Garage Floors | FerrariChat

Garage Floors

Discussion in 'General Automotive Discussion' started by ARTNNYC, Dec 26, 2013.

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  1. ARTNNYC

    ARTNNYC F1 Rookie
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    #1 ARTNNYC, Dec 26, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    I am in the process of buying a building in North Florida where I also have a part time residence. It is a small commercial building, formerly a laundromat, of concrete block construction measuring approximately 2000 square feet. I am going to use this building as a private storage/display for my cars, art, taxidermy and curiosities.
    I would like some input on flooring choices taking into consideration the area, usage and such.
    18" tile, marble, other stone, polished concrete....?

    Thanks
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  2. Ferrari Envy

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    Polished concrete, hands down. I do this for a living. I'll post a couple pics later. It is less costly the. Stone flooring and the polished finish will give you longer life I'm between service intervals
     
  3. sindo308qv

    sindo308qv F1 Rookie

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    I agree, polished concrete. If not that , then tiles.
     
  4. nathandarby67

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    #4 nathandarby67, Dec 27, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Can you give details on the polished concrete process? I would love to see some pics of the end result. I am in the middle of building my "dream garage", and will have to figure out what to do with the floor soon. (http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/silver-subscribed-private-forum/380333-help-me-design-build-my-dream-garage.html)

    I have gone back and forth trying to decide between epoxy, stained concrete, tiles, etc. I will have about 2,000 sf of floor area, so cost is a consideration. I want it to look nice, but I will also be doing real restoration work in this garage, including welding, so it needs to be something that is durable.

    They poured my slab about one month ago, and they did some sort of polishing process to prepare the slab in case I decide to stain the concrete, similar to how residential interior floors are done. What I don't know is how well this would hold up to vehicle traffic and shop use.

    Would love some more insight from the experts!

    PS: ARTNNYC- Congrats on your new digs! That should make a perfect man cave. Please keep us updated on your progress....I love seeing projects like this.
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  5. tundraphile

    tundraphile F1 Veteran

    May 16, 2007
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    My garage is 11 years old and about 1000 sq ft. Among the other home projects, polished concrete or acid stained polished was what I am leaning toward.
    [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vwjMpQPcLs]How To Grind and Polish Concrete - YouTube[/ame]
    [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bx4gXJ4jkE]Do it yourself concrete staining: How to stain concrete floors - YouTube[/ame]

    If I go the acid stain route I would like to use the Tortise shell black color from this company. Saw a floor done in it and it was really nice. Several coats of wax over the top sealer and the floor looked like the finish was an inch thick. Beautiful.
    Kemiko Stone Tone Concrete Floor Acid Stain Colors

    I have a few cracks in my floor, so when it comes time to actually do this I will have to research how to fill the cracks so it accepts the stain color as well as the rest of the floor.
     
  6. ARTNNYC

    ARTNNYC F1 Rookie
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    I will look both into polished concrete as well as a natural stone floor. Will keep everyone posted.
     
  7. Ferrari Envy

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    Okay, I am a stone and concrete refinishing contractor. I always try and keep my clients' best interest in mind when I am giving proposals. Financially, future, maintenance, etc.

    1. Natural stone. You're talking tile. Tile has uneven edges, no matter how good the contractor is. This can be ground flat and polished to be as flat as a polished concrete floor, but you're looking at the cost of prep, installation and then the grind in place. It's costly. Also, granite tile will be much more than something like marble. Granite will last A LOT longer as far as holding up against abrasion. Marble won't last that long. It can be refinished periodically, but that's an added cost you probably don't want.

    If you're thinking of going this route, understand you get what you pay for. Just like you would scope out potential dealerships or shops to work on your beloved cars, you want to do the same thing with your contractors. Not all tile setters are the same. MOST of them won't do a great job. The ones that do are going to demand a premium price. PAY IT.

    You also have to consider your area. Tiles can come loose or become hollow. I live on the San Andreas fault line, cracked/loose tiles are almost a guaranteed thing.

    2. Concrete- Polished concrete, when done right, can be almost as costly as setting new stone. Polished concrete will last 2-3 times longer than polished stone when it comes to abrasion resistance. It's almost a no brainer for a garage. I'm a stone guy, I prefer stone over everything, but when you're talking about spending some serious money, practicality takes priority, unless you have the money to burn.

    You can stain concrete any color you want. You can grind lightly and polish the cream, or you can grind down to the aggregate to get that Terrazzo effect. There are no joints (except expansion joints), the floor is amazing easy to keep clean. You can have a guard (sealer) applied and burnished to a high shine. This compliments the polished finish, but protects from spillage etc.



