DIY - Garage Makeover - Maybe your Springtime Project... Problem: ======== Most garages are grey and dull. Most people select grey as the garage floor color, supposedly because it hides dirt. It may hide dirt but it also makes the garage look like a dungeon. I prefer white but most garage floor epoxys do not come in white. I solved this issue by selecting a "tint-able" epoxy, where the base color is white, then just not tinting it. If you are a car enthusiast, you likely spend a lot of time in your garage and take pictures of your vehicles in your garage or just outside of it with it in the background. So why not take the extra effort to make your garage look good. Key Attributes: ============= 1. Paint the floor and the walls a light a bright color. *Surface prep is 85.2% of the work, do it right. 2. Clear coat the floor to give shine and more protection to the base coat 3. Put up framed pictures, not just posters. 4. Paint a stripe or some other unique accent around the parameter 5. Use a glossy paint on the walls 6. Use stainless shelving and clear bins to organize your items stored in the garage 7. Take all non-used items and move them to the attic to reduce garage clutter 8. Plan your garage on paper, starting with the cars, motorcycles, then add tool box and work bench. The storage should be kept to a minimum. 9. I do not recommend storing anything on the sides of the cars, this is the "short" side of the garage and will limit door opening, etc 10. Installed red carpet rectangle pieces under car. It looks good and absorbs AC Humidity and the occasional drip of whatever 11. Installed large backup mirror on garage door rail, so I can back in straight and tight with minimal risk of damage 12. Hang florescent lighting. I went with 4x units with 2x bulbs each. These units are cheap ~$10-15 each. The light is amazing with 22,000 Lumens (from ~250 watts, not bad) from the 8 bulbs! It lights up my entire street with the doors open at night! A wonderful way to work-on, and enjoy your cars. Epoxy: ============= Rustoleum EpoxyShield P# 252625 ~$70 / 250 sqft (summit racing seems to have a great price and cheap shipping) Rustoleum Epoxy Clear Coat P#225225 ~$99 / 400sqft (home depot stocks it and the price is fair) I used the epoxy without tint and bought 2x one car kits for my 450 sqft garage. My warning is that it was not enough paint to cover a 2x car garage light grey floor with minimal porosity, thus I was left having to force the last pint or so to stretch very thin. This caused a time delay and with epoxy that is an issue in itself. Application Comments: =================== 1. For light colors over darker floors, two coats are a must, Dont try it with one coat because the "wet overlaps" will be lighter and thus streak. 2. Buy one extra kit from a returnable source and if you dont need it GREAT, if you need it you will be thankful you have it handy. I would have paid anything to have an extra kit. 3. Plan on throwing out the trays, brushes and rollers, its just not worth it trying to clean up the epoxy, even though it is water based. I am telling you this so you can buy extra trays, rollers and brushes before hand so you have enough to complete the job. 4. I put a second coat on in 17 hours, it was dry enough to walk on in regular shoes (no spikes) 5. I used a light glitter sprinkle instead of the included cheesy flakes. The glitter sparkles a little and gives it a slight pearl look. 6. Count on using the 5-15min (depending on temp) between the 3min mix time and the ready-for-rolling time 15-30min to paint the edges. I used a 4" brush for speed. Two people would be good here. One person is fine for rolling as long as you dont take any breaks or chit chat. The surface came out glossy, but I will still be putting on a coat of the clear in 24hrs. I chose to stick with white (no tint) to increase the lighting and make the garage look bigger. The garage is so bright with the lights OFF now!!! It also looks huge. I went with one 2ft red stripe horizontally around the garage to also increase the perceived size. Lots of work for a few months of use: ============================ The bad news is that my new Digs closes early next month and thus I have to do all of this over, but at 700 SQFT!, up from my current 450sqft. 700sqft will have to do for a few years unless I really work harder. I almost bought a house just because the garage was 1000sqft, but thats no way to live…. Summary: ======== Take a pic of your garage, if it looks like a dungeon and you want a "spring" DIY project, then this may be for you! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Epoxy works wonders. Paint chips help hide many imperfections in concrete as well.
Looks great! I'm in the middle of my project. For the epoxy I am going with the standard grey with extra flakes and then a clear coat. Prep was a major pain, but as you said, necessary. Powerwasher. Degreaser. Muratic for the tough spots. Etch. This evening I filled in the cracks with the rustoleum kit. I also added fluorescent lights 8X2, a new sub panel, multiples outlets and a side mount garage door opener. I am thinking that in a month or so I may finish it out with insulation, drywall and an air conditioner.
