Brown paper bag floor

[955point9cummins]

I did a couple searches and couldn't find any results.

I really like the look of brown paper bag floors.

I like the price of them even more.

The process is extremely simple. Rip up some brown craft paper, crumple it up, uncrumple it, lay it on the floor and apply urethane.

What i want to know is what type of coating would work best for this in my garage? It is a detached garage that is only heated when being used. It will be getting a gas forced air garage heater but it will still only be heated when I am in it.

I don't know what type of coating to use that can handle temperature fluctuations. I live in michigan. So this garage could be 100 degrees in the summer and subzero in the winter.

The slab is not heated and I am assuming it is not insulated.

Thanks in advance for any info!

 

[Jbizzle]

Wow never seen that before. Looks cool but wouldn't work for me as I plan to do some light welding in my garage.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

If this goes South, what a pita to fix.

 

[mayday0017]

Won't hold up worth a damn... looks cool though. Talk about a pain in the *** to get rid of once you realize that it was a horriable idea.

 

[JimVonBaden]

I'm not so sure it is not doable. Sealed on both sides of the paper, soaked in urethane, and then add epoxy over it, should be pretty durable.

I wouldn't use it in a working garage, but one for light maintenance and parking cars would likely be fine.

Jim

 

[rlitman]

Why on earth would you epoxy over urethane?
Anyway, if the urethane (or epoxy) soaks through the paper, I don't see why the floor would not last as long as the urethane (or epoxy).

I've seen it done as a wallpaper, and it looks amazing btw.

 

[JimVonBaden]

Why on earth would you epoxy over urethane?
Anyway, if the urethane (or epoxy) soaks through the paper, I don't see why the floor would not last as long as the urethane (or epoxy).

I've seen it done as a wallpaper, and it looks amazing btw.

I don't know. I thought Epoxy is stronger.

At any rate I would just use porcelain tile, but that wasn't the question.

Jim

 

[Zeke]

Have you considered cork?

 

[mayday0017]

The problem is how thin urethane is, if you put down two much at once you have problems. In theory you could make this work by putting down SEVERAL coats which would be very expensive and would hold up. But unless you do several coats over the top of the paper I think you will wear into the paper and have "hairs" poking up everywhere. I also have questions about the bond with the foundation and if it will be stong enough to not have issues with bubbling or lifting.

To much risk and $$ for me, +1 on doing tile

 

[Ed Litsch]

If this goes South, what a pita to fix.

2nd this!!

 

[cubicle]

Have you considered cork?

+1 This^^

 

[thegarageguy]

pretty cool but it seems to be such a long climb for a short slide

 

[workhurts]

pretty cool but it seems to be such a long climb for a short slide

There's a joke in there somewhere...

 

[JakeKohl]

There's a joke in there somewhere...

I think that WAS the joke

 

[pauloman]

would be easy (and cheap) using a clear solvent free marine epoxy like Basic No Blush ($95 for 1.5 gal kits). the Brown paper would hide most yellowing and you could always top coat with a two part UV blocking LPU urethane (used on most epoxy floors). If not happy consider the orginal clear epoxy as a base coat for a more tradition pigmented Industrial Floor Epoxy (tm).

 

[955point9cummins]

I think if I etched the floor then applied a clear coat, then the stained paper, then 2 or 3 coats of clear on top of that. Just need to find a good clear coat to do it with. I have heard mixed reviews on the quality of big box store kits.

 

[bobscogin]

Looks like a pretty strong argument for bare concrete.

Bob

 

[slip knot]

I've seen some walls and even furniture done in this technique and it looks really cool but I just cant seem to see it as a floor covering.

 

[ConCretin]

never mind.

 

[toolman1967]

We actually used this technique in our Kitchen and Dining room. We did it almost 8 years ago and it is holding up very well. When there is damage to it you simply sand the gouge and reapply the paper and then reseal it. The trick is to use a product called Draw Tite (Not the hitch company) to cover the paper, that seals the paper so it doesnt discolor when you cover it with your polyurethane.

Tim the Toolman

 

[955point9cummins]

I know for interior use it can be an extremely durable and cheap flooring option. I'm just unsure of what clear coat to use to make it durable in a garage. I would love to do porcelain tile, but it would cost more to get the tile than it would to buy another truck to park on it

 

[Zippercat]

I know for interior use it can be an extremely durable and cheap flooring option. I'm just unsure of what clear coat to use to make it durable in a garage. I would love to do porcelain tile, but it would cost more to get the tile than it would to buy another truck to park on it

I've never put tile in a garage, but I've seen decent looking tile for as low as 47 cents/sq/ft. Other than just sealer over concrete, isn't that one of the cheapest ways to do a garage floor?

 

[mayday0017]

I know for interior use it can be an extremely durable and cheap flooring option. I'm just unsure of what clear coat to use to make it durable in a garage. I would love to do porcelain tile, but it would cost more to get the tile than it would to buy another truck to park on it

Looks like someone hasn't priced quality urethane that can hold up to being a garage floor. There is no way around it you will spend more on materials to do the paper bag floor and make it hold up then you would on a cheap 50c ish per sqft tile. This of course assumes you will do the labor on both.... Urethane is expensive and those paper bags will soak up a bunch of it before you even start being able to build the thickness up enough to protect them.

