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Had professions garage floors of NJ do my floors 4 years ago VERY happy!! A friend did his floors with tiles and HATES it . He cannot use floor jacks. Take your time and figure out what is best for you.
Last edited by Steve Garrett; 05-09-2017 at 05:09 PM.
I have epoxy. Was done to a brand new garage floor (new addition) and even with proper prep new Virgin surface and the epoxy still lifted. I didn't start parking a car on it for more than a year and it didn't matter. The hot sticky summer tires just tore it up exactly where the tread touched. So when I noticed that I out 4 pieces if carpet down.
I would do race deck if I could do it over. Now I just leave it be. But I'm also not jacking up my car in the garage.
I have epoxy. Was done to a brand new garage floor (new addition) and even with proper prep new Virgin surface and the epoxy still lifted. I didn't start parking a car on it for more than a year and it didn't matter. The hot sticky summer tires just tore it up exactly where the tread touched. So when I noticed that I out 4 pieces if carpet down.
I would do race deck if I could do it over. Now I just leave it be. But I'm also not jacking up my car in the garage.
hope that helps.
Had a buddy who did all the proper prep for epoxy, acid etch etc and it peeled it spots. My final decision was when I went to the best paint store in town and told the salesman I was looking for epoxy for my garage floor. They did have it available but he said why don't you use title? They don't sell tile!
Went to the carpet/tile store and they recommended 1/8 inch commercial tile and a good adhesive. It came in many colors but was twice the price of what I bought, the same brand and quality from Lowes. Lowes had limited colors but one was fine for me. Bought the better adhesive from the tile store. Just washed the concrete floor with soap and water! Two days and the wife and I installed.
This is a pic from 17 years ago when I installed it and one a few years ago. It has held up well and I jack the car all the time.
Brown speckled 1/8 inch commercial tile matched wood grained pegboard on walls, great for organizing. It also hides dirt.
This is the floor ~14 years after it was installed. To the Street Rods right is where it was parked for years, in the center garage. You can see some stains from hot rubber tires. That is the only minor issue. This is a functional garage. Use standard floor cleaning materials about once every one to two years. Just sweep or use my leaf blower periodically. Good enough for my needs.
I suggest forget epoxy and research polyaspartic floor coating. The installer will machine grind the concrete to give the proper tooth for the coating.
I have the Costco MotoFloor tiles. They are made by Racedeck as a low end product for Costco. Materials are the same, the tiles just don't have as many "bumps" or design on the surface.
Do your research to figure out what is best for you.
I had epoxy. A major brand U know. . After two years my Corvette 's tires blistered the paint. I was offered free paint but the work was difficult and may not have lasted. I originally put the paint on a brand new floor which had been cleaned and acid etched.
Four years ago I put Race Deck down. I bought the glossy tiles which still look like new. A no brainer for me. Race Deck.
I had the Race Deck tiles in my last garage. They are easy to install and look and wear great. My issue was the plastic feel when walking on it.....probably not a big deal for others but it has stopped me from putting it in my current garage. Not sure what I will put down.....if anything.
The floor surface in my garage is not smooth (unfortunately), it's a little rough/uneven. Are there some tiles that handle that fairly well? I think it is generally level, just a rough surface. The other option is for me to get a skim coat on top but would be nice to avoid a step.
I suggest forget epoxy and research polyaspartic floor coating. The installer will machine grind the concrete to give the proper tooth for the coating.
+1
I did a lot of research for my garage floors and ended up with polyaspartic floors. I am so glad that I did. It has to be installed professionally and is more expensive than the traditional floor coatings like epoxy, but it will out outlast anything on the market, and looks amazing.
Depends on the product and the installation. A professionally installed epoxy solution on a new, properly prepared floor will last, but it doesn't take much to screw it up, and the screw up might not be your fault at all. For example, the least bit of moisture coming through the floor can trash your epoxy. Garage floors are just poured slabs. The proper way to insulate the floor from ground moisture is to put a layer of plastic down before the floor is poured. However, most contractors don't want to do that because it takes longer for the concrete to set, so they skip that step figuring no one will ever know. Now combine that with an older floor that has had years of crud fall on it. All that has to be removed to prepare the floor properly. It's the old 80/20 rule. 80% of the work is in preparing the floor before laying down the epoxy.
Now you get to the epoxy. Store bought Home Depot epoxy such as Rustoleum, for example, is a **** poor product almost guaranteed to peel. Getting it all off is a nightmare that requires sandblasting. You can use something like Lastiseal as a moisture barrier, but it really doesn't look too hot. Unless you are willing to spend the money for a professional installation epoxy could very well turn out to be a costly mistake to rectify.
