elf89

We are building a new house which is going to have a nice, big garage. I'm wondering about the best way to protect the floor from oil stains from the 944 and other cars. Of course I'll put down the big cardboard box, but when I do get the occasional spot on the floor, I'd like to be able to wipe it up before it seeps in and stains.

Current garage is painted, which I don't like. Is there a good sealer you can put down that will do the trick? Not sure I could sell the checkerboard vinyl tiles, although that does look nice. Thanks.

Bob Rouleau

elf89 - I have had good success with Rustoleum Epoxy Floor Finish. It has survived winter ice and snow as well as sticky R compound tires in the hot summer. Available as a kit complete with acid cleaner, two part expoxy, color sprinkles and a video. Follow the directions. You need a paint roller, a floor squeegee and a stiff bristle brush. Kit covers aboout 250 s.f. so you may need to buy two. Cheap and effective - no horrible smells either. Cost $100 in Canada, brobably 79.95 in the USA.

Best,

apierce918

we sell a special floor sealer at ace hardware for garages too, i cant remember the name of it, and i dont know if it would be as effective as the rustoleum, but its like 17-20$ a gallon,it gives the floor a glossy surface that to wipe up messes and whatnot, but a lot more durable than just a regular semi-gloss/gloss paint. seems like it would still get the job done, but you might have to buy some other stuff to clean and prep it properly

Chris_924s

What was the interlocking tiles UD Pride used? Tech Deck? That stuff is amazing- goes together like a puzzle and many colors. Oil/ fluid proof.
Maybe Mr. Pride will chime in here.

Man I wish I had a garage...

AgRosa Brad

If I was building a new garage, I would try to put electric wiring or some liquid heating embedded in the concrete. Maybe the tiles Chris is talking about may be OK without heat though

Thanks,

Brad

ttwirz

Am almost finnished with my second garage. lookied into the tiles, About 3$ a peice. a bit spendy for 600 sq ft. also if a 4 post lift is in the future not sure how that would work. I've been looking at the Rusolium product. Has it held up? is it slippery in winter?

bpp944

I acid-stained and sealed my garage floor.

http://www.acid-stain.com/

Chris_924s

In your best "Homer Simpson"..


Mmmm Heated floor..

UDPride

I bought kiwi tile, not racedeck. slightly cheaper at about $2.73 a sq foot. Got mine from www.thedreamgarageinc.com. It was the cheapest I could find it.

I use pretty much any generic floor cleaner on them and just soak it with a rag and use my shoe to rub the tiles so I dont have to bend down. Pretty much any cleaner will work. With help from a buddy we laid down the entire garage in about 2.5 hours. Only had to cut a couple sides.

Its really not that hard to keep clean. I do put a carboard box under the 930 because it drips oil (and getting worse). Ive got smart about it and before I used to drive the car over the carboard box and tiremark oil all over the place. Now I pull the cardboard out from under the car when I pull the car in and out. That cured that problem.

I have the perforated tiles, not the flat ones with like the diamond-plate mold on them. I wanted something that was porous in and would breathe. Water evaporates no problem if it drips in them and I dont do much else to worry about anything but dirt and water. I also didnt want the flat solid tiles because if wet they would be slippery. The diamond-plate ones looked uncomfy to sit on too.

The beauty of the tiles unlike the epoxy is in the winter they dont transfer much cold from the cement floor. I can sit on them no problem and detail. Before I had them I about froze my *** and broke my *** doing it on the hard cement.

Mine ended up costing about $1000 all told. I cant say enough about how much they improve the look. In two hours the garage went from ehh, to whoa. I have a few extra in case they get too dirty or break. And you need the ramp tiles for the front. I put an extra tile under jack stands, but dont seem to have a problem using a floor jack by itself.

Im not good with epoxy or any painting. I didnt want anything that lifted either. But getting off the cold cement floor was as much a selling point for me as looks.

AznDrgn

You need to take into consideration what you want from your garage, functionality or useability. Most of the epoxy paints will make the floor slick when wet which is horrible for working. IMO best thing is to get a good sealer and just have that, won't be really pretty but it is functional. Also take into consideration that you will probably drop tools and parts on the floor and chip any finish you put onto it if you are working there.

KuHL 951

If you are building a new house do not apply any non-permeable organic coating to green concrete. Evaporation will disbond it in no time. A good moisture barrier under the slab is essential in most parts of the country. We often specify a product that can be applied to green concrete called Xypex DS-1. http://xypex.com/products/ds_series.html
It seals and waterproofs by crystallization and resists strong hydrostatic pressures when homes are built at the base of slopes and areas with high ground water tables. Whichever final surface you chose try to avoid the single component paints. The 2-part epoxies and even better yet the elastomeric urethanes are very durable and resist most solvents normally encountered with auto work. The tiles are also very durable but I've heard that jack stands can cut them without an additional base support to spread the load.

M758

I have looked at the tile flooring too. Looks really nice UDPride!


Cost is what pushes me away. I have considered the special paint systems, but they seem like ALOT of work in surface prep. Any residual oil and it will come up.

Right now I just layed down section of left over carpet from my old house. It was piece large enough to cover the area under the 944. I use it mostly as protector from oil drips and such. Once it get nasty I will probably throw it out and get something else.

PS.. In Az I don't worry about a cold garage. Heck yesterday my garage was 100F (inside). I need AC unit in my garage!

RMills944

Just get a tile floor like my garage

Note: This may not be my garage and may look nothing like my garage - in fact, I may not have a tile floor and may have stolen this picture.

Chris_924s

Thanks Chris- (UDPRIDE) your garage is da bomb!

Italian quarry tile- SHEESH! Thanks Ferris!

UDPride

Everything I read on the epoxys meant you have to acid bath them to first get them clean, then when you epoxy them some were recommending you let the epoxy cure for 2 weeks before you put any cars on them. Well I have other members of the household who want their car in the garage pronto, so the epoxy to me just seemed like a lot of work and if I didnt get it right, Id have to do it over. And you cant take the epoxy with you. I can yank up the tiles and tote them wherever I go.

I dont like to do physical labor so the tiles were path of least resistance for me. I figure I save 20-30 man hours of labor doing an epoxy floor the right way so at $20/hr x 25hrs thats $500. Materials was gonna cost me $150-200 for the good stuff. So the tiles all things considered really werent that much more considering I laid them down through the ABC News, Wheel of Fortune, and an episode of Magnum.