    The process is simple, to a point. It is similar to sanding and polishing cars. You grind with a heavy metal disc to remove damage and get a clean cut to prepare the surface. Then you move up in progressive steps until you reach the end.

    There can be as many as 12+ steps depending on the conditions and what you're trying to get out of it.



    Here is my showroom in the process. That machine is a high speed burnisher. This is the final step after polishing. You apply a sealer/guard, then burnish it in to "set" it. It basically melds with the concrete surface to add protection. It will get scuffed up, but it is a serviceable layer. You can strip and re-apply, re-burnish, or touch up spots later.

    [​IMG]

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    I use the old school Italian floor grinder, same design for almost 100 years. I have some other larger machines, I use different ones depending on the job.


    This is polished only, before cleaning up

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    See the aggregate exposure. It's not much but it looks good. This is a very hard industrial concrete. I started with 46 grit metal discs.

    This is after the guard has been burnished in

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  8. Ferrari Envy

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    Now here is a marble floor that was refinished and polished, but this would never last in a garage, unless your sweeping the tires before they roll in.

    [​IMG]
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    Here is a Travertine floor that I ground in place and polished

    [​IMG]
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    The joints were left open for me

    [​IMG]


    I filled the joints with resin instead of grout. The resin will take a shine like the stone.

    In the middle of the process

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    After the first couple of steps.

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    Getting there

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  9. Ferrari Envy

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    Sorry for post-whoring, but here is an actual garage. These people wanted something nice for their Aston DB7. This shows the stark contrast of what you can end up with when polishing concrete, compared to the floor in my first post.

    This one has weird squiggly lines everywhere, most likely from someone holding a pressure washer too close when doing the construction clean up. It damages the concrete and the stain didn't take in those areas.


    This is what we started with

    [​IMG]
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    This is what we ended up with

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  10. Roadking80134

    Roadking80134 Formula Junior

    Dec 5, 2013
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    The polished concrete looks great, and some considerable labor. Thoughts on Wolverine and ArmorClad products? There's some support for Wolverine on the Garage Journal forum.

    Thanks!
    Rick
     
  11. xs10shl

    xs10shl Formula 3

    Dec 17, 2003
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    You might also consider a 2-stage epoxy finish over rough concrete. I've used it to store cars for years. It's low maintenance, nearly stain-proof, and easily spot-repairable. Comes in a multitude of colors, and you can add textures/flakes to it. Costs run $2-4 a square foot on the West Coast, last time I checked.
     
  12. sherpa23

    sherpa23 F1 World Champ
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    #12 sherpa23, Dec 28, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    I have a pretty good single stage epoxy which is great as it's no-slip. I just mop the floors in the spring after the snows have stopped and it takes minimal maintenance the rest of the year.
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  13. Ferrari Envy

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    If you're thinking about a coating like epoxy, check out polyaspartic coatings. Supposed to be a lot stronger than epoxy. I don't care for epoxy that much.
     
  14. bball16

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    #14 bball16, Dec 28, 2013
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  15. ARTNNYC

    ARTNNYC F1 Rookie
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    wow thanks for all the great responses and pictures!
     
  16. FLGT

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    #16 FLGT, Dec 28, 2013
    Last edited: Dec 28, 2013
    Where in N FL if I may ask? I did my private facility in NE FL in polished concrete and it is really nice. Contractor did a nice job. Happy to show it to you. I also divide my time between NYC and NE Florida.

    Feel free to PM me
     
  17. JCR

    JCR F1 World Champ
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    Beautiful work!
     
  18. ARTNNYC

    ARTNNYC F1 Rookie
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    Hello there. I am in St Augustine and live in NYC as well. I would very much like to see a polished concrete floor in person
    Jerome
     
  19. FLGT

    FLGT Formula Junior
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    PM about to be sent, as I am quite close to you !
     
  20. BluNart

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    We plan to finish our garage floor next year and after doing the analysis came to a conclusion RaceDeck (or competitor product) would be the best all round solution for our need. Have you considered the like and if so we appreciate your thought process to be sure we're making the right decision.
     
  21. ARTNNYC

    ARTNNYC F1 Rookie
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    PM responded to from [email protected]
     
  22. S Brake

    S Brake F1 World Champ

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    Was anything added to the epoxy to make it no-slip? My parents epoxy floor is a death trap if water gets on it.
     
  23. FLGT

    FLGT Formula Junior
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    My polished concrete floors are not slippery, even when wet.
     
  24. andy308

    andy308 Formula 3

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    #24 andy308, Feb 4, 2014
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  25. bball16

    bball16 F1 Rookie
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    My epoxy floor doesn't get slippery at all. The texture from the color seems to give it enough grip and I wash my cars in the garage all the time.
     

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