Garage flooring

[tommymac]

With the closing on the house getting very close one of the first things i will do in building my man cave is paint the garage floor. I was wondering if you guys had some recommendations on what to go with. One friend recommended some stuff from sherwin williams but apparently they dont make it anymore. was hopin gto go with something gray and add the flakes to it.

Tom

[Curb]

as long as it is an epoxy paint then you can throw some sand in there for grip...let dry for 24 hours and there you go!

[Lucky3623]

http://ucoatit.com/pgs/main.htm

[Rangerscott]

I used Rustoleum epoxy floor coating with good results. Just dont put a clear coat on it cause thats when you get scuffs marks and it turns black from shoe grime.

It looks nice with a clear coat but is a bitch to clean then.

[tommymac]

http://ucoatit.com/pgs/main.htm

Someone else showed me that and had great things to say about it, looks a little pricey but I dont want ot have to do it again down the road.

Tom

[thunderex]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=20

Everything you need to know about garage flooring and more. It's overkill really.

[tommymac]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=20

Everything you need to know about garage flooring and more. It's overkill really.

Damn lots of good choices there. Fortunatley the rest of the hous edoesnt realy need much work, or nothing right away. the garage will be a work in progress but plan to go all out on it. I iwll have to show pics of the before and after pics.

Tom

[Kerry_129]

I've done 4 of my own now, and contracted/supervised many thousand sq-ft in industrial applications.

Prep work is KEY, especially if it's a slick-finish floor and/or there's existing oil contamination. Degreasing/etching as needed & pressure washing is pretty much mandatory for good adhesion - & then plenty of time/ventilation to make sure it's thorougly dry (torpedo heater will help dry much faster). And very important - don't waste time/money on the 'big box' store epoxy kits (much less any floor 'paints'). Good Sherwin Williams ArmorSeal epoxy can be bought in the retail stores (they have modified their products/names some, but epoxy flooring is still one of their primary products) for ~$160 per 2-gallon mix, and that will coat 3~400 sq-ft heavily. One other tip - stay fairly dark (think battleship-gray) if you want it to stay looking decent. Lighter helps reflect overhead light & make the area brighter, but it scuffs/marks much easier & doesn't look as good in the long run. Do it right & with quality epoxy, and it's an outstanding improvement to a work area - done wrong, with crap material & it can end up worse than plain concrete.

Feel free to shoot me a pm and/or get my # if you could use any more advice/discussion & I'll be glad to help.

[t-homo]

I'd listen to this guy. Look up CEO's garage build thread too. Has tons of info in it.

[azoomm]

Screw that. Go with www.racedeck.com and be done with it...

[tommymac]

I've done 4 of my own now, and contracted/supervised many thousand sq-ft in industrial applications.

Prep work is KEY, especially if it's a slick-finish floor and/or there's existing oil contamination. Degreasing/etching as needed & pressure washing is pretty much mandatory for good adhesion - & then plenty of time/ventilation to make sure it's thorougly dry (torpedo heater will help dry much faster). And very important - don't waste time/money on the 'big box' store epoxy kits (much less any floor 'paints'). Good Sherwin Williams ArmorSeal epoxy can be bought in the retail stores (they have modified their products/names some, but epoxy flooring is still one of their primary products) for ~$160 per 2-gallon mix, and that will coat 3~400 sq-ft heavily. One other tip - stay fairly dark (think battleship-gray) if you want it to stay looking decent. Lighter helps reflect overhead light & make the area brighter, but it scuffs/marks much easier & doesn't look as good in the long run. Do it right & with quality epoxy, and it's an outstanding improvement to a work area - done wrong, with crap material & it can end up worse than plain concrete.

Feel free to shoot me a pm and/or get my # if you could use any more advice/discussion & I'll be glad to help.


The prepwork is the great unknown righ tnow, I need to be able to get in there with her car and all the other crap out and see what kind of shape the floor is in. Where her car is she has a rug or something under it so I am hoping that there isnt much as far as oil stains and that sort of thing.

