Different flooring options - newbie questions!

[txhokie]

Hi all,

New to the forum. We're in the very early stages of planning a home garage update. Nothing too fancy, but would like to do flooring and probably some storage cabinets/slatwall type stuff. I am in Austin TX - so it gets very hot (uninsulated garage, no AC). Garage is really just storage for the 2 cars and typical lawn tools, misc storage, etc. No woodworking (other than the odd small project), no car repairs or anything like that.

First thought was of course epoxy. Got a couple rough quotes and they seem to be 2000-2500 for a 2 car garage. One quote was for polyurea (supposedly better than epoxy?) for $5 sq/ft. Possible downsides I've read about these types of coatings are being slippery when wet, yellowing from sun/UV (we don't leave our garage open regularly), and gouging or damage from dropped tools and stuff. Note I have no desire to try a DIY epoxy solution.

Then I came across the DIY floor tile options. Looks like they are typically in the $2-5/sq ft range - let's call that 1000-2000 for a 2 car garage. Home Depot sells MotorDeck which seems to have good reviews. I see RaceDeck is a sponsor here, but a bit more expensive. Both are the hard plastic from what I can tell? Then Home Depot also sells the 18x18" PVC tiles that are more like a rubber. I guess both have pros and cons?

For the RaceDeck-type tiles, I have seen some people recommend putting some landscape cloth underneath to help with sound. Is that going to be a concern with any rain from the cars seeping through the tile and then wetting the cloth and getting moldy?

If the price difference between epoxy/polyurea and DIY tiles ends up being <$1000, should I just bite the bullet and do epoxy? Or would there be other advantages to the tiles over just saving money (which is great, don't get me wrong).

 

[dcg9381]

First thought was of course epoxy. Got a couple rough quotes and they seem to be 2000-2500 for a 2 car garage. One quote was for polyurea (supposedly better than epoxy?) for $5 sq/ft. Possible downsides I've read about these types of coatings are being slippery when wet, yellowing from sun/UV (we don't leave our garage open regularly), and gouging or damage from dropped tools and stuff. Note I have no desire to try a DIY epoxy solution.

To me, polyurea and epoxy floors, especially in solid colors are impossible to tell apart. And you can do both in traditional flake.

Polyurea is more UV stable, but even in Tx, your garage is covered and I haven't had a problem with either product. Both are good products. My go-to is a water based stain on the garage floor and then coat it in 2-3 coats of clear polyurea with an anti-slip agent.

Paid install, epoxy might be less expensive as they can do it in one shot. It's probably not the cost of the material that makes it less expensive, but I would do question "which" epoxy they are using because there are absolutely inferior products out there.

As a "self installer" polyurea is a less expensive product and I like how it installs better (roll on). It is absolutely slick as **** when wet, but you can address that by using an anti-slip agent in it.

Can't speak to tiles.

 

[Mikes61]

I’ve had RaceDeck type plastic tiles in my 2 car garage for the last 20 years. They’ve held up really well to everything I could throw at them. Brake cleaner, gasoline, floor jacks, etc. They clean easily with a wet mop and they aren’t slippery when wet. The only thing I don’t like is that the “grow” and buckle when the door is open and the sun is shining on them. They buckle and lift about 2” inches the center area.

My wife just decided that she wants to redo the garage for her new car so we‘re getting the floors epoxied, the walls repainted and new built-in cabinets.

If it was just me, I’d stay with the plastic floor tiles, just don’t weld on or near them.

 

[u2slow]

Regular old power-trowelled concrete floor has been fine for me.

After buying some retail shelving, only 3 units remain in the shop. The rest migrated to the house and shed. The shop fared better with built-in-place shelving to fit around things, fit *my* things, and/or go up taller on the walls.

 

[txhokie]

I’ve had RaceDeck type plastic tiles in my 2 car garage for the last 20 years. ... The only thing I don’t like is that the “grow” and buckle when the door is open and the sun is shining on them. They buckle and lift about 2” inches the center area.

I've read somewhere else about the tiles buckling in the sun. How quickly does that happen - after just a couple hours of having the garage open? And do they 'settle' back down once back in the shade?

 

[CSRPenFab]

I've read somewhere else about the tiles buckling in the sun. How quickly does that happen - after just a couple hours of having the garage open? And do they 'settle' back down once back in the shade?

They will buckle in direct sun, but having a proper 3/8” expansion on all sides will minimize this. I’ve had 4 garages with RaceDeck tiles and I highly recommend them. I have FreeFlow open tiles now and zero issues with sun expansion.

