Garage makeover

[Scrappy]

Hey guys I am going to rodo my garage and was going to do an epoxy coating on the floor but have heard some bad things about it. Has anybody used the craftsman rubber floor tiles? If so what do you think? Or any other suggestions for the floor?

[1MOREMOD]

i just did mine with a industrial sealant. it sprays on with a pump sprayer similar to sealing your driveway or any other concrete. gave the hard trowel of the garage a nice smooth polished look. very resistant to stains but does scratch if you drag things across it.

[paradocs98]

I had GarageTek do a whole garage system last year and have been happy with it. They used their brand of high-impact plastic floor tiles, and it really looks nice. They clean up pretty well, and any residual water from rain or snow on the car either works its way in between the tile joints to the floor below, where it drains out (the concrete slab is pitched away from the house, towards the garage door), or it can just be sweeped out the door.

I initially wanted an epoxy coat or similar finish for the floor, but after a lot of research, decided against it. There are so many types of products and finishes out there, and so many differing opinions, it's a bit overwhelming. (What's the best way to prep the surface? Which type of resin or epoxy to use? What type of chip or aggregate material to throw in? Smooth floor or one with traction? etc.) I've seen pictures of epoxy floors that look absolutely fantastic, but in the end I chose tile because I was concerned about the overall high water table here on Long Island. With any significant subsurface moisture, an expensive epoxy floor can potentially get ruined pretty quickly as water works its way up. I'm not sure what the water table is like in Jacksonville, so you might investigate this to see whether it would be a concern.

[IFX]

paradoc can you post some pics? That would be great. And i believe there is a post your garage section somewhere with some really nice set-ups.

[shadrach]

What are you using the garage floor? Parking the car or working on the car? Or some of both?

I've had RaceDeck tiles in my garage for the past 6 years and they are holding up pretty well, except that jacking my car up is a PITA. I need to place wood under the jack and stands otherwise the plastic tiles will be damaged. Anything well north of 3000 pounds seems to be enough to do this, as my other car (Sky Redline) didn't do much, while my heavier MS6 will leave marks.

If I had it to do again I might go with a professional epoxy application as it would have been about the same price (roughly $1500 for a 400 sq/ft garage.) But I may be moving soon and I can take my floor with me, and just buy 5-10 new tiles to replaced the few damaged ones.

The tiles do look nice though

[SuitedPair]

If you really want to do your research go to "the forum" section of garagejournal.com

[Werkz12]

Profesional Epoxy is great, they will warranty the work. I did my garage on my own and it peeled up after about a year. Had it redone professionally and its held up very well. My advice is to get a DARKER color. Mine is light and the tires will leave some discoloration over time. Nothing like just hosing out the garage and having a clean floor with no stains.

[porshah]

+1 for racedeck.

[03BeastCharmer]

Garageflooring.com
I bought their diamond style floor tiles about a month ago and have been very happy so far. Cheaper than race deck. I have a blue and whit checker pattern for the BMW collection.

[aus]

If you don't want to spend much and have a pretty clean garage floor, then consider the Rustoleum stuff. I got it at Home Depot. My garage floor was new, so that helped. Still did the whole degreaser/wash that comes with the kit. Let it dry completely and then applied with a roller. Sprayed the specks on as you roll it on. It's been 6 years, and still looks great. Spills just wash off. One of the MOST IMPORTANT things is to not park your car in the garage for 3-4 days.
My cousin paid a few hundred for the professional stuff, but they parked the car in after 1-2 days and it started to peal where the tires were.

.

[admranger]

Originally Posted by SuitedPair

If you really want to do your research go to "the forum" section of garagejournal.com

This. They have a lot of experts there and a lot of options people have gone wtih (ceramic tile, vinyl tile, epoxy, polished concrete, stained concrete, racedeck, etc., etc.).

I went with RaceDeck as my old epoxy floor was chipping up pretty badly and I didn't want to do it over...

[Money2536]

I'm a huge garage junkie. I'm in the process of designing mine for our new home. Forgive me for these comments, but I think Race Deck and snap in tiles look terrible. They are a few exceptions I've seen, but they look so tacky. Epoxied floors look like something my grandmother would do. I just think a "real man's" garage have something much tougher like polished concrete.

