Showroom Floor HELP!?

[jonb347]

Hey guys,
My family owns a small ford dealer and we want to redo the showroom floor to lose the 50's flair. right now it has a painted concrete floor. I need suggestions on a tile or something to make it look better. It must stand up to cars being parked on it for, well, ever. Also cars being manuevered around on it. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[jonb347]

im thinkin vinyl tile...no one has any opinions!?!?

 

[racerbob4]

I would like the red one.

 

[chickenhauler]

I vote Racedeck.

 

[chickenhauler]

and I'll take the black one.

 

[michael Mccoy]

I gotta be honest I like the way it looks but if you still want to change then go with a classy floor like porceline, terra cotta tiles or ceramic. NO CHEAP looking vinyl and of course something you shouldn't slip on.

 

[TAMPAGT07]

You say you own a Ford dealership....You wouldn't happen to have a 1968 GT500 KR Vert (Acapulco Blue) collecting dust in a storage room, would ya?

 

[porphyre]

Jon - Easy. Go to your competitor's showrooms. Are they epoxy? Tile? Terrazzo?

Choose your #1 competitor and go 1-step classier on the flooring. They have VCT? You do porcelain tile. They have terrazzo? You do terrazzo w/ an inlaid design. I'd also suggest a light color to make the showroom bright.

Doesn't Ford have a dealership standard? Or is that only for Japanese and German dealerships?

 

[slickgt1]

Porcelain checker design all the way.

 

[TigerGA]

I would think you'd want something durable, that's easy to maintain, and looks good without breaking the bank. Not sure what else would meet that other than porcelain tile. I alway thought logos looked good on floors, so maybe some type Ford emblem in the floor.

Also, I'd pick a light color that brightens up the showroom. I'm partial to checkerboard designs for that "competition/race" look. Maybe a light gray and white/off-white.

 

[thegarageguy]

You have many seamless flooring options....They can range from approx. $3 to $10+ per sqft

1. You can grind, hone, stain and seal it. (add decorative saw cut patterns if you like)

2. You can polish it and get a Home Depot, satin or high gloss finish (natural or stained, satin or high gloss)

3. You can designer epoxy coat it (one color, multiple, engraved designs, tile patterns, whatever)

 

[CreteCoater]

I vote for designer epoxy, possibly with a logo.

 

[Jagmandave]

I did the floor of the new Porsche dealership I managed with 18" ceramic tiles in a light grey color, to complement the metal halide lighting and get as much light into the building as I could. The only thing you have to watch for is that you'll need carpet squares or something for the tires to sit on or they will leave stains.

I think that may be your most cost effective choice, but I'd love to see what Garage Guy could do for you with concrete stain or epoxy, those are some really cool floors in his post!

Whatever you do, you need to plan for it to be there for a very long time, so choose wisely! And remember, the cars are supposed to be the stars of the showroom, not the floor!

 

[dcs Inc]

Go to this website and check out some of the commercial floors that Elite Crete Systems has installed. http://tinyurl.com/customfloors

I'd suggest 100% solids water clear epoxy with Reflector Enhancer Metallics with a top coat of High Wear Urethane with aluminum oxide additive. You can't scratch it and it will last forever. Costs will vary by location and sq. footage. If in the Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky area, I could get it done for around 5-6 dollars a sq. ft.

 

[jonb347]

wow thanks for all the replies guys! first of all let me say this

we are very small, family run, 7 employees total, etc. ford has a designer standard you can opt into for the entire dealership, but it costs more than we make in 10 years and looks modern and classy. we have an old wood floor in the rest of the shop and people come to us because of the cool old building. our only complaint is the crappy floor in the showroom.

regardless, I like the idea of scrapping the vinyl. It looks like a cool home garage, not like a showroom. i am however looking into it for my own. i like the wood idea also but I dont see how that could hold up to cars being on it and turning wheels on it, especailly with new england summers and winters.

i like the procelin tile idea, im gonna check it out more.

oh also, black one is for sale if you want it! red one not so much

 

[thegarageguy]

And remember, the cars are supposed to be the stars of the showroom, not the floor!

