Cheapest Option? Flooring suppliers please chime in...

[lisiecki1]

Well....Not cheapest....Most cost effective....How's that?

I searched and didn't find what I'm looking for, which is suprising.

I've gone back and forth about how I want to do the floor in my new garage and most of what I'd like to do is outside of my budget right now, or just isn't a good idea for my usage.

In my garage I do automotive, smithing, machining, welding, pretty much a little of everything.

I would like to get the concrete sealed up or covered with something before I start getting oil and fuel stains all over it.

So, the question is, what is the absolute cheapest option for a durable floor surface in a working garage?

The floor in the shop at work looks like raw concrete, but has a shine to it. I think that looks nice. Simple, functional, done.

All help is appreciated.

 

[dubber]

Yea don't think you get a lineup of retailers saying they are the cheapest.

 

[lisiecki1]

Cheapest as in least expensive. Figured that I had made that clear in the original post....

 

[lateracer]

Cheapest is to just do some kind of commercial strength sealant/protector.

 

[lisiecki1]

Cheapest is to just do some kind of commercial strength sealant/protector.

That's what I was thinking. Looking for product recommendations.

Thanks!

 

[Le Mancave]

I just treated my floor with "densifier". It's relatively cheap but doesn't create an impervious barrier. I'd probably do porcelain if I had the skill for DIY or money for a pro install. I get the impression that well laid porcelain will last forever which makes it pretty cost effective. It's also the best looking floor IMO. Anything that has to be redone every few years has no appeal to me.

 

[lisiecki1]

I hear you. Porcelain was at the top of my list after looking at the 12 gauge garage. Really like the look, but the cost is outside of my current budget.

Appreciate the info on the densifier, I'll look it up, although I think I need a sealer because of the inevitability of gas and oil on the concrete. I just want something that will keep it from soaking into the concrete, and leave me with easy clean ups.

 

[snorky18]

My top two choices:

stained & sealed concrete (~$0.60/SF DIY) (weld splatter and heavy sparks will melt the sealer though)

porcelain tile with epoxy grout (~$1.00/SF DIY)

 

[Klakeman]

Has anyone tried Stardeck 1? It seems like a durable low cost product .

 

[James-W]

Has anyone tried Stardeck 1? It seems like a durable low cost product .

Welcome to the site.

Is that the concrete covering where they put down some sort of coating and then they make it look like tile or large pieces of marble, stuff like that? If that is what you are talking about I have seen some pictures of it and it looks cool, but I have no idea how durable it is and I don't know what it would cost either. Is it something you can do yourself, or is it something that should be done by someone more familiar with how to do it?

 

[Dakota00]

I hear you. Porcelain was at the top of my list after looking at the 12 gauge garage. Really like the look, but the cost is outside of my current budget.

What's your budget?

 

[Le Mancave]

I think Star Deck is just a concrete overlay. The website is pretty vague, I can't find any lear info on what the stuff actually is.

 

[James-W]

If I am not mistaken, I saw them do that on one of the home improvement shows they have on television. I am not certain which show it was, but I think it might have been that "Holmes on Homes" show. There was a concrete front porch which looked really bad, so they had a guy come in and do that stuff. It ended up looking like it was a granite porch and it was pretty cool looking. I have no idea what it would cost to do that, and whether or not it would stand up to heavy weight and floor jacks would be something else to look into. My gut feeling is it wouldn't be the right type of floor finish for a garage, but it sure looks nice.

 

[Jack Olsen]

How many square feet are you talking about and what's your hoped-for budget? The 12-Gauge Garage floor cost about $450, including tools.

That was for 430 square feet and it was the first tile I'd ever set.

 

[lisiecki1]

What's your budget?

How many square feet are you talking about and what's your hoped-for budget? The 12-Gauge Garage floor cost about $450, including tools.

That was for 430 square feet and it was the first tile I'd ever set.

The garage is 936 square feet, and my hoped-for budget right now is only $500, or as low as possible.

I haven't been fortunate enough, thus far, to find any kind of porcelain tile for sub-$1/sq. ft. pricing. Maybe I'm just not looking hard enough or in the right places?

