Heavy Duty Rubber Floor Mats to cover garage floor?

[Dr_No]

I have seen rolls of "heavy duty garage floor matting" advertised and are considering it to cover my garage floor. It comes in rolls 1.3 meters wide that you roll out next to each other, so I would need 4 strips 7 meters long. The surface of the mats is typically coin or diamond plate pattern and come in grey or black.

Our garage is simply used for parking cars, storage and for the kids to play in so I thought this might be a nicer surface than just the concrete.

Does anyone know if these will work? I am worried they will move or separate over time when driving the cars onto them.

 

[MSG C5]

I installed three rubber floormats in our garage back in 2005. We had just moved from Chicago to Florida and the home we purchased was a builder's model. The garage floor had an epoxy coat already applied, however the epoxy started to lift where the hot, rain-soaked tires rested.

The builder had the painter re-apply the epoxy, however it still continued to lift underneath the tires. At the time, I didn't know the proper prep procedures involved as I do now, or I would have fought to have the floor correctly prepped and repaired. With everything else going on with moving a family cross-country, I decided to just lay down some garage mats to solve the problem.

In answer to your question, the rubber mats did the job in terms of protecting the floor, however over time, they have become discolored and there are tire burn marks. Plus, with all the rain we get in Florida during the summer, the floormats get a layer of oily water that builds up underneath near the edges. It doesn't smell that good either. (Think of rubber garden hoses).

I am in the process of remodeling my garage with all new cabinets and once that it completed, I will be pulling the trigger on a new floor. I'm leaning towards the Racedeck Freeflow system, however I want to wait until all the heavy lifting work is completed and I finish the baseboard trim as the floor will be the last thing installed.

Below are a few pics of my 8 year-old ribbed rubber floor mats. If I were to do it again, I would suggest getting either gray or black to help hide the tire marks and I would choose a coin or diamond grid vs. ribbed as they are harder to sweep/clean.

I'm sort of scared to see what's under these mats when I remove them permanently to install my new floor. I expect a good floor cleaning will be needed.

Another thing is that the mats do tend to move over time so you will need to occassionaly adjust them. If you park your car and turn your steering wheel, the mats will also tend to curl up. I have the residential grade, however some of the heavier commerical-grade mats might work better for you.

Good luck.

 

[mjn]

I also have the mats in my garage. Have two of them in my main stalls, from front to the over head door and I like them. For me my main goal was to protect the cement mainly in the winter time from the salt and such,

The original one I have has had a lot of work done on it and I believe it to be still in good condition. Tires have also left suttle marks on my beige colored matts, but I don't think anything like MSG has. Mine I guess only about 4 and three years old though.

Would I do again? Yes, but I think in a different color, so far they have served my purpose. I want to do Race Deck but I also wash my cars and my floor does not drain the best so I would have to deal with a pool of water in the corner that would drive my OCD crazy.

 

[Dr_No]

Thanks for the feedback guys and the photos! Those tire marks on the tan surface of MSGs are a lot worse than I would have expected. I might go for the black as the grey are quite light grey.
I would like race deck but after spending the cash building my new garage, they are a bit out of my price range at the moment.

 

[MSG C5]

Thanks for the feedback guys and the photos! Those tire marks on the tan surface of MSGs are a lot worse than I would have expected. I might go for the black as the grey are quite light grey.
I would like race deck but after spending the cash building my new garage, they are a bit out of my price range at the moment.

Cost was an issue for me as well. I was thinking about replacing my existing mats with heavier, black or gray commercial-grade mats, but the replacement cost would be 50% of a Racedeck Freeflow floor solution.

I like the idea that if something happens to damage a tile, I can simply replace that tile. My son had a small paint spill on one of my tan floor mats and I could not remove it so I've had to look at it for the last three years.

Plus, I like the idea that rain water will drop off the car, through the Freeflow tiles and then out the door or evaporate vs. pooling underneath the mats.

When the time comes for me to install my new floor, I will make sure to take some pics of what my floor looks like underneath the mats after I remove them. It's not going to be pretty.

 

[Grumpy365]

I have been contemplating epoxy coating my floor and covering my machining half with rubber stall mats from Tractor Supply http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp...ory_rn=&top_category=&urlLangId=&cm_vc=-10005

 

[1/2 Cup]

I am also looking at my options in terms of a flooring solution.
My concrete is all over the place, cracked, stained and no vapour barrier underneath the slab. I tried painting it a number of years ago, followed the preparation instructions to the letter and it has turned out one big failure, peeling in spots yet adhering in others.
Its time for me to search some threads I guess.

 

[Garage Flooring]

PVC garage floor mats can absolutely stain from certain types of tires and other chemicals. Unfortunately we see that problem the most in the Sandstone color. That said we sell thousands of mats and have very few issues. I do, however, recommend the black or the gray.

The G-Floor plus product is also very good at helping to prevent these stains, but is not stain proof.

 

[Armorpoxy]

Current tire additives can definitely stain light colored surfaces, we have even seen porcelain tiles permanently stained. A modular type floor using a tile system in the darker color range would be much better at hiding marks and such, and in the unlikely even that you did get damage and found it objectionable, the tiles are easily replaced.

 

[Cris B]

If you want really heavy duty then look at gym suppliers. Have a search for 4' x 6' Rubber Weightlifting Mats in 3/4" thickness...

 

[Armorpoxy]

Generally gym type mats are too soft of a durometer to park on. We have had numerous customers over the years contact us about this problem. Check the hardness and park-ability if using a gym mat. Anything lower than about a 92 durometer could be problematic.

