What garage floor (pic) ?

Depends on the use. If a "working" garage, perhaps those interlocking tiles.
If purely a "showroom" then I've seen some incredible marble-look tiles; granted it would have to be in an equally grand building.

 

Depends on whether this is a working garage or a showroom garage. Working, I'd say the Epoxy. Showroom I like the tile.

 

I have a great three stage epoxy floor coating that looks like terrazzo. It has a slightly textured feel. After it was done, I saw a floor I liked better....concrete stained with various tones and shades of brown. If you're going for a rustic or Italian garage type of look, it's perfect. The nice thing about the epoxy coating is that it is impervious to oil, gasoline, etc., and it is not slippery when wet. Still.....that stained concrete looks great.

I'm not a big fan of tile because the $$/sf is usually higher, and there's always the risk of breaking tiles every once-in-a-while.

Jack.

 

I used Marine paint for then floor the coated it with Clovathane it is an epoxy finish looks like glass, the pics do not do justice to the real thing.
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Simply polished concrete is the most durable and looks very nice.
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What do you have to do to polish concrete? Is that something you do with a large motorised buffer once the concrete has set, or are there special setting procedures?

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Any concrete can be polished afterward, I don't think you need anything special. It does produce a nice finish, I have a buddy that does it.

I used porcelain tile. It is also very durable and provides a finish that looks like a room in the house, if that is what you are going for. grade 5 industrial tile is not only the least expensive, it also is the most durable.

 

I used the snap together plastic tiles from www.floorjunkies.com . They were $1.79 per square foot with free shipping, but you have to buy them in lots of 40 s.f. per color. It took a lot of fiddling with the pattern to make each color use ALMOST a multiple of 40. I like it, really easy to clean, nice to walk on, less fatigue than walking on hard surfaces, and easily repaired (pop out the damaged tile to replace). Water can go through the joints and flow out underneath the tile. The first pic shows the dusty tile right after installation. The second one shows it after a 15 minute wash down (easy clean). The last one shows it is fine with a four post lift mounted over the tile.
Plus I think it looks awesome!

BT
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All of these floors look very nice.

J. Salmon is correct about polishing concrete.

 

I have always like the look of a wood floor in a garage. I created mine with vinyl stick on tiles from Home Depot. Mine looks like a "parquet" floor. The tiles are $.33 each and is the EASIEST thing to keep clean. If I ever get a drip or s spill, it just wipes off.

You mop it like a kitchen floor. I have almost ZERO dust now in the garage since installing it, which has been a blessing with a black, hard-to-clean Diablo.

So many different patterns of "wood" to choose from. Also very easy to lay down a vinyl Ferrari or Lamborghini crest or sticker onto it.

 

I'm with Jim, love the look/function of a polished concrete floor.

A lower cost alternative is to use a nano-sealer to get some protection and that 'wet' look like polished concrete.

J. Salmon: Is your friend in Lynchburg or closer to the DC area, I'd love to do mine but would need an estimate first.

 

On my new house, I used self-installed 100% solids epoxy from epoxy-coat.com. Very satisfied although even application of the chips is difficult for the DIY'er.

www.slide-lok.com has a real nice and thick epoxy that I wish I had considered. They have it installed on the exterior sidewalk in front of their business here in Fountain Hills, Az. It's very thick and supposedly more durable than any epoxy. Not a DIY job, though. I found this floor on their website when I was shopping for DIY garage cabinets. I purchased these from slide-lok, and am just finishing installation. I'm very happy with the cabinets, BTW. Not affiliated, just want to pass along the info in case it helps someone.

 

How long should concrete cure before one can polish it? I like the idea of the natural non slip finish...

(new garage in planning stage, I appreciate the ideas)

 

As I remember it was 3 months but I'd check with concrete guy.

 

Jack
do you have any photos of the above floors you mentioned?
I'm doing a 30 x 40 building; and I love that look
Kevin

 

I had a coating applied by a company called GarageTek - it is incredibly durable and I think looks great (see photos). I was changing the oil on my snowblower and the drain plug broke - it wiped out with no effort and no stains....
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I can send you pictures of the epoxy floor I mentioned, but not the stained concrete. Which did you want?

Jack

 

Jack
Pictures of the epoxy floor would be great;
thx
Kevin

 

I have an epoxy floor and simply love it.

BUT, if I had to do it all over again + knowing what I know now (assuming price is not an issue), without 100% doubt I would go with ceramic tile (b&w checkered).

Epoxy is great, but nothing sends a message like ceramic tile.

Terazzo would be the next consideration ...

 

wow awesome....best one I've seen!

 

Kevin,

PM your email address and I'll send you some pictures this week.

Jack.

 

We have an epoxy coating in our warehouse and I hate it. it has the most min ute texture so that it isn't slick and it holds all the dirt and is extremely different to clean and keep looking nice.

From here out it's polished concrete for me. Looks great, easy to clean, no tire marks, and can hold up to welding/fabricating.

 

Can't disagree with polished concrete, which I considered but passed on due to cost. However, I suspect the minute texture on the epoxy is just aluminum oxide that's added to prevent a slippery surface. I didn't add aluminum oxide to my epoxy floor, and just used enough color chips to have an anti-slip surface. Seems to work well.