Garage FlooringThere is plenty of information about garage flooring options on this page, so be sure to scroll down to find the specific information you are looking for. Floor Covers - Quick and Easy
There are several excellent garage flooring products available to cover and protect your floor. Garage floor coverings are quick and easy to install without special floor preparation, nasty odors, or drying time required of liquid garage floor coatings. With garage floor coverings, there is no need to rush the entire job in one day. I installed half of the floor cover and then moved all my stuff to the finished half to complete the job. They are so quick and easy to install you will be able to park in your garage tonight. No waiting days for garage floor paint to cure. Best of all, you can keep your investment when you move.
RaceDeck®
One of our favorite products is RaceDeck®, a snap together colorful plastic floor tile made specifically for heavy traffic areas. RaceDeck® has a tough looking diamond-plate tread or circle-trac® design that provides a Extremely resistive to the chemicals typically found in your garage, you simply hose off RaceDeck to keep clean. RaceDeck is UV Stabilized and can even be used outdoors. Many standard colors allow you to create your own designs. Even graphics (such as your logo) can be applied for personalization. With a 10 year warranty, you'll want to unsnap sections of your RaceDeck® and take it with you when you move. RaceDeck® covers my garage floor and I love it!
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RaceDeck Garage Flooring Tiles
Better Life Technology G-Floor, Ribbed, and Coined MatGarage Floor CoatingsThere are several types of coating you could apply on your concrete garage floor; epoxy, polyurethane, polyaspartics, polyurea, acrylic sealer/stain, and latex.Epoxy PaintEpoxy is probably the most widely applied form of floor coating. Epoxy forms a hard durable surface and a strong bond to a properly prepared concrete surface. Epoxy coatings have excellent chemical resistance properties, but can yellow and lose their gloss when exposed to long periods of direct sunlight. Epoxies come in solvent or water-based formulas and either 1 part or 2 part chemistries. Epoxies are a product that you usually get what you pay for.Epoxies should be applied in temperatures from 60 to 80 degrees with low humidity. Generally, epoxies become thick and cure too slowly to be applied at temperatures below 50 or 60 degrees. Temperatures above 90 degrees thin the epoxy and reduce the cure time you have to work with. Epoxy will dry to the touch in a matter of hours but require several days of curing to become hard enough for vehicle traffic. Cured epoxies may soften at temperatures above 140 degree. Bubbling, color streaking or blush are problems that may occur when applying epoxy coatings. Bubbles sometimes form when air is trapped from use of a heavy nap roller cover, or concrete contaminants. Moisture problems, contaminants or incomplete mixing causes color streaks. Blush may appear as a white film or a greasy waxy film. Blush is caused by a reaction of the epoxy hardener with moisture in the air. If bubble form or blush occurs, you must remove it by sanding before additional layers may be applied. Epoxies are a long lasting alternative for creating an attractive garage floor. If your garage is heavily used, expect to recoat the floor every 3-5 years. Here's where to purchase Our Favorite 100% Solids Epoxy Garage Floor Coating:
PolyurethanePolyurethane would be my #1 choice of floor coating if cost were not a concern. Urethanes resist chemicals better than epoxy and are less likely to fade when exposed to UV sunlight. They are extremely durable and provide a very high gloss finish.However, polyurethane is not recommended for direct application to concrete surfaces. Urethane requires an epoxy primer to adequately bond to the concrete. The epoxy mechanically bonds to the concrete surface and the urethane chemically bonds to the epoxy. For this reason, polyurethane is often used as a protective top coating over epoxy. Polyurethane’s are used to create the special effect top layers over epoxy. To create a granite or terrazzo look for instance, an epoxy base is first laid, then granite or plastic flecks are disbursed in a layer of polyurethane, and then topped with a final finishing coat of polyurethane. Urethanes are also more expensive than epoxies, latex, and acrylics. But if you are looking for that one of a kind custom look, a polyurethane topcoat is hard to beat.
Latex PaintThere are various acrylic latex paints designed for garage floors offered by Sherman Williams, DryLock, Insl-x and several others. Insl-x is specialty paint manufacturer and has a latex based product called Hot Trax™ for the garage. It is claimed to be resistant to hot tire pickup. You can walk on the floor in 4 hours and park on it in 72 hours after application. Here's a link to Insul-x Hot TraxConcrete StainsAcid stained
concrete can create a very unique andwarm finish in multiple hues and
color. With acid stain, you can recreate
the look of stone or leather. Patterns and other designs are all
possible with great depth of color. The stain is translucent and forms a
one-of-a-kind design with the imperfections of your concrete. Unlike coatings
that paint over and adhere to the concrete surface, acid stain chemically reacts and soaks in.
For this reason, the concrete must be very clean of contaminates. The
resulting finish is permanent but
requires a protective acrylic seal coat. This acrylic sealer can
be damaged by UV exposure and heavy
garage equipment dragged across the surface. The sealer is not maintenance free, a requires a
protective waxing one or more times per year. You must apply a broom
finish to the sealer if you wish to have a nonskid surface. Otherwise, water, oil, and antifreeze will be very
slick.
Click here to see something New in Garage Flooring! CautionWith all floor coatings, preparation is crucial. It is imperative that you follow the manufacturers recommended floor preparation to the letter if you wish to have a long lasting surface. I have read and heard many stories regarding floor coatings that have peeled or lifted, especially where the car tires park. Most of the failures can be attributed to poor preparation of the floor surface. Ideally, you would apply a coating to a new concrete surface that has had adequate time to cure (minimum of 30 days). However, many times the coatings are applied over concrete that has seen years of oil dripping car traffic.It is imperative that your surface is clean and penetrable. Absorbed oil must be completely removed. Set-in grease may continue to rise to the surface even after a thorough cleaning. After cleaning, allow a few days for the surface to dry. If the grease or oil stains re-appear, clean again. Before application or stain or coatings, a test of the concrete moisture level should be made. Duct tape a 3’x 3’ piece of landscaping plastic to the floor and check for condensation on the underside after a few days. If moisture is present, it is not recommended to apply most types of coatings.
Here's more in-depth information on Garage Floor Moisture Testing
Garage Floor Coating Maintanence Tips Here
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