted the paint. Ouch.

Our stuff at work had the flakes in it. Can't remember the name of the company that made it, but it was great. They did the wash bay area with sand in it too so it was non-slip

[dwkoski]

A good friend who own a masonry business helped me design and build my garage. It has in floor hydronic heatand is 36X44 (the biggest the local zoning board would allow on my lot.) I did the floor with a commercial epoxy system meant for garages and meat packing plants. I did it in 8x8 foot checkerboard (black and white) sections to make it easier to handle the material without help. The system involves first etching the floor with muriatic acid, then laying down a first epoxy system which is water soluble and soaks into the floor. when this is partially cured, the second (colored) epoxy is layed on top of this and smoothed out with a squegee. When all the block were finished, I was supposed to seal the epoxy with a urethane sealant to prevent staining (i neglected this step to my regret.) The floor has proved very attractive and durable and is resistant to brake fluid, gas and oil. It has discolored in spots from spills of lacquer thinner, acetone, and the orange (Dexcool type) antifreeze. The green prestone type does not stain and I no longer use any of the Dexcool type fluid. Also stained it with purple PVC pype cement. Supposedly, the urethane sealant would have presented that. I really like the look and durability of it and according to the product literature, it can be used on old floors. It also repairs easily if you drop heavy pointed objects on it, you just fill the divot level with epoxy. As you can tell, I really use my garage, it's not just an art exhibit, but at the same time it's nice enough to use as a party room...Dave

[MattG]

I considered all of those options, then got too busy and still have a concrete slab. I had concluded that quality garage tile was the best way to go. Paint requires a first rate surface prep (using hydrochloric acid!) to really adhere well. In my case, my slab is not sealed so moisture coming from under would ruin the paint anyway. The plastic tiles are great in their simplicity and options, but it still feels like you're walking on plastic. Not a bad solution though considering their advantages. The tile is of course the ultimate, if you use garage tile.

Another option I was leaning towards was a rubber/carpet hybrid. There are large rubber mats you can buy from Griot's Garage and other places, that have longitundinal ribs in them and are available in a few colors. I was going to place such a mat under the parking area of the car, then cover the rest of the floor with indoor/outdoor carpeting in a complimentary color. This had the advantages of being inexpensive and easily removable.

[qball]

I like having the checkerboard (very racy) with a color-coordinated stripe on the perimeter...

[ted35]

Qball.....I think I just had an involuntary protein spill....!!!!

[qball]

Racedeck... did 2 tiles x 2 tiles for larger squares... with single yellow boarder around perimeter.

Don't fret about the white... it mops up clean.

[30mpg]

Originally Posted by MattG

The tile is of course the ultimate, if you use garage tile.

Matt, what do you mean garage tile? My garage is not huge, maybe 800 sq feet, and I was thinking about using the same stone-looking porcelain thru-colored tiles that I used on my kitchen floor. They look like stone, but are thru-colored porcelain. Are there special "garage tiles" I should be looking for?

I have a few cracks in the garage floor or varying sizes, but think it has settled and expect the tiles to hide the cracks.

[m3m750]

I'm going with racedeck later this summer. The initial investment is a bit high, but I like that it's portable. If we eventually move to a bigger garage -- err, I mean bigger house -- I can take the florr with me and just have to buy whatever tiles I need to expand and finish off the edges.

[milehitom]

Originally Posted by 30mpg

Matt, what do you mean garage tile? My garage is not huge, maybe 800 sq feet, and I was thinking about using the same stone-looking porcelain thru-colored tiles that I used on my kitchen floor. They look like stone, but are thru-colored porcelain. Are there special "garage tiles" I should be looking for?

I have a few cracks in the garage floor or varying sizes, but think it has settled and expect the tiles to hide the cracks.

I think Matt means the plastic solid tiles that look like diamond plate. If you go porcelain, you'll have to lay down a rubber membrane (usually you can roll it on) to ensure that floor cracks don't transfer through to the tile. If you're sure the garage is done settling, it can work but you have to be sure to lay the tiles in a perfect bed of acrylic-modified thin-set. I love tiling.

Tom

[babak]

Any noise with racedeck? Like clopety clop as you walk on it?

[gotapex]

Originally Posted by SweetDaddyD

I think most of them etch with muriatic acid. I know it held up great on the commercial garage floor at my workplace. But my buddies dad did his polebarn and thought he did everything right. Waited a couple years for the concrete to cure, prepped it with something, painted with whatever the best thing he could get from Home Depot or Lowes was, waited 3 days before driving on it, and the first time in the tires lifted the paint. Ouch.

Our stuff at work had the flakes in it. Can't remember the name of the company that made it, but it was great. They did the wash bay area with sand in it too so it was non-slip

Virtually all of them acid etch. The best ones first do a manual cut/roughing using a diamond grinder first. Acid tends not to remove any old coating completely. Also, surfaces tend to be too smooth for ideal adhesion of the epoxy.