What to do with a garage floor (paint, convert, steel)

[HotchildintheCity]

I was thinking the same thing-of improving the look of the garage. I will be moving in a few days and the idea of using the oversize two car garage as a rec room is an idea that I have. It would double as a garage and rec room, with maybe a few easy interchangeble steps. Theres plenty of street parking, so when I have friends over I can park on the street and convert it to a rec room. Anyone have any links to pictures of these improved floors? Also if anyone has an "interchangeable" garage your feedback will be appreciated.

[DanWolf]

I used plastic tiles on the garage floor at my last house. They interlocked and the whole thing "floated" - it wasn't glued or attached to anything (and it wouldn't budge). I think the floor turned out great, was easy to clean, and if a tile was damaged it was easy to pop it out and replace it. This was done by a company called GarageTek, but I've seen similar products at Lowe's and other home improvement stores. We also had paneling installed on the walls with a system to hang cabinets, shelves, and racks. Here's a before and after photo of one part of the garage:



Full size images are here: GarageTek Photo Gallery by Dan Wolf at pbase.com. The pattern on the floor is made up of 4 tiles each (each colored square is 2 x 2 ft. I'm in a different house now, and I plan on doing the same thing in this garage some day. The only negative comment I can think of is since the floor isn't glued down, it makes a bit of noise when walking on it.

[gizmobizmo]

Originally Posted by CrissCT

There is a garage floor paint that is sold at Lowes (and yes you do have to clean and etch the floor first). It comes in tan or gray. There are also non-slip "sprinkles" that you add to the floor while it is wet. The kit even comes with an instructional dvd. My husband has done it on our last two homes and it looks very nice (we get lots of positive comments on it) and it is easy to keep clean.

I've seen garage floors finished in this product and it looks very nice. My neighbor did it in his garage and my real estate agent said that something like that will add to the appeal of a house should he decide to sell it. The nice thing about his floor was that if it did get scuffed, it could be touched up easily and the sprinkles on the floor made it difficult to see the damaged area. A solid color epoxy paint will show damage much easier than a textured one.

Regarding spills or dropped tools.......Finish the floor however you want then purchase mats to cover the floor in areas where a spill or dropped tool might be likely to occur. My husband bought these foam mats at Lowes a few years ago that were interlocking. Each square was about 20 inches square and could be connected to the adjacent square easily. He kept these mats in front of his work bench and tool box.

[TomO]

Originally Posted by gizmobizmo

I've seen garage floors finished in this product and it looks very nice. My neighbor did it in his garage and my real estate agent said that something like that will add to the appeal of a house should he decide to sell it. The nice thing about his floor was that if it did get scuffed, it could be touched up easily and the sprinkles on the floor made it difficult to see the damaged area. A solid color epoxy paint will show damage much easier than a textured one.

Regarding spills or dropped tools.......Finish the floor however you want then purchase mats to cover the floor in areas where a spill or dropped tool might be likely to occur. My husband bought these foam mats at Lowes a few years ago that were interlocking. Each square was about 20 inches square and could be connected to the adjacent square easily. He kept these mats in front of his work bench and tool box.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll run down to Lowe's to check it out.

[TomO]

Originally Posted by DanWolf

I used plastic tiles on the garage floor at my last house. They interlocked and the whole thing "floated" - it wasn't glued or attached to anything (and it wouldn't budge). I think the floor turned out great, was easy to clean, and if a tile was damaged it was easy to pop it out and replace it. This was done by a company called GarageTek, but I've seen similar products at Lowe's and other home improvement stores. We also had paneling installed on the walls with a system to hang cabinets, shelves, and racks. Here's a before and after photo of one part of the garage:



Full size images are here: GarageTek Photo Gallery by Dan Wolf at pbase.com. The pattern on the floor is made up of 4 tiles each (each colored square is 2 x 2 ft. I'm in a different house now, and I plan on doing the same thing in this garage some day. The only negative comment I can think of is since the floor isn't glued down, it makes a bit of noise when walking on it.