That's why products like Racedeck are attractive. They don't mess with your garage floor at all. They're attractive. You can design them anyway you want to. It's about $3.00 a square foot--sliding scale cheaper if you buy more. It's easy to keep clean: blow off or mop. You can take it with you. Installation is easy. Some people don't like the feel of walking on it, so those with refined sensibilities might have an issue. I really wish I had started with Racedeck instead of finished with it, but now I know.
Depends on the product and the installation. A professionally installed epoxy solution on a new, properly prepared floor will last, but it doesn't take much to screw it up, and the screw up might not be your fault at all. For example, the least bit of moisture coming through the floor can trash your epoxy. Garage floors are just poured slabs. The proper way to insulate the floor from ground moisture is to put a layer of plastic down before the floor is poured. However, most contractors don't want to do that because it takes longer for the concrete to set, so they skip that step figuring no one will ever know. Now combine that with an older floor that has had years of crud fall on it. All that has to be removed to prepare the floor properly. It's the old 80/20 rule. 80% of the work is in preparing the floor before laying down the epoxy.
Now you get to the epoxy. Store bought Home Depot epoxy such as Rustoleum, for example, is a **** poor product almost guaranteed to peel. Getting it all off is a nightmare that requires sandblasting. You can use something like Lastiseal as a moisture barrier, but it really doesn't look too hot. Unless you are willing to spend the moeny for a professional installation epoxy could very well turn out to be a costly mistake to rectify.
That's why products like Racedeck are attractive. They don't mess with your garage floor at all. They're attractive. You can design them anyway you want to. It's about $3.00 a square foot--sliding scale cheaper if you buy more. It's easy to keep clean: blow off or mop. You can take it with you. Installation is easy. Some people don't like the feel of walking on it, so those with refined sensibilities might have an issue. I really wish I had started with Racedeck instead of finished with it, but now I know.
I must be one of those but "refined" and "sensible" have never been attributed to me.
Had professions garage floors of NJ do my floors 4 years ago VERY happy!! A friend did his floors with tiles and HATES it . cannot us floor jacks. Take your time and figure out what is best for you.
I have Racedeck modular flooring. No issues with floor jacks, nor 4 post lifts.
I liked this product better than RaceDeck as it was thicker and with the open pattern, you couldn't see through to the concrete floor nearly as easy.
If using a jack, and / or jackstands you will need to put a piece of plywood or something similar between the jack and the flooring.
Super easy..... stays clean on it's own. Always looks brand new. I run the shop vac over it once or twice a year and it picks up all the sand, etc that drops between the open areas of the vented tiles. i can walk out in the garage with socks on and they don't pick up any dirt or stuff. Any rain runoff, or snow melt falls through the open slots and runs out the door. Can be easily pulled up in pieces, or large sections to power wash if you so desire, although I have not found the need to do so in the 1 and a half years I've had my floor down.
I installed Racedeck flooring after horrible experience with epoxy paint. I live in MA, Racedeck has been fantastic. Combination of solid and free flowing modular tiles.
Any experience out there? Costs, appearance, durability? Do te car tires pull epoxy up?
I looked at the options about 3 years ago and felt that the tiles may not be the best for me with all of the snow and salt that gets tracked into my wife's side of the garage.
I looked at the epoxy floor paints and was convinced that even if you do great preparation, it may not hold up and would be slippery when wet.
I ended up calling an industrial floor painting contractor and went with a quartz/ epoxy finish.
We decided on just a tan finish to go with the wall colors. This is an epoxy with quartz spread into it, so it is textured enough to keep from being slippery when wet, but sealed enough to be easy to sweep.
My garage is the equivalent of a 3 car attached -it was about 8 years old and fairly clean.
Day 1, Two men brought a large floor "grinder" and spent the day prepping the surface.
Day 2 cleaned up, put down epoxy and spread quartz like sand.
Day 3 Swept up loose quartz, cleaned up, put down more epoxy and covered with quartz again.
Day 4 Swept up loose quartz, cleaned up and sealed with polyurethane.
Day 5 After polyurethane was dry, did a clean up/ touch up and epoxy painted the exposed cinder blocks the same color as the lower portion of my walls.
The positive: After 3 years it still looks good, is not slippery and it is easy to clean.
The bad: depending on how you look at it, is that it was $ 3,800.00
05-08-2017, 11:02 PM
Epoxy
Had a buddy who did all the proper prep for epoxy, acid etch etc and it peeled it spots. My final decision was when I went to the best paint store in town and told the salesman I was looking for epoxy for my garage floor. They did have it available but he said why don't you use title? They don't sell tile! 
