Should I TILE my Garage Floor

[Scuba Steve]

Interesting idea; it looks easy to install and maintain too. Wish the color was lighter so dropped hardware would stand out (bet you can't guess what the #1-10 source of frustration at my garage is...)

[MJHanna]

I'm leaning towards a Stain, or doing tile. https://www.google.com/search?q=concrete+stains&biw=1463&bih=964&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=jwHiVOKIMfOAsQT7q4CIAQ&sqi=2&ved=0CD4QsAQ&dpr=1

[john70t]

You joined Pelican in 1969?

[Miguel Antonett]

I have tried epoxy coating, ceramic and the latest interlocking plastic tiles... they all have pros and cons, as described above. This is a picture of mine, it looks nice but: I have to put plates under the jack when lifting the cars or they crack, they melt/deform with high heat - I have issues under the 930 after a hard drive needing to put fans under the engine.... and the whole thing moves - believe it or not - I have to relocate/work it at least once a year because it slides towards the back wall about an inch/yr.

[MJHanna]

Originally Posted by john70t

You joined Pelican in 1969?

Yes I was on it before Al Gore invented it.

[JavaBrewer]

I have been thinking about garage floor options for years. Never did pull the trigger on my other house. My parents have the same VCT floor for something like 30 years now. They never buffed/polished it so it's rather dull looking but still in excellent condition. I have seen epoxy floors wear well and others that were total failures. Tile has grout which IMO is not ideal for use under cars. The race deck plastic tiles are versatile but I could see a mess building under them and they will sound cheap when you walk on them. Concrete acid stains look great and seem to wear indefinitely. My BBQ island had a concrete top which I stained myself. I used a couple colors and covered with a gloss coat. Looked like an amazing piece of leather.

I have recently moved into a '70's era home with a 2 car garage. Slab has minor stains and some cracks here and there. I am going to try the acid stain again. The clear coat will make it slippery-when-wet but not much more than it is today. Probably $300 in materials tops. If I don't like the result I am going with VCT. It's very durable, easy to install and repair, comes in lots of color options, and frankly is very inexpensive.

[aigel]

Update! NO TILE!

For a while I thought I'll save my money and just keep it concrete. Cheap, toughest and easy ... But then I patched and painted the drywall, cleaned up plumbing etc. and now the floor looked like a mess compared to the rest of the room. I broke down and started getting estimates for getting the floor epoxy coated. I did not want to do this myself, after reading about DIY nightmares of tire pull up, flaking etc.

Had it professionally done by one of the best painters in town - 3rd generation, with a industrial solvent based epoxy. 3 coats (prime, paint/flake, clear). I asked for a fairly heavy flake (without going the 100% flake route) to hide the flaws in the old floor and make it nice and grippy.

Really happy with the job. It will be good motivation to set up good storage racks and cabinets as well as work benches to do this floor justice. As far as running a scissor style auto lift on it, if I ever buy one, I have a side yard that I will use for it. We have 9+ good months in the year. I also decided to keep it a 2 stall garage by not adding too much garage furniture. I am buying overhead storage racks for the back for lighter items. One side will have a 2 foot deep shelf and the other will be open. I can fit 2 Porsches easily this way.

Cheers,

G

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After:

[onewhippedpuppy]

That looks really good. Mind sharing how much it cost you? I'll be facing a similar decision sometime soon.

[Norm K]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

That looks really good. Mind sharing how much it cost you? I'll be facing a similar decision sometime soon.

^^^ This. Hate to be nosy but it sure would be nice to have a per sqft ballpark.

[72doug2,2S]

I like it!

[aigel]

No problem, we can talk pricing! Per square foot this was just under $4.

Note that I live in a high labor cost area and the housing boom here is in full swing right now and contractors are fully booked. In a lower cost area, labor may be only half as much.
Many contractors don't even have time to talk to you and take a small project like this and if they do, they give you a ridiculous quote to see if it sticks! I had one guy quote me over $11 per sf! Even on CL the fly by night guys are on the order of $3/sf and you can be guaranteed they use the cheapest materials they find and won't be there a year later to back up their work when the floor starts to come up.

The materials used were Rustoleum 9100 system. Painter told me he likes it because it is solvent based and bonds better over old floors that always have oil residues from cars. With etch, 3 coats, heavy use of chips and the border paint (regular concrete paint for that), you look at $1/sf just in materials, not including tools. Labor was not easy on this one either, as he did grind out small imperfections, sealed the expansion joints and painted around the edges meeting the white drywall with great precision, included the step into the raised foundation house etc. He also painted the base of the hot water heater to make it all look even. If you look at the close up picture, there he meets the felt expansion material to the outside of the garage and I don't even know how he painted up against that with such precision. The entire job is top notch to the point where I wish I had the money to have this guy give the entire house a go-over.

I am planning my move-in now. I will start with a heavy duty 12 foot long, 2 foot deep storage shelf that will hold matching bins. I could go 18 feet but then I hit the outside door. Thinking about modifying the shelf in a small welding project to be a perfect fit ... will see!

G

[911 Rod]

My floor is great and I beat the crap out of it!