epoxy paint garage floor OR plastic tile system??

Image Unavailable, Please Login Forget painting the floor. No matter what they say it will lift. Epoxy or similar is your best bet. Durable, easy to clean and looks new after years of use.

 

I did the Rustoleum kit from Home Depot.
My Garage was only a year old & had minimal oil from my 68 Vette (Valve Covers needed new gaskets)
I followed instructions.
Cleaned, Etched, Rinsed, Rinsed, Rinsed.
Looks great and has held up 3+ years now

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Epoxy floor done by professionals. Ten years and it still looks new. I thought it was pricy at the time, but now I feel it was well worth it

 

It does depend. Epoxy is really durable, and does have some softness to it to. But we tell our customers if they were to knock a pointy shovel off the wall it could chip. It might not, but it also might.... We also say dont drag metal workbench feet across it either, as it could scratch. Doing a floor with decorative flake hides a lot of things. In addition to giving it some traction. Any repairs are usually doable, and its really hard to tell afterwards

In my own shop I've dropped a 50lb steering box by mistake, I aso do burnouts semi regularly on the shop floor to see how much abuse it can really take. No problems yet. Epoxy is the Best.

In your case even crappy epoxy is OK, and will hold up if the preparation is done to the floor. As the chemicals get better, it becomes a thicker coating, with multiple coats, maybe decorative flake, and is also usually UV stable. All that comes at a price though.

 

So we've established that epoxy is the best, what kind is best? Is there any real difference between them besides thickness? What about polyurea?

 

My Home Depot epoxy floor covering was applied when the garage was brand new. I spilled some antifreeze and it lifted. Weird! I've dragged jack stands across it, and it did rather well. I've spilled some oil and cleaned w IPA, and it kind of discolored. That's why I gave it a "C". If I didn't work in the garage and only displayed my cars, I'm sure it would be fine. I'm guessing the real industrial epoxy floor finish would cost several hundred for enough material for one garage. The Hom Dep stuff was probably 60-70$ I'm guessing.

What's that saying-- ?

" You don't always get what you pay for- But certainly don't get what you don't pay for"

 

Best value for money

100% solid epoxy basecoat, then 100% solid polyaspartic top coat on top. Additional things which make it better. 100% broadcast flake. and maybe a urethane topcoat ( on top of the polyaspartic)

Brand doesn't matter. Preparation does.

 

I would have preferred epoxy, but the floor surface was so poor that I don't think it would have been possible to prep for epoxy properly, so I used Racedeck. Overall, even though it was my second choice, I have been happy with Racedeck. One thing I like is that the Racedeck floor doesn't get cold, unlike tile or concrete. Also, you can easily replace individual tiles if one gets damaged. I've never seen water or dirt get trapped under the tiles or between the tiles (even in winter slush). To refinish the tiles, you need to clean with a mop and then (once a year or so) apply their surface Restorer (which will bring the back the color and shine). If you mop only, without occasionally using their Restorer coating, then the tiles will look old after a while.

I didn't even think about porcelain tile when I did the garage -- I would probably do porcelain instead of Racedeck or epoxy if I had to do it over again. I would probably do "wood look" floor porcelain tiles like I used in the basement. The only caveat with porcelain tiles (at least the ones I have) is that the tiles can chip if you drop something heavy on them. The surface of the tiles is incredibly strong -- you can't scratch it even if you scrape it hard with a screwdriver, but it will chip if you drop something heavy on it. Some porcelains may be better than others with regard to chip resistance.

 

I used U Coast It epoxy, this was back in 2001, and it still looks great. We put 2 coats of color on fresh cleaned and etched concrete, then two coats of clear. I have to admit I have rubber mats under the 2 daily drivers as I live on a dirt road. However, the walk in traffic is daily and when it gets dirty I can clean it write up. Picture was from last fall.
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my dad painted/epoxied his garage floor. took for ever and was a pain.
then the garage burned down.
the new garage will have tiles. much easier.
just my 2 cts

 

I mistypes the name, U Coat It.

 

Beautiful setting and house! Could you post a couple of pictures of the house?

 

Many different systems....

My shop is an epoxy mortar system. It's 5 or 6 layers (1/4" thick). The epoxy mortar is a sand filled epoxy that is applied with a power trowel. Then another few layers on top. The second last layer is 100% solids epoxy and the top coat is urethane as epoxy will yellow. It's tough as nails and all joints are filled (seamless floor). My office area is not the mortar system and only a 1/16 thick. Joints are filled but you see them. We did a red wine metallic epoxy in the office areas.

Get this.... My building is 8000 sq feet. About 2500 office areas. The concrete in the shop is 8" thick. The total cost for the concrete floor was $26K....the total cost for the floor coatings.....$50K

 

I went with epoxy. The only disadvantage to the pattern I chose is that it’s hard to find small things like screws if you drop them. I have a magnetic sweep but that doesn’t work with non-ferrous metals.

I had mine installed professionally, too, and think it was well-worth it. I didn’t like the idea of having to work with the acids necessary for a good bond, and the pros use higher grade materials and back it with a warranty.

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On any floor, just dim the lights and then place a flashlight on the floor on its side. Move the beam edges across the floor and you will magically see everything on its surface.

 

Except a race deck floor.

Matt

 

Racedeck and swisstrax are not equivalent. I had racedeck and it’s too thin, discolors easily, is loud, the plastic is soft, and it was prone to uncoupling. I swapped it out for Swisstrax and am really happy with it - none of the faults of RD. If considering plastic tiles I’d suggest ordering a few of each to compare - the difference will be very easy to see/feel.
Both systems are very easy to break into large sections that can be pulled out of the garage to clean/sweep/vacuum the floor. I’d say it takes 10 minutes per 1 car stall to break it down and drag it out, maybe 15 to reinstall.


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I used an epoxy system in my shop is a gloss finish we put it down about 12 years ago and still looks perfect and it gets driven on everyday...
I have ceramic tile on my house garage and it is great just remember to use a DARK grout... never had a problem and is easy to clean,
I have used Race Deck it is ok but not my preference for a high use garage .. It does keep the tires off the concrete for long storage which is good...

 

forgot to say we did the epoxy ourselves it is call U-coat it is easy to use and tough

 

Should work on anything flat. Try it on drywall at night to gauge quality or lack thereof. Best.

 

Any trowel down epoxy coating is overkill for an average home garage. I couldnt suggest that to a customer with good conscience. It usually gets used in high traffic, heavy vehicle environment like a fire station, factories with lots of forklift traffic, or a place where the floor is in such crappy state it needs such a thick coating to conceal the imperfections.

Price wise for 50k on 10.5k Sq feet isnt actually a bad price for a trowel down and metallic.

For an average home garage, epoxy / polyaspartic combo is the way to go.

 

Peel and stick vinyl tiles here....very cost effective and easy to maintain but if you don't completely seal your doors I can see moisture being an issue. Get some good ones, the cheap stuff will peel up...oh and if you DIY, try to stay sober. I definitely have some lines that looked straight when I did them but not the next day Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

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Thanks, very nice. Looks like a Frank Lloyd Wright inspired design.

 

Yes it is, I added the lower/outer garage, so that I have an inconspicuous space for 9 cars. Recently declared a landmark by the city I live in as an example of the mid century design.