Garage flooring - paint, self stick tile or interlocking tiles?

[BBfangs]

I am curious to hear the responses. I am looking to finish my garage floor but would like some input. I live in the northeast, USA and think temp differential might be a factor. Does anyone have any suggestions or input?

[Wbulk]

Is it a working floor or a show floor?

[BDR879]

I just put down the Behr product (from Home Depot). It looks good and the application was easy. The tough part was the prep work. Degreasing, etching, finding out that a coat of sealer was put down 10 years ago , stripping, etching again, priming then painting. It took 2 weekends to complete, but I'm satisfied at this point.

[CBattaglia]

Originally Posted by BDR879

I just put down the Behr product (from Home Depot). It looks good and the application was easy. The tough part was the prep work. Degreasing, etching, finding out that a coat of sealer was put down 10 years ago , stripping, etching again, priming then painting. It took 2 weekends to complete, but I'm satisfied at this point.

This product works and looks great. It comes with a "spekle dust" that you sprinkle down after you lay the paint down. It gives a great looking finish.

[zzmac]

It all depends on your budget but I vote for 2-part epoxy. Use Seka (Cadillac of epoxies). Have a professional company prep the floor (crucial). If you get any water coming thru later, you've got a problem. Had mine done 3 years ago and it's like steel. Cleans in a snap and still looks brand new.

[Dangerous Doug]

When I get around to it, I'm thinking Racedeck...

DD

[BBfangs]

It is not a show room floor, definitely a working floor. It is my house garage, I have hopes of building a seperate garage someday for my specialty cars, ah dreams.... Anyway, I want to fix it up since it is starting to look bad. Do the interlocking floors collect a lot of dirt underneath them? I am also concerned in actual wrok time to put one down. I don't want the cars sitting outside for long.

[csx4910]

I had swiss trax put in (Just like race deck) and he did the 20 x 40 garage is about 4 hours. Dirt doesnt colect underneath it that bad. Plus there are channels cut in teh bottom of the tiles that allow yuou to just blow out the garage with a leaf blower or hose it out and teh water passes through teh channels so it doesnt collect. I love mine.
Ron

[FUNFER2]

Originally Posted by csx4910

I had swiss trax put in (Just like race deck) and he did the 20 x 40 garage is about 4 hours. Dirt doesnt colect underneath it that bad. Plus there are channels cut in teh bottom of the tiles that allow yuou to just blow out the garage with a leaf blower or hose it out and teh water passes through teh channels so it doesnt collect. I love mine.
Ron

Ron- I agree. It's the best product on the market and is easy to cover up that old concrete floor, fast. No prep is needed other than sweeping before laying down the tiles. If you move, you can take it with you. Power washing is also easy if need being. 12 year full warranty, not pro-rated after 6 years.

A heavy vehicle on normal jack stands will leave marks on all tiles, so I put carpet samples or anything I have laying around, under the stands for protection.

For other members that have not seen the Swisstrax flooring, I can get a 30% off retail price for us here on CC. Send me an PM/email.

Swisstrax website-

http://www.swisstrax.com/

[RaceDeck]

As a forum sponsor, advertiser and long time member we offer All Club Cobra Members Discounts on all RaceDeck products . Just give us a call or send me a message directly and I will make sure you are taken care of.
No need for hassling with group buys.

racedeck@gmail.com

[Silverback51]

Originally Posted by RaceDeck

As a forum sponsor, advertiser and long time member we offer All Club Cobra Members Discounts on all RaceDeck products . Just give us a call or send me a message directly and I will make sure you are taken care of.
No need for hassling with group buys.

racedeck@gmail.com

I got my bid estimate and I'm currently just waiting for the sample and then I will probably submit my order.

I'm not sure why Kevin keeps trying to undercut a forum vendor, but if I do this, I'm going with RaceDeck.

[dcdoug]

You can get the Racedeck tiles at Costco too for less (its under a different brand, but I spoke to Racedeck and it's theirs). Less choice on colors though.

[snakebittexan]

Epoxy, everything just wipes up with a rag, not to suggest your baby would "drip" but just in case. Three years ago $2,500 for a three car garage, still looks like new.

[Gary Stubbs]

I am familiar with sherwin williams 2 part epoxy.
the prep is everything. Does not hold oil nor stain. Very durable. It is a two part and two coat system that is designed to last a long lon g time. I only have one coat down and still works.

[ERA 778]

I used the two part epoxy from Lowe's. My garage floor was maybe 15 years old, which didn't help. I cleaned and etched it thoroughly, but still had places to come up in less than two years. There were two types of failures: one where the hot tires on a car "stuck" to the epoxy and pulled it up and another where it appeared to bubble up from below. I read somewhere that if there was no moisture barrier installed before the concrete was poured, you can count on moisture problems.

I reworked the damaged areas and repainted after three years, but it's happening again. Still, the floor looks much better than just bare concrete and it is easier to clean up spills.

[m5extc]

I used the Rustolium product from Home Depot. My floor is almost 40 years old, etched it and painted, finished and painted the walls as well. I had the paint come up in several spots under the tires. I ended up buying and putting down Race Deck. I love the look of it. If I were to do it again I would use a good 2 part epoxy or go straight to Race Deck again. The Race Deck took my daughters and I (2 & 7 years old) about 3 hours to install. Cleans up nice and not too much dirt gets through the tiles. A leaf blower works great for cleaning out the dust.

Andrei

[Mark Thompson]

Griot's Garage has a user friendly latex epoxy that has held up well on my floor.

Mark

[Rwillia4]

fangs- Being that you are in the Northeast I'm guessing you have rain and snow. One of the problems with an epoxy floors with a glass shine is they get VERY slippery when wet. I watched a pro do it and he took handfuls of sand and threw it onto the freshly painted floor to give it some grip. If you intend on having it as a working floor one of the hazards is tools dropping at height onto it, like a crescent wrench or a screwdriver tip. I'm not saying all but most inexpensive epoxies will chip due to the impact. As others have said prep is everything, you will want to spend twice your time on the prep, if you think it (oil, cracks) will be a problem it will be. So if you have the perfect floor with no cracks, water issues, etc … Then epoxy is the way to go. If you have any of above issues go with the tiles. Tiles ahve their issues also. You can't slide under the car very easy, they don't like hot things, they takes some time to cut correctly so the wall edges come out, small caster wheels don't like them....

[RAO-3]

I tried the epoxy, really cleaned the floor and etched it. After some time the paint lifts under the tires. I then went with the race deck and have been happy. It's not a perfect solution as it does lift a little due to expansion if the sun hits it, but is much easier to put down and if you do damage it, you can always replace some tiles, although I think it would be somewhat difficult to do as the same interlocking method that keeps them together would work against you to get them apart.

-Ray

[DanEC]

A question on the Race Deck type products - how do they hold up under the use of floor jacks and jack stands? Do the point loads crack it or permanently deform the surface?

Thanks