so, what kind of garage flooring do members have / recommend?

[rsporsche]

title pretty much covers it. i would love to cover up the ugly / dirty concrete and get a better finished look. i have seen the epoxy coatings, the rubber / vinyl sheet material, the race deck / swiss track, interlocking rubber / plastic.

so who has a really positive experience for coupe storage and daily use

 

[Stevehose]

Already planning the nest for the Ceylon!

 

[Markos]

If I were to do it again (myself) I would do expoxy with no flakes. It is very difficult to find stuff on the floor with the flakes. I also royally botched the flake application. The flakes do completely mask the amount of debris on the floor however. Id I had it professionally done, I would add flakes again. The difference is pretty night and day IMO.

Tile would be very cool. Expensive to have it done and a PITA to do yourself. Porcelain tiles are very strong despite what the inter web may day. You can drop a hammer on them without cracking.

I will be welding soon and the epoxy does burn easily.

 

[BP1]

 

[rsporsche]

Already planning the nest for the Ceylon!

yes ... but the wife is getting new floors throughout the inside of the house ... all hard surface, so i need to get something for ceylon

 

[Stevehose]

Good move

yes ... but the wife is getting new floors throughout the inside of the house ... all hard surface, so i need to get something for ceylon

 

[CSteve]

Good move

I have the super-economy, do-it-yourself red brick. Not so red now, grease, oil, dirt, etc. Any recommendations for making it at least look better. I thought about power washing but fear significant "overspray." Only a few dollars to spend. Steve

 

[Markos]

I have the super-economy, do-it-yourself red brick. Not so red now, grease, oil, dirt, etc. Any recommendations for making it at least look better. I thought about power washing but fear significant "overspray." Only a few dollars to spend. Steve

You could try a steam mop. We use one in the house. I plan to use it in the garage once I remove the parts car. Just don't tell the boss.

 

[Gransin]

C30 concrete with Fescotop light gray concrete hardener on top, after that it was (lightly) grinded + polished and sealer on top of that.
Couldn't be more happy with it, so easy to clean and should last at least a lifetime in a hobby garage. If it ever was to get worn and look too shabby, it's easy to lightly polish and seal it another time to make it look new again.
The finished look depends on how deep you grind it before polishing, and what kind of concrete you have, and if you add some kind of colored concrete hardener.
Maybe you could make something fancy of your old worn concrete floor?

The last picture is a phone picture and doesn't do the floor any justice.

 

[kwyjibo]

I went with a polyurea floor coating for my ongoing garage expansion/finishing project. The starting point for the garage was a single car build about 50 years ago. The existing concrete floor was about 50/50 original slab and newer concrete. With the new addition, the floor was going to be three different concrete slabs. So, I couldn't go with a polished/sealed floor like Gransin because the appearance of the sections would likely not match. I then looked into VCT like BP1 has in his photo. I really like the versatility of the tiles and I know from work that they are durable but slippery when wet. The problem was that the old slabs did not have moisture barriers below and the tile guys said it was likely that the tile adhesive would prematurely fail. So that left me with coatings. I looked at my friends' floors and I liked the polyurea one best. Markos is correct that things get lost easily when dropped on speckled floors. I'm also thinking of adding another coat of clear with more texture to it because it is slipperier than I'd like when wet. I'm still working on the cabinets (sorry about the non-BMW themed colors) but here's a photo showing the floor:

 

[TodB]

With regard to slippery when wet, the epoxy painted floors can be slippery also. I almost did a back flip the other night when I stepped on a wet outside mat (in flip flops) and then went inside my garage. And more awareness about speckles - looks awesome, but does make it tougher to find stuff you drop.

Pretty sweet garage, Gransin!

 

[Ohmess]

I have polyurea too. It is slippery when wet, and as you can see at the bottom of this picture screws (that are not rusty) are hard to see against the speckled background. I like that you can spill anything on it and it wipes off easily. My stuff is about seven years old, and it is yellowing near the door from UV.

