I'm seriously considering putting something on the floor of my garage to spruce it up a bit. I want something that is durable and easy cleaning that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. I'm considering rubber like mats or an epoxy coating. Anyone had any experience?
Garage Floor, Epoxy or Mat
- Thread starter JavaMan
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Clean it very well. Nothing will stick to oil or dirt. Avoid a conventional oil base paint. The alkali in the concrete will convert it a water soluble soap and it will peal off. If you have moisture coming up through it, even a good epoxy will lift off. A conventional glossy epoxy is very slick with the least water or oil on it. Adding grit makes a much better garage floor.
Lowes and maybe others carries an epoxy they claim is porous enough to allow moisture vapor to pass through it. You add colored chips giving a little texture. On the other hand, the different colors makes it hard to spot anything small if you drop it.
One cheap solution is to use a latex. Thin it down and apply heavy, maybe even with a squeegee. It will penetrate the pores leaving enough of the texture to keep it from being slick.
Lowes and maybe others carries an epoxy they claim is porous enough to allow moisture vapor to pass through it. You add colored chips giving a little texture. On the other hand, the different colors makes it hard to spot anything small if you drop it.
One cheap solution is to use a latex. Thin it down and apply heavy, maybe even with a squeegee. It will penetrate the pores leaving enough of the texture to keep it from being slick.
I have done, or helped in, applying epoxy, mats, tiles, and plastic snap-together flooring. I currently have an epoxy floor. U-Coat It with the traction flakes in it. Its alright. Cleans easy and provides a nice finish. Kind of a pain to prep and put down but nothing like some others I have done/seen. Problems with other "kits" range from etching with acid, uneven curing and the general mess involved. They are durable though if put down right and do look nice. One thing that I don't like is there is no way to contain liquid like what drips from the car after pulling in from a rainstorm. Water goes everywhere. I bought a rolled mat with channels in it to direct the water towards the door and they work pretty well. Down-side is they cover my pretty epoxy floor that I slaved over to make look good. My Father-in-law tiled his floor with simple 12" square "peel-and-stick" asphalt tiles from Armstrong. He did it in a checkerboard pattern and it looks very nice. And at $.54 a tile, didn't cost an arm and a leg. Still down without any issues for the past 12 years. Same problem with the water though. He still hasn't bought a mat but is looking hard at the idea. Co-worker installed the plastic snap-together tile flooring. Looks good and seems durable, but he has broken 2 tiles because he turned his front wheels in place without the car moving. They just popped out and snapped off the tabs, making it impossible to refit them. Also, EVERYTHING migrates under them. Water, dirt, bugs etc. He has to pull it up every few months just to clean under it.
So.........after all this, what would I do if had to do it over again? I'd get a channelled mat(s) that would cover the entire floor. Needs cleaning? Roll it out into the driveway and hose it off. Moving? Take it with you. Cost? In line with what a cheap epoxy floor would cost but without all the work, just unroll and cut to fit if necessary. Good luck with whatever you choose.
So.........after all this, what would I do if had to do it over again? I'd get a channelled mat(s) that would cover the entire floor. Needs cleaning? Roll it out into the driveway and hose it off. Moving? Take it with you. Cost? In line with what a cheap epoxy floor would cost but without all the work, just unroll and cut to fit if necessary. Good luck with whatever you choose.
I used the Rustoleum epoxy with the "sprinkle flake thingies" on my last garage. It was AWESOME!
if you do epoxy the floor make sure to add some grip to it. I have worked (walked?) on professionally applied smooth painted floors and they are very slick with oil on them. I have taken more than my fair share of spills on them.
I just noticed the rustoleum ads on the tube for this product. What is the preparation like ?
Not too bad. When I did my shop I moved everything to one side of the building and used a good garage floor cleaner. Scrubbed the daylights out of it and rinsed thoughly. Then I used a primer (Kilz spray) on grease and oil spots. Painted, threw in the sprinkes, let it dry, and repeated the process on the other half of the floor.
It's been 2 years and the stuff is wearing like iron. I like it because I can lay down on the floor and work on something and come up clean. If I spill something, no big deal. Just wipe it up with a paper towel. The floor also looks clean even when it's dirty.
I park my tractor in there and in the winter I have loaded tires with tire chains on it. There have been a couple times I've spun the tires a little pulling in or out (tires and chains covered with snow from plowing) and it hasn't hurt the floor.
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