Garage Flooring/Upgrades Help!
 

Hi, Fellow Pelicans!

I know we have more than a few awesome garage threads on the forum, but I wanted to start one of my own to get some advice. I have a really great oversized 3 car garage that I am starting up projects on. I know what I want for the end result, one of which being this awesome reclaimed accent wall I finished up this weekend on the tandem garage spot. I wanted to do something not super typical, that you'd see more inside a house than a garage. I plan to do another wall with a printed vinyl of one of the more famous corners at the 'Ring, add in some neon lights, and a few other wall art ideas. What I need the most help with is the flooring...

Do I just seal the garage floor and put some sort of tiling in like these? Or do I go full out and epoxy/polyurea the floors? If so, which? Poly or Epoxy? What will be the best long term? I also live in Colorado, so something to keep in mind is the winter months. If you have examples of your floors that you could share, it would be greatly appreciated!

Here is what the entire garage looks like:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1624983603.jpg

Here is what the new accent wall looks like:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1624982872.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1624982872.jpg

I plan to hopefully keep this updated as projects continue. Thanks for your help, Pelicans! :)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1624984098.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1624984233.jpg

Did you use actual tile or are those the tile mats? Love how clean it looks!

Porcelain tile on the floor and ceramic on the walls.
Sooo much work.

I bet! Lots of time, but it really does create another 'living' space to the home. Are you ever worried about dropping something heavy on them and cracking them?

They are harder than the concrete below them. They are through porcelain so if you did chip them the pattern is poured all the way through. But they are very hard. Industrial applications. I've dropped lots of heavy stuff and all is good.
The ceramic on the other hand will crack just like ceramic.
The floor is very comfortable to kneel or sit on while working on the car.
I've had a few oil spills and everything cleaned up nice.
You need to buy a mop. lol

Maybe do concrete stain ?

Nice garage Luccia!

I'm a fan of epoxy coating for concrete floors. Oil/chemical proof.

Congrats on the awesome garage Luccia! I am going through the same questions with the garage on the house we are building right now too. I had Racedeck in my last garage and loved it but for this new build I think I'll either go with a Swisstrax or an epoxy. I think I might do a DIY epoxy then cover it with the SwissTrax. That way any spills that get through the ST will still be easy to clean up. I also like the fact I can sell the ST floor if I want to change the look or decide to move in the future.

I guess the big question for you is how big is the employee discount on the SwissTrax!? :D

Best of luck!

A friend of mine has epoxy flooring and wishes he hadn't added the sprinkled colors to the it. He says when he drops something small he can never find it. He said stay with a solid color and lighter is better.

That wall looks Great

That's good to know! That's definitely one heck of a project undertaking though, but glad to hear it's strong and can handle the abuse! I'm kind of a klutz sometimes LOL!

Your garage floor appears to be in excellent condition so there would be very little prep involved with epoxy.

I did epoxy on mine and I do like the sprinkles. Yes, it can be difficult to find a small screw if dropped but not too bad. My friend & neighbor did his without the sprinkles and I like it just as much as mine as it is a super clean appearance. I noticed that Jay Leno's garage is epoxy without sprinkles.

For your question on epoxy vs poly - it's generally both. Epoxy first and then a top coat of poly.

For my garage, I used commercial grade epoxy which is much thicker than the Rustoleum stuff at Home Depo. I believe mine is 23mil compared to the 3-6mil for Rustoleum. I guess it is a matter of how thick you put it on but for my stuff, it would be very difficult to put on thin as it was like rolling honey.

I also have a friend that has the snap together panels that sits on top of the concrete. He has a fantastic garage and I really like the flooring and you can do a whole variety of patterns.

Here's mine:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1624998528.jpg

Vern I like that!.

I hear so much misinformation about epoxy floors, so it's good to be able to ask you. I'm getting a small commercial unit with a brand new - clean concrete floor. Could I just whisk over the top of it with something hand held fine grinder, vacume then lay down a two part epoxy?

I don't want to acid clean it or get a professional concrete grinding company to come in.

Thank you! So, you prefer epoxy over the poly method?


Thank you! Yes! I am just so unsure because I've seen both methods work out very well. Both are definitely a thought, but definitely more costly. I need to look into that discount for sure! LOL

Be sure to update me on what you end up going with!


I had a friend tell me to add a lot to the floor because of grip. He said he didn't add enough and has almost taken a spill in the winter with how slick the floor gets. I guess maybe doing a color that's more neutral and blends with the floor so that items are easy to find? I had another friend do a marble effect and I really liked it (white). Then the sprinkles could be white as well...


Thank you! I was going for something unique!

Thanks for this! I like the non-sprinkles look too, but just worried about grip as a friend said he's almost laid himself out more than a few times this past winter as he didn't have enough. Guess it gets pretty slick when wet! LOL

So the poly on top just helps "seal" the deal you would say? Definitely don't want to do the job again. We were going to try and do it before we moved in, but it was so close to winter/thanksgiving that we just didn't have the energy. So it's only seen one mild-ish winter so far and that's why we definitely want to get it coated sooner rather than later.

Thanks for the info on thickness as we were definitely just looking to go with the kit from Home Depot. Where did you get your kit?

You can clean it with some type of detergent or degreaser. Why are you opposed to acid? It's just muriatic acid that you get at home depot for $5 a gallon. Pour it on and scrub the floor with a scrub brush. The rinse with lots of water and after that baking soda - that's it. Let the floor dry a couple of days and best to run some fans as it needs to be perfectly dry. For tools, you definately need spiked shoes that you wear over your reg shoes. Also get the large 18" rollers and a long roller pole, and a large squeegy.

I bought the complete kit that included tools but the tools were so chinsy, that I bought all the right stuff from Home Depot.


Not me - my friend helping me:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1625002364.jpg

I don't know the poly method. I've just been a fan of epoxies being a surfer and having played with epoxies and polyesters. Anything robust would suit me.

It will be a brand new concrete floor so no dirt or oil. I just wanted to skip a step if I could. No point in having it soaking wet with chemicals if I can help it.

It's been a few years but I think the name was Armor Garage. I like the product but definately don't buy any tools or "Kit" from them. The squeegee they included was 6" and would not be adequate to do my shower door, let alone a garage floor. The roller, which they claim to be industrial grade was as basic as they come. I ended up buying all the tools locally.

The pros: the epoxy was very good. The sprinkles; they give you enough to do the whole neighborhood.

The Cons: Their tools suck. They do not include enough poly; only included 1 gal for 640 sqft. My photo does not show the attached store room that is 10x14 and was also epoxy'd.

https://www.armorgarage.com/