 

[dang]

I have the super-economy, do-it-yourself red brick. Not so red now, grease, oil, dirt, etc. Any recommendations for making it at least look better. I thought about power washing but fear significant "overspray." Only a few dollars to spend. Steve

Any photos? I'm intrigued.

 

[dang]

C30 concrete with Fescotop light gray concrete hardener on top, after that it was (lightly) grinded + polished and sealer on top of that.
Couldn't be more happy with it, so easy to clean and should last at least a lifetime in a hobby garage. If it ever was to get worn and look too shabby, it's easy to lightly polish and seal it another time to make it look new again.
The finished look depends on how deep you grind it before polishing, and what kind of concrete you have, and if you add some kind of colored concrete hardener.
Maybe you could make something fancy of your old worn concrete floor?

The last picture is a phone picture and doesn't do the floor any justice.

View attachment 51778 View attachment 51779 View attachment 51777

Aaaah, okay, you win. Holy crap!

 

[dang]

... It is very difficult to find stuff on the floor with the flakes. I also royally botched the flake application.

We did an epoxy/flake floor in a buddy's 4400sqft shop and since I was the best at putting the flake down I got the job. We called it "ferry dust" because of the way I flicked it out of my hand above my head. I think it turned out crappy and as soon as you drop a nut or washer on the floor it disappears! Down on your knees with a light all the time. I think a few fakes here and there might be okay but otherwise I'm with you.

I've industrial short-loop carpet tiles in my garage at home, which makes it easier for me to get down on the ground and work in the winter when it's cold. Concrete at the shop so I can hose it out before painting...

 

[Markos]

We did an epoxy/flake floor in a buddy's 4400sqft shop and since I was the best at putting the flake down I got the job. We called it "ferry dust" because of the way I flicked it out of my hand above my head. I think it turned out crappy and as soon as you drop a nut or washer on the floor it disappears! Down on your knees with a light all the time. I think a few fakes here and there might be okay but otherwise I'm with you.

I've industrial short-loop carpet tiles in my garage at home, which makes it easier for me to get down on the ground and work in the winter when it's cold. Concrete at the shop so I can hose it out before painting...

I dropped a critical screw the other day. Vanished. I actually just slide a big welding magnet along the floor until it gets picked up. It is a pain and it happens like once a month.

 

[autokunst]

I'm still working on the cabinets

The cabs are beautiful - I love the edge grain of the ply material!

 

[steve in reno]

If my garage looked like Gransin's, that would be my home.
I just painted a topper in my garage and the silhouette of the drop clothes shows..
Have been thinking of doing this recently. Good to know about the use of the flakes, because I drop everything.
So, if you do EPOXY paint, use a traction agent also?
What would be best?
Sand breaks down to finer particles quite easily. I am a very experienced tiler, but don't want tile in the garage.

 

[Markos]

The expoxy coatings have a sandy mix that you add to the poly top coat. I have no complaints about traction and it rains nonstop 9 months out of the year.

I can’t recall what product I used. They are a major sponsor on garage journal, and offer members a significant (want to say 40%) discount. It looks really sharp without the flakes also.

If you head to GJ expect to start geeking out on grinding vs acid etching. I chose to grind. I rented the grinder and collection vac from a local rental place. You also purchase the grinding blades. I wasn’t thrilled about rinsing the neutralized acid out of the garage. I have raised garden beds in the drainage path. Grinding was dusty but manageable. My garage was completely empty though.

 

[Bmachine]

I did a little bit of research a few months ago on the subject. The consensus on most sites I visited seemed to be to stay away from the epoxy. Apparently it looks great at first but it is a mess to prep for and it doesn't hold up well so after a few years you have to do it again. Many people seemed to recommend the swisstrax or Racedeck tiles instead.

Again, this is from what I found on various garage web sites, not personal experience.