 

[Dakota00]

If I am not mistaken, I saw them do that on one of the home improvement shows they have on television. I am not certain which show it was, but I think it might have been that "Holmes on Homes" show. There was a concrete front porch which looked really bad, so they had a guy come in and do that stuff. It ended up looking like it was a granite porch and it was pretty cool looking. I have no idea what it would cost to do that, and whether or not it would stand up to heavy weight and floor jacks would be something else to look into. My gut feeling is it wouldn't be the right type of floor finish for a garage, but it sure looks nice.

You are referring to Jewel Stone finish. While it looks great, for cost and durability it's not ideal for a working garage floor.

http://www.durock.ca/jewelstone.html

 

[Dakota00]

The garage is 936 square feet, and my hoped-for budget right now is only $500, or as low as possible.

I haven't been fortunate enough, thus far, to find any kind of porcelain tile for sub-$1/sq. ft. pricing. Maybe I'm just not looking hard enough or in the right places?

As an example if Lowes can carry porcelain tiles here in Canada in the starting range of $.79-1.00/sq.ft. You shouldn't have a problem finding better prices in your area!! Check Lowes site and see if anything pops up especially in their clearance section.

 

[lisiecki1]

As an example if Lowes can carry porcelain tiles here in Canada in the starting range of $.79-1.00/sq.ft. You shouldn't have a problem finding better prices in your area!! Check Lowes site and see if anything pops up especially in their clearance section.

$1/sq. ft. is still around double my current budget.

That's why I'm leaning towards just doing a sealer or something to keep it from getting stained until I can do tile in the future.

 

[Dakota00]

$1/sq. ft. is still around double my current budget.

That's why I'm leaning towards just doing a sealer or something to keep it from getting stained until I can do tile in the future.

Ok....

Well if the funding isn't there. My suggestion is apply a good sealer for the time being.

 

[lisiecki1]

Ok....

Well if the funding isn't there. My suggestion is apply a good sealer for the time being.

Will a sealer become a big pain when I eventually do put down tile? Will I have to grind the concrete or anything?

Any specific sealer you can recommend that would be better than others?

 

[James-W]

I am going to suggest something and some of the members here will probably say I am crazy for even suggesting this, but I am going to do it anyway. Here goes.

Find out a firm cost to do exactly what you want to do with the garage floor. If you trust yourself to do the work, that's great, if you aren't sure you can do it yourself then find someone with very good references to do the job and get a firm price on what it would cost. Then taking into account how much money you already have saved up, borrow the rest of the money from your bank so you can get the job done right. Here is why I say that.

If you spend time and money putting stuff down on the floor, then later on you have to spend more time and money to remove it, then you spend more time and money on buying and putting down what you wanted to have for a floor in the first place, what sense does that make?

My thinking is, when you do something right the first time you don't have to screw around later on trying to fix what you should have done right in the beginning. You end up spending more money in the long run for two reasons; you may have to remove what you put down on the floor in preparation for the flooring you really want, and as time goes by the price of the floor covering you want will no doubt go up in price. Additionally, until you do the floor the way you want it done, you won't get the look you want and in any case you won't really be happy with the floor.

So I suggest you bite the bullet, take out a loan and get the job done to your satisfaction. Yes, it will cost more than you really want to spend right now, and yes, you will be making loan payments to the bank. But interest rates are low right now and you won't be asking the bank for a ton of money, probably only $1,000 to $1,500 at the most, so that is a big plus in your favor. The end result to all of this is, you will get the floor you want, you will be happy with it, and you won't have to deal with it again later on because you did it right the first time. That's my two cents worth for the day.

 

[lisiecki1]

I am going to suggest something and some of the members here will probably say I am crazy for even suggesting this, but I am going to do it anyway. Here goes.

Find out a firm cost to do exactly what you want to do with the garage floor. If you trust yourself to do the work, that's great, if you aren't sure you can do it yourself then find someone with very good references to do the job and get a firm price on what it would cost. Then taking into account how much money you already have saved up, borrow the rest of the money from your bank so you can get the job done right. Here is why I say that.

If you spend time and money putting stuff down on the floor, then later on you have to spend more time and money to remove it, then you spend more time and money on buying and putting down what you wanted to have for a floor in the first place, what sense does that make?

