jimxyz

Building out the detached one car garage into a man cave that may need to house the GT3 now and then, so I wanted to put in a flooring that is good for both uses. Most of the modular flooring I've seen has a plastic look and feel (they may be great for parking on, but not great for a man cave type floor) - anyone have a cool man cave set up/suggestions? Photos would be great. Thanks

mooty

Thick ceramic tiles: search condorman post
Griot garage too

Stained concrete floor. Not epoxy but stained.

CWay27

I would also go with stained concrete with a clear epoxy on top. Once done, it almost look like granit slab.

mooty

^ that's what i would have liked, but the concrete was poured before i bought the house.

Condor Man

My Garage has Rough Porcelain Tiles that have proven to be sensational for a garage floor.

Plus too it was 50% that polished concrete!

Izzone

I used premier garage.....floor is great.....besides where my golf cart sits and boiled over acid

CWay27

It can be done but it makes a hell of a job. When they mix the color, make sure they apply a small portion on a not so visible area cause you can't remove it afterwards.

Porsche917K

You could do a thick epoxy or urethane cement which is basically indestructible and very easy to clean. Would have to be professionally installed though. Here are pics of some floors I did recently.

scott40

Both the porcelain tiles and polished finish above look really great!

The Baron

I took a thirty year old floor, Had it diamond polished and stained.

The stain has a faux finish that has even hid (incorporated) the previous 30 years of stains. Still looks great after 5 years and has never been washed; only swept and fluids wiped up !

Contrary to popular belief, NO paint, epoxy, urethane lasts forever and they are all vulnerable to contaminants.

By polishing the floors (many Malls use this process) it shines like it is wet and there are no coatings to deal with.

Nordschleife

Polished concrete has a very 60s/70s retro feel - good for cars

Slate tiles are cool and quite showroomy

many upmarket engine dynos have terracotta tiles (but wash them with diesel once down - stinks for days - it makes them stain vresistant)

R+C

Carrera GT

The polished concrete is great, but it's slippery and relatively expensive per square foot.

Epoxy is less expensive per foot, but nasty stuff and not easy to install -- it's also far from indestructible -- dropping tools or parts or sharp edges of metal will cut and chip epoxy (even double thickness of 100% solids application that I did in an engine room.) If you don't put in color chips (as this the marbled grey in the pics above) then the plan epoxy will look like a museum floor ... until it picks up stains, tire marks (as shown near the hoon M5, above ... : ) ... and keep in mind the most volatile active chemical in the garage is the tire ... not oil or brakekleen or fuel or acetone or even brake fluid.)

Urethane (paint) flooring products were not considered when I've done floors, so I can't comment.
I'm impressed by the molded detail work of this epoxy job with the "OSHA ADA bathroom" skirting. Very tidy!


Personally, for my home, I'd like a plain epoxy, but I know it's too much trouble, so I'd pay up for tiling and use oversized (2 foot or 3 foot square) to avoid the grout line checkerboard appearance. But, if you intend to roll heavy equipment, four post hoist on casters or machinery, plan ahead. A fully laden toolbox can be well over a ton -- if it's riding on foor solid roller casters, that's ample PSI and impact to chip edges of tiles and street test the installation for any imperfect areas. In other words, you will very likely end up with chipped and cracked tiles -- they can be repaired and replaced one at a time, so keep a box of a few dozen spares.

I recommend putting in a wardrobe and a half bath so you can count the garage as living space for resale value! : ) (although it would also probably attract extra fund raising from the county ...)

The Baron

Another important aspect that has not been discussed regarding ANY type of finishing to concrete is the breathability and curing of concrete.

Most people are not aware and are not told by contractors that concrete as well as stucco, brick, etc., need to breathe as they are always curing (Hoover Dam).

Two things happen with all concrete; moisture and dust.

The curing process emits moisture and by coating, painting, epoxying, sealing, etc... you prevent the concrete from breathing. Sooner or later, the moisture with no ability to breathe, lifts up the sealant or coating.

Also, when concrete cures and moisture is emitted, a layer of dust is created or formed which is why every warehouse floor I've ever been on is very dusty.

So, by coating, painting, epoxying, sealing, etc... you trap the ever-occuring dust (caused by curing) between the concrete and the coating and sooner or later it will cause the the coating to lift.

This is especially true when a warm/hot tire is parked on a coated concrete floor under 600+ pounds of weight and chemically bonds with the coating. A day, week or month later, the cooled tire that has now chemically bonded with the weakened coating can easily lift that beautiful finish off.

Carrera GT is correct that the Diamond polishing process is more expensive that most other options, but I have had to re-coat or repair too many so called "permanent" finishes.

If you have the money to do it twice, you had the money to do it once the right way !

I've done five (5) floors and I've learned !

VERBOTN

not sure of cost relative to others but I put down Corando 2-part epoxy (any color you want) in two different garages and never had any lifting and it stood up to all the car stuff plus Harley Davidson kickstands without a mark. For those that dont know HD's seem to keep moving after the kickstand is down. I still like the concpet of floor drains for inside washing just never planned far enough ahead.

Carrera GT

There's several good ideas in that garage (like the door ding rubber on the walls.) You comment on those slot drains got me thinking about making my own garage suitable for indoor cleaning. My garage is already sealed against water and gas (so exhaust fumes can travel through the wall cavity or permeate into the household and upper bedrooms.) The current walls are plain drywall. I wonder if it would be too hard to have the walls, roof, light fixtures, etc. "marine" grade. : )

Given all the enviro taxes we pay today (and the annual back-flow inspection, etc.) in California, it seems to me that every household should have the entire surface drainage of their property trapped into a slot drain like that with a particle separator (oil and chemicals go to a container, leaves, soil and solids go to a trap and then relatively clean, filtered water goes to the conventional drains) ... then each household pays the cost of keeping their own property clean (without the random "everyone pays" that we have today loaded into property taxes ... which will become radically more expensive as water itself becomes more expensive.)