I went through the same process...couple of additional things you MUST consider especially if you work on you cars a lot (I do) - like kitchens, counter space, storage and lighting is key. Other must haves, sink to wash hands (and avoid spouse wrath a very large compressor with multiple air connector plumbed around the place, parts cleaner, outlets (110 and 220v). Nice to have, surround sound and TV, lift, fridge, air conditioning. A dirty room is really nice (for sanding and sandblasting cabinet) otherwise your pretty garage gets messy in no time. I have yet find a surface that will do ok with welding (Tig/Mig) and I must say that Costco titles (like Croc tiles) which I used have done OK considering the abuse... Not to dissuade anyone, I did the Rustoleum floor kit and despite extensive prep it lifted after nominal use, jack stands and cherry pickers will cause the epoxy to delaminate. If I were to do it again since the effort goes in the prep, I would use the professional grade epoxy which isn't water-based. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I did my last garage over and when it came to flooring, I chose Armstrong VCT vinyl tile available from Lowes for about 60 cents each. They apply with mastic and are fairly rugged. About once a year I'd have a pro come in and strip/polish the floor. My daughter and I did an oversize 3-car garage for about $450. My garage was drywalled, so I put up Mills Pride cabinets from Home Depot. Unfortunately, they are no longer made. I built my own workbenches using Hardwood grade plywood. My current building is a 30X50 Steel Building, so I purchased large steel cabinets from Lowes since I don't want to finish the walls and have no place to put shelving. I will once again build two workbenches. Pics of the old garage: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
My previous cars are on the right wall (Nissan 300 ZX and Corvette C5) Ferrari mid-engine evolution on the left wall: 348 - 355 - 360 (my current car) - F430 - 458 Image Unavailable, Please Login
...well after 6 years of hard use including 6 Ferrari engine outs, 2 Maserati and 5 Porsche engine rebuilds and many other projects, it doesn't look near as showroom, tiles are more grey than white...but overall it has served me well!
Nice garages! I went with epoxy... Everyone has a Ferrari shrine, sorry mine is Lotus Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I agree Trent. The floor covering over here is carpet (removable tiles to clean if required) and walls white plaster. Lights (6x2) fluorescent lighting and 1 spot to highlight the cavallino (purchased in Maranello at Toni's ) or during projecs to the center. The pictures are on canvas 100x80 cm. You can guess where the pictures were taken Next to the house we have a additional new garage (6x3 mtrs) with the wall of F-chat All the guys & dolls we have fun with (during summer) are on this wall, framed. Because this wall became too small another wall is dedicated.... This is also the private carwash. The floor is paved at an angle to the curb. During rain (its Holland) I can wash and dry inside. Also wash & waxing in the shade is better as you will know during summertime. Where do you wash your car? Some pics: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Nice Trent! Awesome job. Once again you've inspired me to get my hands dirty. Still debating what floors to put in. Epoxy like Eddie, checkered, or all white like yours.
As an owner of an Industrial Coatings Contractor, I thought I'd pass along a few tips on epoxy flooring: After degreasing, the floor should be shot blasted, especially for vehicular use. Check moisture vapor emission rate with Calcium Chloride Moisture Emission Test Kits. Three (3) tests should be performed for the first 1000 square feet. If the results exceed 3.0 pounds of moisture (for most epoxy flooring systems), a vapor control system must be applied to avoid delamination and failure. Check pH of concrete. If pH is not within acceptable levels, the same vapor control system may be used. Most failures occur due to improper surface prep and/or high vapor emission rate. If all the stars align, you may get a successful installation without doing the above, but just some words of caution for all.
In Maranello at Toni's (=across Ferrari factory entry) is where I bought this aluminium one. Worth the trip imo Also at several shops in Maranello you can buy plastic ones (not the real thing) at almost the same price. Those are not as heavy so cheaper to ship.... I am sure on www you can find it. (search cavallino)
Floor is from Racedeck (Racedeck is de ultieme garagevloer voor professionele en particuliere toepassingen. Racedeck garagevloeren zijn wereldwijd het meest gebruikt voor showrooms, garages en racesport - Home) In the Netherlands (where I live) the local Racedeck dealer offers printing of logos on their tiles. They asked for the Ferrari logo as eps file (downloaded from Internet) and they sent the tiles + logo to a printing company Perhaps your Norwegian Racedeck representative offers the same service Good Luck!
+1. I did not go into detail about the surface prep. Sorry. Here it is: Surface Prep for Epoxy: (I am no expert, sounds like yronZFF is, so listen to him) 1. I degreased like crazy, rinsing every time. 2. I cleaned up the degreaser with a dish type soap and water, and rinsed several times. 3. I hired a concrete cleaning guy to come in and use a air driven scrubber that basically removes the paint and top layer of concrete. Now its REALLY clean and porous. 4. I did the water vapor test, and it came out good. 5. Then I chemical etched with the included stuff from the Epoxyshield kit. 6. Then I filled the cracks in the floor with a crack filling kit (cant remember which one) 7. Then I started the epoxy process. I know, sounds like a biteach, it was. The prep time was several days, mostly due to drying times.