Much like this:

[///M3THOD]

Originally Posted by Money2536

I'm a huge garage junkie. I'm in the process of designing mine for our new home. Forgive me for these comments, but I think Race Deck and snap in tiles look terrible. They are a few exceptions I've seen, but they look so tacky. Epoxied floors look like something my grandmother would do. I just think a "real man's" garage have something much tougher like polished concrete.

Much like this:

Nice.. but no lift?!?

[skins333]

^Is that a garage or a hangar!!?? Must be some crazy echoes in there.

[Money2536]

Originally Posted by ///M3THOD

Nice.. but no lift?!?

He has one. This is a Garage Condo out in Minneapolis. I've used a lot of his ideas in my future design.

http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/g...age-condo.html

[Money2536]

This is the lift I'm planning. Check this post out:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=96418

[calintexas]

This guy used tile. It's worth following the link. He's done a really incredible job on his whole garage.
http://www.12-gaugegarage.com/index.html

From The 12-Gauge Garage site:

[MarcuMcall]

i just did mine with a industrial sealant.

[Jack Olsen]

Thanks, calintexas. I've had my tile floor now for four and a half years now. It's held up great on a slab that was poured when Calvin Coolidge was president. I'm also over the La Brea Tar Pits, in earthquake country, an no previous owner had ever given a thought to how much oil they'd spilled.

And keep in mind, this was the first tile I'd ever set. (I Googled how to do it and jumped in.) It was .59/sf for the tile, which is pretty cheap, as garage floors go. I used the basic Home Depot thinset, grout, and bought an inexpensive tile saw from Harbor Freight. It was actually pretty simple to do. I used dark brown grout so that staining would never be an issue. There was much less prep needed than for epoxy; I just hit the old floor with a cheap pressure washer and leveled off some of the more egregious elevation changes.

The one thing I would change if I did it again would be to use porcelain tiles, which are even harder than ceramic, and can be found at Lowes or Home Depot for about a buck a square foot. I haven't had problems with my ceramic tiles, but the price difference is pretty low.

Here's a video clip of me hitting the tiles with a four-pound sledge hammer. You'll notice the camera jumping on the concrete floor. But when they're properly set, tiles are stronger than the concrete they sit on. You can jack the car up, drop tools -- and oil, solvent and paint wipes right up with a paper towel. Dried-on oil paint comes up with a razor blade.

Epoxy is great when it holds. When it doesn't, the epoxy supplier will often tell you that the fault lies with your concrete. So take warranties with a grain of salt.

[Koop]

Originally Posted by Jack Olsen

Thanks, calintexas. I've had my tile floor now for four and a half years now. It's held up great on a slab that was poured when Calvin Coolidge was president. I'm also over the La Brea Tar Pits, in earthquake country, an no previous owner had ever given a thought to how much oil they'd spilled.

And keep in mind, this was the first tile I'd ever set. (I Googled how to do it and jumped in.) It was .59/sf for the tile, which is pretty cheap, as garage floors go. I used the basic Home Depot thinset, grout, and bought an inexpensive tile saw from Harbor Freight. It was actually pretty simple to do. I used dark brown grout so that staining would never be an issue. There was much less prep needed than for epoxy; I just hit the old floor with a cheap pressure washer and leveled off some of the more egregious elevation changes.

The one thing I would change if I did it again would be to use porcelain tiles, which are even harder than ceramic, and can be found at Lowes or Home Depot for about a buck a square foot. I haven't had problems with my ceramic tiles, but the price difference is pretty low.

Here's a video clip of me hitting the tiles with a four-pound sledge hammer. You'll notice the camera jumping on the concrete floor. But when they're properly set, tiles are stronger than the concrete they sit on. You can jack the car up, drop tools -- and oil, solvent and paint wipes right up with a paper towel. Dried-on oil paint comes up with a razor blade.

Epoxy is great when it holds. When it doesn't, the epoxy supplier will often tell you that the fault lies with your concrete. So take warranties with a grain of salt.

Jack, when you do things, you certainly seem to do them right!

The picture and link of your garage in this thread led me down a rabbit hole to your website and then to your instructional videos on Willow Spring. Amazing garage...even more amazing Porsche. Much respect.

[IFX]

I totally forgot that my garage is decked out, hell everyone tells me you can live in it. I've got a fridge, stove, countertop sink..tiled.. haha. My parents use it for everything BUT to put the cars inside

[Jack Olsen]

Thanks, Koop!