My thinking is, when you do something right the first time you don't have to screw around later on trying to fix what you should have done right in the beginning. You end up spending more money in the long run for two reasons; you may have to remove what you put down on the floor in preparation for the flooring you really want, and as time goes by the price of the floor covering you want will no doubt go up in price. Additionally, until you do the floor the way you want it done, you won't get the look you want and in any case you won't really be happy with the floor.

So I suggest you bite the bullet, take out a loan and get the job done to your satisfaction. Yes, it will cost more than you really want to spend right now, and yes, you will be making loan payments to the bank. But interest rates are low right now and you won't be asking the bank for a ton of money, probably only $1,000 to $1,500 at the most, so that is a big plus in your favor. The end result to all of this is, you will get the floor you want, you will be happy with it, and you won't have to deal with it again later on because you did it right the first time. That's my two cents worth for the day.

Thank you for this, James. I will add this to my list of things to consider.

 

[Dakota00]

Will a sealer become a big pain when I eventually do put down tile? Will I have to grind the concrete or anything?

Any specific sealer you can recommend that would be better than others?

Depending on the sealer and how long it will last. Will depend if the floor will need to be roughed up before being tiled. The thing is you need to figure out what flooring application you want to go with? If you are planning to tile the floor in the next couple of years don't bother sealing the floor. If you plan to leave the floor as is, a good sealer is the way to go in my opinion. As for recommendation for concrete sealers, that's really not up my alley.

 

[Fredartic]

The Carbopoxy from Techniseal seems to be a good product, new since 2011. I like the idea that it does'nt need to be mixed and that you can do touch up if it's damaged. I don't know the product itself cause I didn't do mine yet but this is a product that I'm considering. There is another product from Sherwin Williams; it's acrylic silicone concrete sealer that can be tinted and protected with a clear coat. I used that product in my garage walls and it is very nice.

http://www.techniseal.com/

 

[Toolhunter]

if you really want tile, wait to do the tile i would rather have some oil and gas on concrete compared to some epoxy that may or may not adhere and when you do have the bucks for the tile now you may have to remove the epoxy?

Do you have any habitat for humanity stores around you I know the one near me receives shipments from flooring companies of overages from past jobs. Even craigslist may have a deal at some point, I would even grab a phone book call some flooring guys and ask if they had anything they might want to sell.

Just wait for now and get what you want, buy a plastic painters sheet and a old rug and do your work on that to help save the floor.

 

[Shea]

I think that the limiting factor for over 900sf of floor is your budget. You just are not going to get what you want with the limited funds. You can put down an acrylic sealer, but it will deteriorate quickly with fuel spills and caustic materials like brake fluid. One thing to remember is that judging from what you are interested in, you are going to have to grind your floor eventually if you want a more permanent coating.

That said, have you considered shopping Craigslist or something like that to find some used garage floor mats to hold you over? A couple of used 20ft mats could be moved around as you need to when working in your garage to protect the floor. Once your budget increases you can then pull the trigger on something more permanent.

Just a thought.......

 

[brickG-man]

I am going to suggest something and some of the members here will probably say I am crazy for even suggesting this, but I am going to do it anyway. Here goes.

Find out a firm cost to do exactly what you want to do with the garage floor. If you trust yourself to do the work, that's great, if you aren't sure you can do it yourself then find someone with very good references to do the job and get a firm price on what it would cost. Then taking into account how much money you already have saved up, borrow the rest of the money from your bank so you can get the job done right. Here is why I say that.

If you spend time and money putting stuff down on the floor, then later on you have to spend more time and money to remove it, then you spend more time and money on buying and putting down what you wanted to have for a floor in the first place, what sense does that make?

My thinking is, when you do something right the first time you don't have to screw around later on trying to fix what you should have done right in the beginning. You end up spending more money in the long run for two reasons; you may have to remove what you put down on the floor in preparation for the flooring you really want, and as time goes by the price of the floor covering you want will no doubt go up in price. Additionally, until you do the floor the way you want it done, you won't get the look you want and in any case you won't really be happy with the floor.