I beg to differ.....One does not frame art with popsicle sticks....

A floor can help create a different atmospheres, case in point, 2 liquor stores, 2 completely different systems ;

decorative concrete.... subtle and classy

designer epoxy system...rich and modern

What do you want your showroom to project?

 

[JimVonBaden]

Sounds like this little dealer near us: http://marshallfordva.dealerconnection.com/about/

Great personal service, only 25 miles from DC.

Jim

 

[porphyre]

I beg to differ.....One does not frame art with popsicle sticks....

A floor can help create a different atmospheres, case in point, 2 liquor stores, 2 completely different systems ;

decorative concrete.... subtle and classy
[IMG*http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh209/garageandbeyond/Wine Chateau Metuchen NJ/IMAG0750.jpg*/IMG]

designer epoxy system...rich and modern
[IMG*http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/...e Uploads/Wine Chateau/1254975786-1.jpg*/IMG]

What do you want your showroom to project?

No, JagmanDave is correct.

I work in the car business and have been in literally hundreds of dealerships. The first image could be acceptable, but it would need to be a full gloss; that image appears semi-gloss or matte. The pattern is also somewhat distracting. The second image absolutely is not acceptable outside of the customer waiting area.

The process of selling cars is one of the most researched and precise processes in America. No manufacturer would recommend gaudy schemes like that. Especially high color value schemes such as the second one.

 

[thegarageguy]

@porphyre, just showing the possibilities of seamless flooring my friend

 

[porphyre]

Well, no, you were contradicting someone who knows more about the subject than you. Not correcting bad information is nearly as bad as providing bunk info to begin with.

 

[thegarageguy]

Didn't mean that the floor should steal the show but rather compliment the subject or in this case, the cars. The floor can be a subtle backdrop or can have character of it's own. There is no one solution, you have many choices, but VCT wreaks of cheap to me and terrazzo is $40 to $60 per sqft, where with decorative concrete and or epoxies you can achieve a very similar look at a 1/5 of the cost of terrazzo and with the same ease of maintenance and durability. Good luck in whatever you choose.

 

[jonb347]

wow didnt realize it was so much money! had someone come measure and waiting on some quotes. I like the finishing concrete idea, but what about when the sun is beating down on it through the windows in the summer and I turn the wheel of a mustang on it?

 

[Jagmandave]

I think concrete stain will hold up to car tires just fine, however - as I wrote before - you may need carpet squares to keep the tires from leaving stains. They're easy enough to use, stop, set the squares in front or back of the tires, then roll up the last 6" or so. I don't know why driving on the floor doesn't leave marks, but parking there for a while does......

At any rate, what you want is something fairly smooth and light colored, it helps with your lighting and makes the cars "pop" a little better - that's what you're after. It will require a little more attantion to cleaning, but again I liked the large ceramic tiles, they were easy to clean - just run a dustmop over them once a day and mop periodically if you have rainy or wet weather - but make sure you have mats at the door, they could be slippery when winter comes.....I was in Sandy Eggo, so winter wasn't a problem, and we had overhangs around the doors so we didn't have water tracked directly into the store.

 

[thegarageguy]

wow didnt realize it was so much money! had someone come measure and waiting on some quotes. I like the finishing concrete idea, but what about when the sun is beating down on it through the windows in the summer and I turn the wheel of a mustang on it?

What was so much money? What specifically where you quoted for?

 

[jonb347]

I meant the 60-70 per sq foot that someone mentioned

 

[rwhite692]

For an auto dealership floor, you really need a light color on the floors.

I would go with porcelain tile in a light gray or a light tan, with dark grout. You really want to brighten up the floor to get light to reflect up and off of the cars.

Ford showroom in our town is done this way and it looks great. Any tire marks wipe off quickly. I have been there when they were moving cars around.

Our local chevy dealer has a stained concrete floor, dark "rust" color similar to what is pictured above, with a high gloss clear. Tire marks everywhere, which can be seen in the "gloss" of the floor, it looks like ****, IMHO.