I was planning to go with a dark gray epoxy, and will need better lighting in there anyway but thats a little further down the road.

tom

[LeeNetworX]

We used the Behr garage floor coating with sand mixed in on the garage floor in our house back in FL. While it looked good and was pretty tough, it wasn't easy to keep clean. It was especially hard to clean up any spilled moto fluids. When we bought the house up here my wife wanted to put it on this garage floor and I said no. She still brings it up now and then and I still say no. In hindsight, I personally don't find it worth the time and effort, considering all of the other items on my to-do list.

[tommymac]

We used the Behr garage floor coating with sand mixed in on the garage floor in our house back in FL. While it looked good and was pretty tough, it wasn't easy to keep clean. It was especially hard to clean up any spilled moto fluids. When we bought the house up here my wife wanted to put it on this garage floor and I said no. She still brings it up now and then and I still say no. In hindsight, I personally don't find it worth the time and effort, considering all of the other items on my to-do list.

I believe with the epoxys its easier cleaning up spills and I am good at spilling stuff :lol:

Tom

[LeeNetworX]

...and I am good at spilling stuff :lol:

Tom

You and I both. LOL You should have seen the amount of shop towels I had draped over my bike this weekend when I was bleeding the brakes. Becuase I KNEW I would eventually spill some of that shit....which I did. Never fails.


Oh, and the Behr stuff is epoxy acrylic. Still was a PITA.

[tommymac]

You and I both. LOL You should have seen the amount of shop towels I had draped over my bike this weekend when I was bleeding the brakes. Becuase I KNEW I would eventually spill some of that shit....which I did. Never fails.


Oh, and the Behr stuff is epoxy acrylic. Still was a PITA.

Oil changes on the priller are always good for a few drops making it to the floor despite my best efforts to keep it covered.

I am going to troll around that grage messageboard to see what other info I can get from there for both long and short term issues with it.

Tom

[Rider]

My buddy has some on his garage floor. He wishes he hadn't put it down. It gets super slick when it gets wet from rain or melting snow that drips off the car.

[z06boy]

I may go the epoxy route one day. I got lazy and when this route. Works for me for now.

Before...

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b5d910b3127ccecbea7b3fa7a300000010O08AcMWjly5cNA e3nww/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b5d910b3127ccecbeb4c8cc7df00000010O08AcMWjly5cNA e3nww/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

After some paint and this flooring... http://www.bltllc.com/g-floor_main.htm

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b6d801b3127ccece3c6887e11300000010O08AcMWjly5cNA e3nww/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8d724b3127ccec55fa487387000000040O08AcMWjly5cNA e3nww/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b6d801b3127ccece3c2944205800000010O08AcMWjly5cNA e3nww/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

[CrazyKell]

I like the looks of Z06boy's garage! ;)

[RACER X]

one of the guys down here did his research and chose to go w/ VCT, looks nice, not sure how it'll hold up in teh north. i haven't decided myself yet. thinking epoxy.

[Homeslice]

rhino bedliner ftw :lol:

[Amber Lamps]

rhino bedliner ftw :lol:

Yea that would be a $10,000 floor!:lol:

If I remember the name of it, I'll let you know, Tommy, but we did all of the Valvoline's in the area with a specific brand of epoxy... Went down easy and has held up for a decade (plus some) that I know about.

[LeeNetworX]

I may go the epoxy route one day. I got lazy and when this route. Works for me for now.

Before...


Man, that garage is hawt. :whatwhat:

[thunderex]

rhino bedliner ftw :lol:
Actually there's a thread on that forum about Rhino Lining entering the floor covering market.

[Particle Man]

...

You know, I probably don't say this enough: I hate you.

:lol:

[2up]

My husband was the co-founder of this company Ironclad Coatings (http://ironcladcoatings.com/index.html) and although he no longer is part of it, here's what I learned while helping with the startup and (lucky me) getting to help apply the coatings.

1. Acid etch isn't good enough. surface prep (http://ironcladcoatings.com/floorSurfacePreparation.htm) Rent a grinder from Home Depot to prep the floor. They did "test floors" for people and used both methods and the grinder was found to be a way better option.