So I suggest you bite the bullet, take out a loan and get the job done to your satisfaction. Yes, it will cost more than you really want to spend right now, and yes, you will be making loan payments to the bank. But interest rates are low right now and you won't be asking the bank for a ton of money, probably only $1,000 to $1,500 at the most, so that is a big plus in your favor. The end result to all of this is, you will get the floor you want, you will be happy with it, and you won't have to deal with it again later on because you did it right the first time. That's my two cents worth for the day.

After many years of experience and sometimes hindsight, I agree with James-W here. Especially since you mentioned that your garage is new. Find a few hundred bucks somewhere, someplace and do it right the first time before you get your garage loaded up. Many years from now you will be glad that you did.

 

[Klakeman]

If I am not mistaken, I saw them do that on one of the home improvement shows they have on television. I am not certain which show it was, but I think it might have been that "Holmes on Homes" show. There was a concrete front porch which looked really bad, so they had a guy come in and do that stuff. It ended up looking like it was a granite porch and it was pretty cool looking. I have no idea what it would cost to do that, and whether or not it would stand up to heavy weight and floor jacks would be something else to look into. My gut feeling is it wouldn't be the right type of floor finish for a garage, but it sure looks nice.

Yeah, I think that is the stuff I am considering. The installer said it is most commonly used around pools or commercial outdoor sites. It doesn't appear to be very shiny or super smooth but he said its tougher than epoxy and can be repaired and touched up easily by the homeowner. It is about $3.75 sq foot installed. Lots of colors available. Still, I am worried that it won't look quite right in a finished, heated man-cave oversized garage. Thanks for the replies.

Kirk

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

That would be an acrylic sealer and is not nearly as tough as epoxy.
However, if it's only for a few years it will work great and even if it's longer it can be re-applied to look good again.

Easy to apply.

 

[noweare]

You can do an epoxy floor for $500. You will need about 7 gallons at 10ml thickness.
I would prime though so that would be another 3 gallons. 10 gallons @$42 plus shipping
is about $520. You'd still have to spend $$ on prep though.

 

[Fredartic]

You can do an epoxy floor for $500. You will need about 7 gallons at 10ml thickness.
I would prime though so that would be another 3 gallons. 10 gallons @$42 plus shipping
is about $520. You'd still have to spend $$ on prep though.

Noweare, do you sell the epoxy that you are talking about? I have visited your website but there is no product for sale there. Is it a one part or two parts epoxy? If, it's one part, is it comparable with Behr or Solignum or what else? Thanks

 

[lisiecki1]

You can do an epoxy floor for $500. You will need about 7 gallons at 10ml thickness.
I would prime though so that would be another 3 gallons. 10 gallons @$42 plus shipping
is about $520. You'd still have to spend $$ on prep though.

What kind of prep would be involved?

 

[roofingquotes]

Try visiting these link: http://www.wfca.org/Pages/flooring-comparison.aspx. They got a chart comparing floor types and cost. You might find these informative.

 

[70 chevelle]

Look at Supercoat Epoxy seems reasonable, Sam's Club

 

[hardhat]

Look at Supercoat Epoxy seems reasonable, Sam's Club

I've been searching around for a long time and still haven't pulled the trigger. I bought a touch up kit from them to test it out. I poured some on a curb outside at work and that stuff is hard as nails. Even in direct sunlight in Midwest weather it hasn't lifted or budged at all but it has chalked up a tiny bit. Also the funny thing is I didn't even prep it. I hit it with a hammer and it scuffed it pretty good but didn't chip off. Pretty impressed. Still there and looks good after a year.

 

[Fredartic]

I've been searching around for a long time and still haven't pulled the trigger. I bought a touch up kit from them to test it out. I poured some on a curb outside at work and that stuff is hard as nails. Even in direct sunlight in Midwest weather it hasn't lifted or budged at all but it has chalked up a tiny bit. Also the funny thing is I didn't even prep it. I hit it with a hammer and it scuffed it pretty good but didn't chip off. Pretty impressed. Still there and looks good after a year.

I have read the reviews on Supercoat and all are very satisfy, The only complaint are about the clear coat and the degreaser. They recommand to use something else cause the clear coat is good only for foot trafic. The degreaser would not be strong enough. But the Supercoat itself would be perfect! So, why paying more for another brand?