Garage floor advice

I have dream garage with a plain concrete floor. My problem is that it has some cosmetic cracks and just looks kind of ugly ... But i find raw concrete really functional. The grip is good, and spills soak in and do not create a slipping hazard. And jacks and stands and other abuse don,t really mark the floor. So although its a dream garage, i actually use it as a garage as well, i maintain my mondial 3.2 myself. I have looked at epoxy and other floor coatings, and they look real slippery if some oil or brake fluid dripped on them, or water dripping from winter snow (i am in toronto) And jacks etc would seem to scrape the coatings. Looked at plastic tiles or matts, again slippry or in the tile case hard to keep clean. I have not messed up the floor too much such that a coating could be applied, but if i don,t do something soon, the bare concrete will be hard to clean up and get the coatings to stick. Am i wrong to just leave the concrete and accept function over form? Or is there a coating that will not be dangerous and slippy and durable enough for actual garage work? I nearly killed myself slipping on a car dealer floor that was epoxied, just a drop of oil and the hazard was unbeleivable. The anti slip additives still result in slpy surfaces from the ones i have seen. Some practical advice and product ideas appreciated.

 

If you use it as a working garage then leave the concrete. Unless it's a showroom you will be disappointed with every garage floor solution in some way.

 

I agree with just concrete. I epoxied my floor and I now regret it but mine too is a working garage and not a show garage. I think there are some sealers that absorb into the concrete that keeps oil stains at bay and leave the concrete natural looking. If I were to do mine over that is the route I would take.

 

My Dad and me are in the construction business and whenever we set the floor and then brush finished it so it was rough looking which took in spills and never lost grip, plus you could scrub your shoes on it to take dirt off.
Cheers


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iirc...several of options w concrete

1. 'colored' concrete (new slab...color powder mixed in at time of pouring)...advantage is solid color...i.e. if somehting drops and chips...disadvantage...need new slab

2. chemical stain concrete (check out: http://www.kemiko.com)...believe can add a non slip formula as well. designs unlimited.

3. overlays...i.e. tiles/stone ( check out: http://www.naturestonefloors.com)

 

make that: http://www.kemiko.com

 

Some good perspectives,
raw concrete is probably the best for my needs, but the concrete stains look like a practical compromise, i was not aware of such finishes. Something i will research further, thanks.

 

You could always seal the concrete and add a non-slip additive to the sealer. I will do the same to me floor, wolverine coatings has some cool waterbased stuff that is great for a sealer. I'm doing mine to keep the concrete dusting down.

 

In our last house, I put down an epoxy coating on the floor. Before I rolled it out I mixed a little bag full of "texturizer" which to me looked like sand. When it was all said and done, I had a nicely sealed floor with a constant color but a gritty texture to it which kept it from becoming slippery from spills. I will likely apply a similar product to our current garage floor when I get around to finishing it out.

 

Polished concrete.

Current concrete surface is ground down with floor sander rough grit pads. Floor is then serially sanded to very fine grit.

The floor has a mirror like appearance. No epoxy or paint (that can crack or peel). The shine comes from a polished surface. Nothing to wear off.

Easy to care for. Water cleans everything. There is better traction on a polished floor than unpolished.

The first thing I do when I buy a new house....find a concrete guy to polish the garage floor.

 

When I built my garage I polished the concrete. I love the results and little maintenance.

 

i think jim aka Napolis had done that with his famous garage and it looks very good.
i used ceramic tiles - not bad.
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Just finishing up my new garage..
Perplexed as well on what to use..
Need something that works visually with Cedar..
real character stuff.
I like your last pic of ceramic in matte..
however what happens if you drop a hammer on it..
Epoxy is out...stained or polished concrete is a possibility..
But I need to see color ranges..

Perplexed...

any other options..

