I am building out my garage over the next few weeks, and am trying to decide what to do with my concrete floor. Has anyone used U-Seal It or other epoxy paint? Tips? Anyone use those checkerboard tiles? Other ideas?

 

THe main problem with painting your floor with an epoxy paint.. is slickness with oil or water that gets on it.. It is like ice. At the plant I work in it is a nightmare of slippage till you get it broke in.. some companies throw a light sprinkling of sand on top before it sets up. but that is hell on the knees... It is easy clean up though. straight concrete will show the stains. but you won't be skating...The epoxy does look good for a very long time though. Just my opinion...

 

I have had my garage floors sealed for quite some time. If you spill oil clean it up right away, Then you won't slip. Is looks wonderful and makes cleanup simple. Sherwin willams makes some 2 part epoxy paints....Runs around 30.00 a gallon. Watch for it to go on sale... Took me 3 gallons to do a 3 car garage...Thick coats.....

 

If it is the one that they manufacture, it's called "Tile Clad". Sherwin Williams sells it for garage floors, but it is not designed for them and they will not honor the warranty when you have peeling issues where the tires stick to it after you park. I know this because I was a rep for them for 13 years.

Now, if they have started carrying the "Tuff Trac" brand floor epoxy recently, that is the way to go. It is designed for garage floors, and performs much better. Although if you read the fine print, it still tells you to use a mat or something where the tires are when the car is parked.

J.

 

I am planning to use this http://www.rustoleum.com/Product.asp...56&SBL=1&dds=5

It is intended to be used on garage floors and reasonably priced compared to some products. I think its about $40 a box and I will need two to cover my 2 car garage.

 

I used the epoxyshield stuff. Looks good until you actually park a car
in the garage, then the paint lifts w/ the tires.

Has anyone tried the Griot's Garage stuff?

 

How long did you let it dry before parking a car?

It says in the instructions to let it dry for a long time, I think it was a week.

I am worried about the tires lifting it though. I either have 235/265 streets or 225/245 Victoracers both of which are realy sticky.

 

I used a Sherwin Williams product called Armorseal 1000HS (not entirely sure on the number) when I did my garage floor last year. It's a two part epoxy that you buy by the gallon for each part. I used 2 gallons of each (4 gallons total) to do my 400 sq. ft. garage. Total cost was $200 for the epoxy. This stuff is designed for concrete floors and it's meant to take abuse. I've been parking on it and have yet to have any peel up. I don't use any pads under my floor jack and it doesn't touch the finish. I also let it cure for a month before driving on it though. It is a little slick when wet but so is smooth concrete. Everything wipes up with just a paper towel which I love. I've dropped plenty of heavy tools on it too and it's doesn't chip. Basically, if I had to do it over again, I'd use the exact same stuff.

Keep in mind, I epoxied basically brand new concrete (3 year old house, garage never parked in). I acid etched the floor first with muriatic acid (per the epoxy's instructions) and then did two thick coats. Applying anything over an oil stained floor is a waste of time. Either sand blast off the top layer (what I plan on doing at my parents) or don't even bother.

 

How about those checkerboard tile squares at Grout's and elsewhere? Any try those?

 

Stick on checkerboard tiles are nice. I have a friend who uses them in his 3 car garage. They have always been fine with his 356(s), Boxster and 911 but now they have a Cayenne and it will pull up a tile if the wheel is turned entering or exiting the garage. But that is much easier to fix than epoxy or paint coming off the floor.

The downside and the reason I will not buy them is that with prices starting at $1.50 a square foot it would cost $600 to floor the average 2 car garage.

 

I have heard that tiles do not hold up well under point loads. (Read: Floor Jacks, tool box casters, dropped tools, etc)

 

Think about floating a thin layer of tinted concrete in any color you want. Very durabable (sp), no issues, alot cheaper.

 

When I was in alaska they had a company come in and put down an epoxy in our phase docks. It solved the problem of people getting hurt with hydraulic fluid and oil on the paint. It was impregnated with sand and held up great parking airplanes on it.

 

Ive actually been in the process of renovating my garage over the last month. Ive decided on a couple things after talking to many people and doing my own research.

First off, Im applying a product called Skid-Not to all the outer surface areas where the car is not going to be parked. This paint is very thick and has a weight to it along with a grit (like sand in it). Its not recommended for the actual floor where the cars park but foot traffic areas are fine. Think of what you would paint a tennis court with. Stuff that has friction and courseness to it. Im using this stuff for all the sidewall concrete edging as well as an elevated causeway of concrete running the length of the back of the garage. The stuff looks great is only $20 a gallon and has already taken some serious abuse. You do need to apply two coats of it.

Ive opted out of anything exoxy. First off you need to get the concrete very clean then acid etch it then do the epoxy then wait up to a month before putting anything on it to get good results. I dont have time to wait around a month. I also dont like the idea of laying down something on the concrete that may necessitate redoing the entire floor if one bad spot crops up in order to make everything look even again. Third, I dont want something where someone could slip and kill themselves. The epoxy looks great, I just have reservations about long-term abuse. Some epoxy products seem to be hit and miss too. Some people use a brand and it works great while others use the same stuff and hate it.

So Im going to be laying down a heavy duty vinyl/rubber 22x10 garage floor mat on the single car side. It will cover the entire garage, yet remain easy enough to squirt off, and most important to me, I can roll it up and take it with me if I move or roll it outside and clean up if needed. Sams Club has 22x10 mats for $150. Best of all, installation is instantaneous. If you can unroll a rug, you can install it in 10 minutes. I also dont have to worry about cleaning the concrete underneath. I will probably lay a $15 oil mat under the car and on top of the mat just for sanity sake.

On the two car side I will go with the Kiwi tile. I dont use a jack so wear issues with using one is not a concern to me. What is a concern is working on the car (polishing/waxing) in the winter months when the weather is cold. In order to be able to get on the floor and polish rocker panels or touch up stone chips, doing so directly on the concrete floor is colder than walking into a freezer and shutting the door. So (in my opinion) you need some way of elevating yourself off the cold concrete. Hence my decision to go with the interlocking tile. In the winter it will not conduct cold from the concrete and make working on the car uneventful. Ive been on the stuff at a friends house in the dead of winter and you can sit on it all day. As Ive been doing painting anf stuff in the garage lately and had to be on the cold conrete a lot (even in 50-60 degree weather), its downright numbing at times and harder than hell on your ***.

My two car side is about 18x18. Im guessing about $1000 to interlock tile it. Expensive, but again, I can always pull it up and take it with me or pull it up and squirt out the garage. I plan to get the tile with the aerations in it so it drains through if anything leaks. And if a tile gets damaged or beyond the point of able to be cleaned, I can replace that tile in a matter of seconds.

I dont think theres any right or wrong way. Depends on your lifestyle, time constraints, and overall goal.

 

Please show some pics of these products. I think there are many of us trying to decide what to do with our garage floor. I was over to Griot's Garage the other day and those floors are bea-u-tifull. I was very impressed. The cost is a little high. We don't have really hot days here like many do but they swear there are no lifting problems. I saw a 2-3 ton delivery truck in the shop turn the wheel from stop to stop both directions while stopped on the intersection of 4 corners without any problems.