2. Sherwin Williams "General Polymers" is what they found to be pretty much the best product, after tons of trials and research. General Polymers (http://www.zoomat.com/sherwin/cu/vHome.aspx)

3. If you don't want the floor to be slippery, do add chips to the epoxy, and then clear coat over the chips to preserve the integrity.

4. When you're applying the epoxy and the chips, make sure you do so in VERY small areas at a time. You also want to make sure to pay close attention to where you last rolled to make sure you don't overlap.

5. Scatter the chips lightly at first and add more as wanted/needed.

6. Most epoxy you can walk on the next day, BUT, that doesn't mean you can drive on it, or put heavy objects on it. A lot of people confuse those. Somehow. Unless you buy a specific "drive on the next day" product, don't do it. :lol:

Its not the most fun thing I've done in life, but was also not that horrible. :) Make sure you have enough time to devote to it. I wish I had pictures of our (former) garage floor, but I can't find them. But the one's on the site are pretty much all the husband's work.

[RACER X]

^ thats some nice stuff!

[z06boy]

I like the looks of Z06boy's garage! ;)

Thanks...after going through a divorce I was in a condo and then a townhouse both without a garage and was going through withdrawals. :lol:

I wish it was a 3 car but at least it's a large 2 - 2 1/2 with quite a bit of storage. :rockwoot:



Man, that garage is hawt.:whatwhat:

Thanks :lol:




You know, I probably don't say this enough: I hate you.
:lol:

Hey my wife works and makes decent $$ and we have no kids.

[Particle Man]

Hey my wife works and makes decent $$ and we have no kids.

All the more reason redflip





:lol:

[CrazyKell]

Thanks...after going through a divorce I was in a condo and then a townhouse both without a garage and was going through withdrawals. :lol:

I wish it was a 3 car but at least it's a large 2 - 2 1/2 with quite a bit of storage. :rockwoot:




Thanks :lol:





Hey my wife works and makes decent $$ and we have no kids.

AND you live in NC (which is my new God's Country). Dude...you have the life. Good on ya!

[z06boy]

:lol: PM



Yeah NC is a pretty decent state. I'm about 25 miles north of Charlotte.

We have decent weather most of the time with the mountains not too far and the beach not too far. The local lake here has about 520 miles of shoreline so it's pretty cool too.

[Gas Man]

do the racedeck floor tiles or some other brand similar. That way it don't peal or anything. There is some grip to it. Pus when you move you can take it with you.

[tommymac]

After the floor I was looking at having my dad get me something like this

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_009C0392000B?vName=Tools&cName=Garage+%26+Tool+Storage&sName=Garage+Storage+Cabinets+Collections

Tom

[Rider]

do the racedeck floor tiles or some other brand similar. That way it don't peal or anything. There is some grip to it. Pus when you move you can take it with you.

Where can you get those? This sounds like a better option that epoxy.

[shmike]

Where can you get those? This sounds like a better option that epoxy.

Whoddathunkit?

http://www.racedeck.com/

[Gas Man]

well somebody linked racedeck and that is a great option. Could hit up harbor freight. I know they sell this
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=66073

peronally if you do it... do it right and go race deck. but it will cost some $$$. 15yr warrenty
http://www.racedeck.com/epoxy.html

[Particle Man]

well somebody linked racedeck and that is a great option. Could hit up harbor freight. I know they sell this
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=66073

peronally if you do it... do it right and go race deck. but it will cost some $$$. 15yr warrenty
http://www.racedeck.com/epoxy.html

off topic but thanks for reminding me - I have to shoot down to the local Harborfreight and pick up a new torque wrench.

[azoomm]

Where can you get those? This sounds like a better option that epoxy.

Seriously??

Wtf, do you have me blocked or something. :panic:

Go look at page 1.

:nee:

[Rider]

Seriously??

Wtf, do you have me blocked or something. :panic:

Go look at page 1.

:nee:

I simply missed that post. According to most I'm an idiot so it shouldn't come as a shock. :lol:

[azoomm]

I simply missed that post. According to most I'm an idiot so it shouldn't come as a shock. :lol:

You almost made me cry.









ok, not really - but that was fun to type....

[Rider]

You almost made me cry.









ok, not really - but that was fun to type....

You had me worried for a split second that you actually cared. :tremble: