Garage floor options..... let's hear 'em!

[Black1]

Going to be freshening my Parent's garage next week. On the list "to do" is: New lighting, fresh paint on the walls, new trim.... and.... refinishing the floor. Their floor is painted now (obligatory grey, shitty floor paint) and is peeling and chunking up from tires and generally bad installation. I figured I would bite the bullet and grind that crap off the floor to start over. :banghead: Now, if I do that, I want a coating that is PROVEN to work... because I REALLY do NOT want to do it again. So, I need options. They have a standard size 3-car garage (about 20x27 or so, I think), so there is a lot of real estate to cover...

Things I've been thinking about:

1. Epoxy "2 part" systems - Need to know what brand folks have used that WORKS and doesn't peel up. Also, any helpful hints would be great too. This one will be the CHEAPEST way to go, but also the most labor intensive. ($0.50/sf or $270)

2. Carpet floor tiles - Griots and others have some nice carpet garage floor "peel and stick" tiles. (SEE HERE) I don't know if I will have to grind the floor to put these down or not. But, they would be nice.... but, expensive at $3/sf (about $1600).

3. Floor "Mat" - Griots offers this, as well as Gladiator. We had this on the floor up in Michigan. It was better looking than the crap concrete underneath it... but there is no way to affix it to the floor. It just kinda sits on there. I still don't like it very much. Stuff still gets under it from the edges and needs to be dragged out and cleaned every year or so. It's a big pain. But, it's cheap! (about $2.50/sf or $1300).

4. Good 'ol Vinyl tiles - Done this before.... If I can get the floor clean enough, they just peel and stick. They are cheap, and I could do a checker pattern on the Vette side of the garage. They tend to peel up after a while in spots tho. But, at least if that happens, I only have to replace the tiles that are problematic. (about $1.50/sf or $810)




Any other ideas? :dontknow:

 

[SilvrSRT10]

I'd go with #4. Sounds a lot less labor intensive than #1. Spills are hard to remove from #2. You've already talked yourself out of #3. The Vinyl tiles sound like they'll go down easy, easy to maintain and custom looking install like they're suppose to be there.

 

[Black1]

I'd go with #4. Sounds a lot less labor intensive than #1. Spills are hard to remove from #2. You've already talked yourself out of #3. The Vinyl tiles sound like they'll go down easy, easy to maintain and custom looking install like they're suppose to be there.

Yeah, the only thing I'm worried about here in Florida is the moisture level. It's like 1,476,776% humidity here in the summer, and I'm thinking that may have an adverse affect on the glue.

 

[SilvrSRT10]

Yeah, the only thing I'm worried about here in Florida is the moisture level. It's like 1,476,776% humidity here in the summer, and I'm thinking that may have an adverse affect on the glue.

I wonder if acid etching then sealing the floor would help adhesion better or maybe sealing the tiles once they're down to keep moisture out. But then your getting back into the labor intensive thing.

And I think you are a few points low on the humidity estimate. I use to live there and swore I could swim to work some days.

 

[SRT-IZ]

I like the polished concrete look. You can srcub it clean, polish it and mop about 10 coats of wax. It loos really sharp. You can rent all of these tools for about 20-40 bucks a day, polishing pads about 20 and wax about 50.

 

[Black1]

I like the polished concrete look. You can srcub it clean, polish it and mop about 10 coats of wax. It loos really sharp. You can rent all of these tools for about 20-40 bucks a day, polishing pads about 20 and wax about 50.

That's an idea.... :rock: The equipment rental place is about 1/2mile from their house. It's about $85/day to rent the grinder and about the same for the polisher.

 

[SilvrSRT10]

I like the polished concrete look. You can srcub it clean, polish it and mop about 10 coats of wax. It loos really sharp. You can rent all of these tools for about 20-40 bucks a day, polishing pads about 20 and wax about 50.

They just tore up all the tiles in my local Walmart and they polished the concrete floors. Would look good in a garage but too industrial for Walmart IMO. Just be careful walking on it when it's raining and wet (in Florida???).

 

[Black1]

They just tore up all the tiles in my local Walmart and they polished the concrete floors. Would look good in a garage but too industrial for Walmart IMO. Just be careful walking on it when it's raining and wet (in Florida???).

Good point.... it'd be slicker than snot. That vinyl mat is too, now that I remember.

 

[THEWELSHM]

I used the 2 part epoxy system with the sprinkles ( stops you slipping in FL in the wet ) its been down 3 years no problem. Just make sure you prep the floor well before applying, I acid washed mine the weekend before. I have a 3 car garage and it cost about $200 Well worth it

thewelshm

 

[SRT-IZ]

Good point.... it'd be slicker than snot. That vinyl mat is too, now that I remember.

Just sprinkle some glitter on every coat before it dries.

 

[JTS VENOM PERFORMANCE]

Jake i went thru the same thing, ground it down , full epoxy the whole nine yards,

and it may because I am so rough on the floor, but it still has come up on me, and personally i dont want to grind it down again.

the next time I do it, it will get this,
http://www.garageappeal.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=3

maybe not this company, but what I like aobut it is you can roll it out in one piece, and if needed remove it.

plus its washable with all kinds of ingredients and want harm it .

the dimmpled isnt as slippery as you think either.

I dont like the ones that have any holes at all, all they do is gather material

and to the tiles..........they will come apart.

so being said , thats why i will probably roll it out.

but now you may want to pm Eddie, i think he can get the industrial type epoxy ,and they work on big rigs on it all the time with no probs.
but I jsut dont think I want to do that dam grinding again:argh:

 

[6pakattack]

I used the 2 part epoxy system with the sprinkles ( stops you slipping in FL in the wet ) its been down 3 years no problem. Just make sure you prep the floor well before applying, I acid washed mine the weekend before. I have a 3 car garage and it cost about $200 Well worth it

thewelshm

My neighbor went with the U-Coat it system for his Street Rod Garage,and it still looks awesome !!!:rock: :rock: :rock: He did etch with Muriatic Acid first also !!!Just be sure to have a spotter with you,4 eyes are better than 2 so you don't miss anything !!!

 

[JTS VENOM PERFORMANCE]

My neighbor went with the U-Coat it system for his Street Rod Garage,and it still looks awesome !!!:rock: :rock: :rock: He did etch with Muriatic Acid first also !!!Just be sure to have a spotter with you,4 eyes are better than 2 so you don't miss anything !!!

I have heard the u coat it system is real dang good:rock:

 

[Black1]

Thanks, Stinky and Dennis....

Stink- I just dont like the fact that rolled floor is just kinda "sitting" there. :dontknow: Unless there is a way to glue it down.

Dennis- I will have to acid etch the floor, it's required when applying epoxy. Anyone that doesn't do it will have to do it again.

I've been looking at some of the options from Armor Garage... http://www.armorgarage.com/index.html The military uses it, so I guess that is saying something. They have some real nice PVC floor tiles too (Army uses them at Ft. Benning). They aren't bad priced (considering) at $3.50/sf. :dontknow:

 

[JTS VENOM PERFORMANCE]

yeah that would be a prob, but I is a messy little fugger

but send Eddie a pm bo, he might be able to hook ya up with some of the goooood stuff

 

[Black1]

yeah that would be a prob, but I is a messy little fugger

but send Eddie a pm bo, he might be able to hook ya up with some of the goooood stuff

Thanks, I'll see what he's got.

Just how much of a pain in the ass was grinding the floor? I've never done it before. :dontknow: How much of a "bite" does the grinder take in one swipe? Does it take all the paint off the floor in one swipe, or do ya have to keep going back over it (removing a little at a time).

 

[JTS VENOM PERFORMANCE]

Thanks, I'll see what he's got.

Just how much of a pain in the ass was grinding the floor? I've never done it before. :dontknow: How much of a "bite" does the grinder take in one swipe? Does it take all the paint off the floor in one swipe, or do ya have to keep going back over it (removing a little at a time).

I think most are adjustable on height, but the one I had was used up junk:argh:

sob kicked my ass , picked me up, kicked it again, and then ran over me just for its own pleasure

 

[Black1]

I think most are adjustable on height, but the one I had was used up junk:argh:

sob kicked my ass , picked me up, kicked it again, and then ran over me just for its own pleasure

Hmmm.... maybe I should go check the equipment at the rental place first before I make a decision on what to do.... :idea:

 

[JTS VENOM PERFORMANCE]

Hmmm.... maybe I should go check the equipment at the rental place first before I make a decision on what to do.... :idea:

he he maybe

most of them nowadays I think is pretty easy to use, one of my neighbors used one, and it looked new, but didnt look bad at all, and he is kinda wimpy

 

[trubuilt]

With concrete your options are endless. If I was going to do my floor I would do something like this

I would add a colored grout to give it more wow and maybe do a border to make the cutting easier (saw does not go to the wall easy) If you add a baseboard you don't need a border
It is acid etched fairly easy to do I cant remember cost but it is not too bad cheaper than the tiles or epoxy kits
For all your products go to a concrete supply store they will know the products you need in your area and some stores will rent the sprayers, saws that you will need to do this. It should be cheaper than most stick tiles if you do the work yourself