 

[RaceDeck1]

Here is a link with some tips on a proper installation of RaceDeck INSTALLING RACEDECK and you can always give us a call

 

[Garage Flooring]

Garage tiles are quick and affordable. Easy to do

 

[Mikes61]

I've read somewhere else about the tiles buckling in the sun. How quickly does that happen - after just a couple hours of having the garage open? And do they 'settle' back down once back in the shade?

The buckling happens in the first hour or two, when I have the door open. If the door is closed it must be holding them flat or not letting the sun beat on them because they don’t buckle then.

I have heavy cabinets and a welder in the garage. I have a 1/2 “ gap from each wall but that doesn’t stop the buckling. They are solid plastic tiles.

 

[Shea]

I've read somewhere else about the tiles buckling in the sun. How quickly does that happen - after just a couple hours of having the garage open? And do they 'settle' back down once back in the shade?

Solid top tiles absorb heat from direct sunlight fast. That and the fact that there is so much more material across the top is why they expand much more than vented tiles. Our previous garage was south-facing, and the door was kept open for extended periods. We had RaceDeck Diamond for most of the garage, with the first three rows Free-Flow. The door would stay open all day sometimes and never had a problem with the tiles buckling. The only buckling was two center pieces of the edge ramp that raised about 3/8" at the joint.

 

[RaceDeck1]

Solid top tiles absorb heat from direct sunlight fast. That and the fact that there is so much more material across the top is why they expand much more than vented tiles. Our previous garage was south-facing, and the door was kept open for extended periods. We had RaceDeck Diamond for most of the garage, with the first three rows Free-Flow. The door would stay open all day sometimes and never had a problem with the tiles buckling. The only buckling was two center pieces of the edge ramp that raised about 3/8" at the joint.

very nice looking garage you have there

 

[rsanter]

Just from my experience.

last house I just used the garage floor paint. Was easy to apply and was not expensive.

the Downside was that after some time I got ‘hot tire pickup’ where the car tires sat. I also got some scratches though and not through the paint from dragging things across the floor on the shop side.

now the good side. It was easy to touch up the tire pickup spots and the scratch damage and was not readily apparent that the touch up was done.

overall I was very happy with the results

currently house.
i liked the painted floor so much I decided to step up to epoxy but I’m cheap so I was going to do it myself.
i bought two kits to cover the garage and the price was not too bad. More than the pain but still reasonable.

the epoxy was much more work as I was working on a time line for the epoxy to set.
it has been very durable but now going on about 14 years I do have some scratches and some areas have chipped through the epoxy.
no hot tire pickup has occurred.
the down side is that I can’t really fix the epoxy. You can’t just open a can of paint and use part of it and then the flake broadcast won’t match either

next
at work we had a coating on our floors and it kept bubbling in the same areas from moisture coming up through the concrete. Total pain the *** and having to have it fixed every year.
i decided enough was enough and I had the floor stripped and the polished followed by a wax coat.

problem solved. iMO it looked better, kind of a terrazo look with the aggregate showing, nothing to ever bubble or peel and I was having the floors stripped and waxed once a year to look nice.
we had lots of foot traffic as well as carts and fork lifts on the floor. Best decision ever for that place.

so now what?
if you are spending the money then look at a polished floor. It was not cheap.

for my next house on a budget I’m likly to go back to the garage floor paint. I like the price and that it’s easy to touch up when I damage it

 

[Bunsen Honeydew]

At work, Corp decreed that we had our regular floor cleaners wax the concrete stock room floor when they did the sales floor strip and wax one year. I was skeptical about the wisdom of that, but it actually worked very well. Totes, boxes, ladders were much more easily pulled around, and any concrete dusting was eliminated.
They only did this once, but it made a lasting difference in the floor.
They used the same wax that was used on the vinyl floor tiles.
This was just a trowelled floor, not polished.

 

[dandan111]

If you have nice concrete I’d stay with that. There’s lots of options. At work it used to be epoxy. Layers and layers. We had a flooring crew that just did the floors. Now they pay a company to come in and grind floors and just put clear down. The floors hold up so much better. Our halls are still epoxy painted though.

 

[Codyboy]

If you have nice concrete I’d stay with that. There’s lots of options. At work it used to be epoxy. Layers and layers. We had a flooring crew that just did the floors. Now they pay a company to come in and grind floors and just put clear down. The floors hold up so much better. Our halls are still epoxy painted though.

What type of clear are they using?

 

[dandan111]

What type of clear are they using?

I’m not sure. It might be just a water proofing of some sort. It doesn’t seem to scratch off. It’s not perfect but has held up better than the epoxy. We had a fork lift leak oil once. It left a stain that soaked in.