 

[FTG-05]

Good discussion and scale on durometer ratings for rubber here: http://www.mcmaster.com/#about-rubber-durometer-hardness/=orl90m (page 3514 if link doesn't direct connect).

Good luck!

 

[Garage Flooring]

There are a lot of ways around the staining issues. Armorpoxy's suggestion of a PVC tile is a good idea. That said PVC can stain still, but as they stated you can replace individual tiles.

G-Floor Plus is another option. I would stay away from rubber mats. You might consider calling Swisstrax. They make a tile guaranteed not to stain and they may have a distributor closer.

 

[Shea]

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet regarding tire stains is routine cleaning maintenance of your flooring of choice. I know that that the great advantage to a lot of these flooring systems is that it's real easy to just run a dust mop or broom once in a while to remove dirt and debris and everything looks great. That is one of big reasons people like upgrade from bare cement.

As Armoroxy stated:

Current tire additives can definitely stain light colored surfaces, we have even seen porcelain tiles permanently stained.

He is 100% correct about that. The plasticizers that tire companies use in the tires these days have a tendency to leach out. Particularly from warm tires. If these plasticizers are allowed to sit for long periods of time without being cleaned, then they can eventually penetrate some very durable coatings.

The key to avoiding a lot of tire stain issues is to clean the areas (not sweep ) on a regular basis where tires make constant contact with your flooring. Will it stop stains from forming on sand colored mats? No - but it will slow the process. Following a routine of cleaning for many other flooring options will eliminate many of the tire stain issues that come up.

I just wanted to bring that up to people who are considering any type of flooring option.

 

[dmeray1]

In preparation for winter, I was thinking of getting a "containment" mat to stop the mess in the garage from spreading all over. Or would the rubber mat be a good solution as long as I keep cleaning up after the slush drops? I am looking at the Auto Floor Guard and Park Smart products.

 

[Garage Flooring]

In preparation for winter, I was thinking of getting a "containment" mat to stop the mess in the garage from spreading all over. Or would the rubber mat be a good solution as long as I keep cleaning up after the slush drops? I am looking at the Auto Floor Guard and Park Smart products.

We sell both the Park Smart Clean Park and the AutoFloorGuard products. Both products have advantages and disadvantages, so let me give you an overview:

Stay away from the 20 Mil Park Smart Clean Park

The 50 Mil Park Smart Clean Park is a good product. It is thicker than other mats on the market and the mat holds up very well. They have improved the edges and the ramps, but assembly is required. If we get a complaint it is usually about the edge pieces. Most of the time its an installation issues that is easily fixed. Sometimes a piece came out wrong and the manufacturer does a good job replacing them. This product is shipped rolled except for the really small mats.

The AutoFloorGuard is unique in that no assembly is required. It is a thinner material that has been reinforced. I have never had a single complaint from a customer that it has torn or that the edges have worn out. If I get a complaint about the product its that the wrinkles take a long time to come out and it only weighs 25 pounds.

Neither product is suitable for studded snow tires

These products are not garage flooring. they are not designed to be pretty or to be worked on. They do one thing and one thing along, contain every drop of almost anything that falls off your car.

 

[GarageKat]

There are some great ideas already on this thread, but more help is needed.

We need a heavy duty 'weight room' material for most of garage floor. That part must be used for parking as well, but part of the surface area must support an 800lb wood lathe, several machines on roll-around bases and rolling tool chests. There is a concrete slab in really good condition. The only floor issue involves the damage from fasteners used to install the existing partition walls. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

We are starting over with a clean slate. The extra-large garage had been divided into three rooms in a fairly odd configuration. It has overhead doors, but no room to put vehicles. Benches, rolling tool chests, wall cabinets, hangers, cabinets, shelves and the like in and started working. Now, all the walls are going down, everything will be hung on the 'outer' walls and a first class floor will be put in. Help is also needed with ways to arrange the outer walls for the hand made cabinets. These must fit around the windows, doors, air conditioning air handlers, a water heater, electric conduit and outlets. Some software for that might be useful and there may be a separate thread for that subject.

 

[Icky1911]

I just purchased and received 2 9x20ft black ribbed mats from Garage Flooring LLC. They fit great in my 28x30 garage and clean up easy. Excellent product and great people to do business with. I live in Michigan and am confident they will do the job in the winter.

 

[Garage Flooring]

There are some great ideas already on this thread, but more help is needed.

We need a heavy duty 'weight room' material for most of garage floor. That part must be used for parking as well, but part of the surface area must support an 800lb wood lathe, several machines on roll-around bases and rolling tool chests. There is a concrete slab in really good condition. The only floor issue involves the damage from fasteners used to install the existing partition walls. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

We are starting over with a clean slate. The extra-large garage had been divided into three rooms in a fairly odd configuration. It has overhead doors, but no room to put vehicles. Benches, rolling tool chests, wall cabinets, hangers, cabinets, shelves and the like in and started working. Now, all the walls are going down, everything will be hung on the 'outer' walls and a first class floor will be put in. Help is also needed with ways to arrange the outer walls for the hand made cabinets. These must fit around the windows, doors, air conditioning air handlers, a water heater, electric conduit and outlets. Some software for that might be useful and there may be a separate thread for that subject.

We offer both garage flooring and rubber flooring for weight room type application. I am not a big fan of using rubber flooring in a garage for any other application other than a true weight room.

Lots of options, including mixing Swisstrax Anti Fatigue product with their standard tiles. Give me a call. I am happy to help.

I just purchased and received 2 9x20ft black ribbed mats from Garage Flooring LLC. They fit great in my 28x30 garage and clean up easy. Excellent product and great people to do business with. I live in Michigan and am confident they will do the job in the winter.

Thanks for the kind words!