Also too dark to complement the vehicles.

Plastic tile floor, most non-car people cannot appreciate.

 

[Fastback]

Check with your local concrete supply shop and ask them about local contractors that can do a grind and polish, but a slick floor can have liability issues.

You may want to check into how to stain, you may even be able to rent a grinder and DIY the showroom yourself.

Go on youtube and check out videos of concrete stain and you will be amazed at how easy it can be to get nice looking results, you can even take a low buck approach, but dont skimp on sealers. The cheap mop on sealer does not like tires, or shoes. I would wax it before I did the cheap sealer, then it can be cared for like a normal floor.

 

[slickgt1]

I agree with Rwhite, don't stain, floor will get dark, and you will leave prints in epoxy and dull it out, scuff it up.

Tile always looks classy. If you go to high end dealers, the cooler looking ones are tiled.

 

[psychenen]

How does you clean your car carpets?Do you remove it?What kind of cleaner do you use?
Hope you can help me.I am having a hard times in cleaning it. It does not look really good anymore.


carpet cleaning Potomac MD
carpet cleaning Herndon VA

 

[jonb347]

like inside your car? upholstery cleaner and a brush....spray on, let it foam, scrub

 

[Charles (in GA)]

I keep thinking some sort of light color 100% solids with multicolor chips in it would closely resemble terrazzo at a lot less cost. I like terrazzo but it is expensive. Would have to have something that won't fade in the sunshine. Some custom Ford blue oval door mats at the entrance to wipe feet on to keep customers from slipping, and slightly angled mirrors under one or two of the cars to show the undersides.

If you do a tile, 12" or 18" ceramic or porcelain, you usually can get matching "traction tiles" with nearly invisible raised bars or cleats to put at the entrance(s).

Charles

 

[Garage Flooring]

We recently did a couple showrooms in our BLT PVC self stick garage floor tile and our anti stain top coat. But if I were in your shoes I would give Randy with Swisstrax a call.

http://www.swisstrax.com/swisstrax-ford-garage-flooring-agreement.php

 

[210Hardtop]

hire an interior designer!

 

[AAC1992]

hire an interior designer!

why do that when we have GJ?

anyways im in the same boat. I just got done redoing my 3000 sq ft automotive shop by adding 3 more lifts, painting it, and organizing the shop. im moving my way into the waiting area/showroom. i will check back on this thread. keep it up guys.

I was going to do checkered white/light grey and black patterns, but now im second guessing my self

 

[PecosBill]

Here is a Ford/Lincoln dealership we just finished up the flooring on:

The basis of design was put together by Ford Land Facility Design, but we VE'ed it to bring the costs down. The tile we came up with has the same overall effect, but was quite a bit cheaper. Both tiles are Daltile City View, the 18" gray is CY-02 Skyline Gray, and the 12" black is CY-08 Urban Night. I would have preferred to set it tight-joint, but it went 3/16" to save money.

The Carpet is Shaw Contract Byline, in color Crossroads.

 

[jonb347]

wow thats pretty nice. right now we are adding a bay to our shop and redoing the roof so this got put on the backburner until summer most likely. however, most these ideas are way to expensive! money is a big issue. im checking out that swisstrax stuff now....

 

[admranger]

wow thats pretty nice. right now we are adding a bay to our shop and redoing the roof so this got put on the backburner until summer most likely. however, most these ideas are way to expensive! money is a big issue. im checking out that swisstrax stuff now....

The Swisstrax looks nice, just like the RaceDeck looks nice.

I wonder if Swisstrax gives a GJ discount like RaceDeck does? I like the anti-fatigue mat inserts of the Swisstrax (if I read their website correctly). That'd be nice up by the workbench.

 

[JimVonBaden]

im thinkin vinyl tile...no one has any opinions!?!?
__________________

You mean like peal-n-stick, or VCT?

Jim

 

[Garage Flooring]

I cringe when I hear the term Peal and stick. So much I have started using the term Self adhesive for the BLT tile. I can't help but think of the stuff we but in the basement when I was a kid.