Thanks for sharing. I've seen these tiles before, but didn't like the sound/feel when I walked on them. The one thing they had going for them is that they could be moved to another house.

[cdelena]

I have had several garages and/or storage areas where a surface finish wears or gets damaged with use leaving a poor appearance. If I do a floor again I will use tiles.

[HotchildintheCity]

Originally Posted by DanWolf

I used plastic tiles on the garage floor at my last house. They interlocked and the whole thing "floated" - it wasn't glued or attached to anything (and it wouldn't budge). I think the floor turned out great, was easy to clean, and if a tile was damaged it was easy to pop it out and replace it. This was done by a company called GarageTek, but I've seen similar products at Lowe's and other home improvement stores. We also had paneling installed on the walls with a system to hang cabinets, shelves, and racks. Here's a before and after photo of one part of the garage:



Full size images are here: GarageTek Photo Gallery by Dan Wolf at pbase.com. The pattern on the floor is made up of 4 tiles each (each colored square is 2 x 2 ft. I'm in a different house now, and I plan on doing the same thing in this garage some day. The only negative comment I can think of is since the floor isn't glued down, it makes a bit of noise when walking on it.

Thanks for posting those pics. Just comes to show that the skys the limit of what you can do with a garage. After looking at these Its given me a few ideas of what I could do with the garage. I like the checkered flag look. In my case I'm thinking pool table haha. I really feel with a little work and some imagination you add value to your home.

[SportFury59]

I am in process of building detached garage 30x48. Will probably cover concrete with U-coatit. Check out UCoat It&reg Do-it Yourself Commercial Grade Epoxy Floor Coating Systems for Garages, Basements, Industrial, Commercial, Automotive and more.

[sunsprit]

I rep for a manufacturer of epoxy/urethane flooring, and we have a number of systems that range from residential (light duty) through industrial/commercial (heavy service).

If you are going to install an epoxy floor system, you will need to have a thoroughly cleaned floor, free of any sealers/curing agents, and oil & grease free. Ideally, the floor should be sanded or blasted (blast trak) to open up the top surface layer to open and porous concrete. Personally, I don't like "acid etching" as a prep method as it's too erratic to control effectively on many surfaces.

It is essential if you have a slab on grade that there not be moisture (vapor) coming up through the floor as this will delaminate an epoxy floor (as well as other systems that are "glued", such as sheet goods or tile). There are simple ways to test for this potential problem before installing a floor, and it's even more important if your garage is "conditioned" (heated in the winter months).

You can select from "flake" floors, with broadcast chips of paint on a solid color background, through to very heavy industrial wear surfaces that will withstand the toughest abuse of floor jacks/stands, dropped tools, and other potential damage.

Rather than the low end garage epoxies sold through the box stores (which don't compare very well to quality durable products), I'd suggest you head to a professional/industrial paint store for their coating systems and professional advice about how to install the systems properly for durable performance. S-W, Benjamin Moore, or independent pro coating suppliers will have much better epoxy and urethane products for you at competitive prices. You may also have local pro installers for garage floor systems that can do the job right for low cost with the right prep equipment and experience to do the job correctly. Check your local yellow pages .... and get quotes.

If you like what the epoxy/urethane/polyaspartic systems can do, this isn't a project to learn on in a typical residential garage. It's a lot more complex to do it right than painting a wall with latex paint. I've had more than one residential client get into a garage/workshop floor and realize they were really over their head on the project and had to get a pro in to do it correctly. It's a lot more complex than slapping down a layer of "battleship gray" enamel, and it offers a lot more cosmetic appeal and much better durable performance (including hot tire pick up resistance).

[himain]

I have the epoxy kit from Lowes. We got it tinted blue with white, black and gray sprinkles. It's our next big project. I think it cost us about $400 for the whole kit. We also purchased a light gray paint for the garage. It should look nice when all done.