I like faux brick..need thin veneers of it.
cobblestone as well.
even thin planks of vintage wood, but washable durable
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I have always thought why not just take dirty old engine oil and pre stain the whole floor so it always looks the same? Next year I am tearing down my detached 4 1/2 car garage and building a larger garage so I will have the same question. 2/3rds or more of my new garage will be a working shop. 2 stalls will be dry walled, clean and well sealed for car storage. Those I will leave natural or maybe epoxy coat. I will have the cement surface fanned. That makes it harder. Do they offer higher PSI cement? Standard cement is what? 3000 PSI? Would that help? If it is a working garage you will drop things and chip out small pieces over time. That makes coatings not so desirable. Maybe use a dark gray/black additive in the cement so it has the same color as any typical stain?

Rodney
1990 348 TS
Still only 18,800 miles now. Looks good in my garage though Drove it twice this year!

 

This lime washed brick floor is it...Now How??

Anyone??
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OK, answered my own question..
This appears to be what I am looking for...these pics show no grout...the lime wash would be applied after the old english grout effect..
and I think I could match that dining room picture..

http://brickit.com/BrColors.asp


and or this one...with Video

http://www.bricksalvage.com/catalog/installation?zenid=17e0a8894a47e70ee211e235ab6c19eb

 

Very nice looking garage Michael! I guess you know that brick is very porous and unless it is carefully sealed will absorb almost any liquid that hits it. if this does not bother you then go for it. It is a beautiful look.

In my mountain home I used porcelain tile. Generally ceramic tile is made of clay, minerals and water. It is fired then glazed. Porcelain is made of a sand like material that is formed with pressure and heat. Porcelain is a lot harder and absorbs less. My 330 GTC has the usual drops when I bring it home hot. No problems cleaning up. I use 18x18 tiles that cost in the $4/sf range. My installation is the $3.00 range.

 

I've been very happy with my Swiss Trax flooring tiles. In the winter my floors are dry, and I can always pull out (in strips) my flooring to pressure wash the concrete if needed. I will try and post some photos when I get home.


http://www.swisstrax.com/

Cheers,
GREG

 

I am in the processing of finishing off my basement and went with the acid stained / polished concrete floor. Here are a couple cell phone pics of the result. Color options are infinite.
This would be my first choice for the garage as well.
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I actually like the Mocha Java rib trax ..http://www.swisstrax.com/pdf/rt-color-chart.pdf
my garage is 25' X 25' or 625 sq.ft.....X 3.96 = $2475.00
very reasonable...

Nice stuff..

 

That turned out very nice!

The only problem is when wet in a garage its it SLICK, i've bit it a few times in clients garages....maybe just my shoes or combo of things. Here in Utah the winters drop a lot of water off the car and unless you have a heated space it never dries out.

In your basement it looks really cool!
Cheers,
GREG

 

I used polyaspartic...

Good stuff. VERY resistant to staining and looks great.
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I'm not sure thin brick would a good choice. Even back buttered and securely attached to the floor, it's very brittle and would crack with any slab movement. I've used it over CMU walls before and had to order more than the traditional 10% extra due to warpage.

Porcelain or Quarry tile would be better options, even slate or travertine for warmer climates. If you want the brick look, stamped concrete might be worth looking into.

 

badass............

 

for weight bearing surfaces pressed concrete pavers make for a more durable surface over normal brick, which as has been mentioned before, are brittle making them to subject to chipping and cracking very easily, generally not hold up well. Concrete pavers have the ability to take very high loads allowing for a long life. Look closely at the spec as there are some that are not for high loads.

We have had very good results using a painted finish for concrete. We used a comercial formulation designed for industrial use and applied by a contractor ( some sort of two part epoxy based product ) . There was no slipping, chipping, lifting with excellant durability had no issues even with spilled oil. We used it on old concrete and well as new construction with equal results. We had acres of floor space ( air craft hangers ).
The first thing we noticed was the relected light that improved working conditions and the look and overall feel of the space. I would recomend a solid color that would contrast with anything that is dropped, as it can be easily seen if something small is dropped... those speckled finishes look inviting, they do a good job of hiding dirt and anything small that is dropped.

there are many good products, need to read the fine print, and decide if the primary purpose is utility or decorative...