Anyways I'm just being a negative nancy, I hope that I am wrong and that if you decide to go forward with your plan that it turns out great and lasts forever.

 

[955point9cummins]

Who said I had to go cheap? I am not considering a 50 cent is per square foot tile floor as that would be ceramic. I know one guy here with perhaps the most famous garage here used ceramic but I think he is the exception and not the rule when it comes to durability. I want to put down a high quality high durability floor. That leaves porcelain, high quality clear, or bare concrete.

I have installed plenty of El cheapo ceramic floors, none of which I would be comfortable jacking a car up on.

 

[Paultergeist]

Who said I had to go cheap? I am not considering a 50 cent is per square foot tile floor as that would be ceramic. I know one guy here with perhaps the most famous garage here used ceramic but I think he is the exception and not the rule when it comes to durability. I want to put down a high quality high durability floor. That leaves porcelain, high quality clear, or bare concrete.

No one said you had to go cheap. You said, however -- just a couple of posts back -- that porcelain tile would be comparitively expensive ("it would cost more to get the tile than it would to buy another truck to park on it"). The point I infer from Mayday and Zippercat's posts is that -- after you consider all the costs of enough (high-quality) urethane to do this type of paper-bag floor, porcelain tile might actually be a more budget-sensitive option (read: less expensive than paper-bag floor). Much of that equation, however, is influenced by the big variable of how much one pays for the tile. I have seen some deals on porcelain tile -- usually close-outs and in limited quantities, but if one is adept about finding ways to incorporate different tiles into a pattern, there are lots of cool possibilities. I think -- if you hunt around -- that a decent PEI 4/5 porcelain tile can be found in the $1-2 sq/ft range. I have just begun my search for tile, and I have already found several such options in my neighborhood (So Cal). My looking into this is leading me to the conclusion that tile -- even porcelain -- might just be about the least-expensive way for me to go.

 

[955point9cummins]

What you just said is why I started this post. I was looking for suggestions as to what types of clear coats are durable. I said earlier I know the big box kits are junk, so what isn't junk?

 

[tncatadjuster]

Do whatever you want, no need to stay inside the lines. Laminate tops are made with craft paper. Cool if you like it, too many OCD here. Boiled linseed oil is old school.

I like it.

 

[Shea]

What you just said is why I started this post. I was looking for suggestions as to what types of clear coats are durable. I said earlier I know the big box kits are junk, so what isn't junk?

You want to use a 100% solids epoxy for the initial coverage. You can find it from some of the venders here at GJ such as Legacy Industrial, Epoxy-Coat, Garage Flooring LLC, Alpha Garage, and etc. You can also purchase it from other companies other than the ones mentioned, but I believe most people find that they getter better customer service from these companies here at the forum. Its' completely up to you.

The 100% solids is going to give you a much higher dry film thickness which you will need for completely covering the bags. This type of epoxy is used in industrial applications, garage floors, restaurants and so on so it is fine for a garage environment. You can apply a final top coat of a 2-part aliphatic polyurethane that will give you more abrasion and chemical resistance than epoxy. As someone stated earlier, polyurethane is only 2 to 3 mils in thickness and wouldn't be the best choice for coating and covering the bags. You can read here for more info on the difference in epoxy and polyurethane.

The only real difference that I see here is that you are interested in using paper bags for color instead of paint chips, so the process for a good garage floor coating is the same. You just may need to use more epoxy due to the paper bags soaking it up and the issue of them laying flat.

Or if you like, you can also go with a polyurea which would be even more durable yet, but not the best DIY product to work with.

I hope that answers your question.

 

[bdamico]

Thank god. A thread about something other than what is the best floor coating on the cheap or has anyone used Racedeck. Bravo!

 

[955point9cummins]

You want to use a 100% solids epoxy for the initial coverage. You can find it from some of the venders here at GJ such as Legacy Industrial, Epoxy-Coat, Garage Flooring LLC, Alpha Garage, and etc. You can also purchase it from other companies other than the ones mentioned, but I believe most people find that they getter better customer service from these companies here at the forum. Its' completely up to you.

The 100% solids is going to give you a much higher dry film thickness which you will need for completely covering the bags. This type of epoxy is used in industrial applications, garage floors, restaurants and so on so it is fine for a garage environment. You can apply a final top coat of a 2-part aliphatic polyurethane that will give you more abrasion and chemical resistance than epoxy. As someone stated earlier, polyurethane is only 2 to 3 mils in thickness and wouldn't be the best choice for coating and covering the bags. You can read here for more info on the difference in epoxy and polyurethane.

The only real difference that I see here is that you are interested in using paper bags for color instead of paint chips, so the process for a good garage floor coating is the same. You just may need to use more epoxy due to the paper bags soaking it up and the issue of them laying flat.

Or if you like, you can also go with a polyurea which would be even more durable yet, but not the best DIY product to work with.

I hope that answers your question.

That did answer my question. Thank you very much. Now i have a solid starting point for pricing the project compared to other methods.

 

[955point9cummins]

Thank god. A thread about something other than what is the best floor coating on the cheap or has anyone used Racedeck. Bravo!

Lol. I'm glad you appreciate the post