Advice for 55 year old garage floor (tile?)

[razorlab]

Hey all, been pouring over threads and reading a ton of content here. What a great forum!

We are moving into the final stretches of closing on a home (our first!) and I have a question about the garage floor.

As far as I know, it's the original 504sq/ft floor from 1965. House is located in New York and the garage looks like it's seen its fair share of New York winter snow and salt.

Ideally, I would get the floor demo'd and concrete repoured but currently that cost is out of scope for me. So I started thinking about tile like racedeck. I think the free flow version might be the ticket here?

Is this floor too far gone for plastic tile? If not, is this just simple sweep, vacuum, pressure wash, then lay down the tile type of job?

 

[Garage Flooring]

To state the obvious the best solution would be to have a concrete professional come in and deal with this floor.

Tiles would be a good way to cover up the damage. They won't stop the damage from getting worse, but you can reuse them someday after getting the floor repaired.

 

[razorlab]

To state the obvious the best solution would be to have a concrete professional come in and deal with this floor.

Tiles would be a good way to cover up the damage. They won't stop the damage from getting worse, but you can reuse them someday after getting the floor repaired.

Thanks for the reply!

Yea, at some point I want the floor redone/repaired. Thinking of the tiles for now until I get that done.

My concern was the tile going over the rougher surface. Do you see any issue there? I didn't notice any huge height/level differences but I also haven't put a straight edge down yet.

 

[SamuraiJack]

I'm not flooring professional but why start with the floor. It looks like you would benefit the most from excellent lighting, electrical, paint and garage doors. Then once you are able to replace the floor you have all the options available to you.

 

[razorlab]

I'm not flooring professional but why start with the floor. It looks like you would benefit the most from excellent lighting, electrical, paint and garage doors. Then once you are able to replace the floor you have all the options available to you.

All those things are on the list as well!

Was thinking LED flat panel lights as the ceiling is low at 7', so I want to minimize any overhead items.

Also planning on hanging Cabinets on the masonry but I want to get the cars in there first to see what kinda room I am playing with.

The garage is 24'x21'

Garage openers also on the list as these are from 1997 but somehow still work. I need to look over the doors to see if it's just a simple clean or I should invest in new doors as well.

Open to suggestions too.

Here are what the garage doors look like in relation to the house.

 

[Jinks]

Quick simple answer is what Justin suggested, but just sweep the floor clean, throw a quick cover of landscape fabric over it, & cover with Racedeck. Free flow will look good, but solid (diamond plate) will keep most of the water/dirt off the concrete until you can get new concrete poured. It can also look pretty good......

 

[Armorpoxy]

This floor is pretty beat up and getting it fixed to be able to coat it is not inexpensive.

Take a look at our www.supratile.com. Zero chance of failure and installs in hours and has lifetime warranty.

 

[SteveCh]

i have RD on a floor a bit better than yours. My RaceDeck is perfect. I was eventually going to re-do or repair my floor, but after some years now with the tiles, I don't plan to do anything at all to it.

I would not hesitate to use RaceDeck on yours. Call them, send them photos, and I expect they will tell you the same thing.

 

[razorlab]

Follow up here. I ended up ordering the flow through tiles from Garageflooringllc. I ordered enough to fill half the garage to make sure they would work on the crappy surface and I would like the outcome enough. I

I got around to installing them today and I have to say it came out even better than I imagined it would. It completely transformed the space. I ended up ordering the other half right after I installed them today.

Really happy so far!

 

[Garage Flooring]

Follow up here. I ended up ordering the flow through tiles from Garageflooringllc. I ordered enough to fill half the garage to make sure they would work on the crappy surface and I would like the outcome enough. I

I got around to installing them today and I have to say it came out even better than I imagined it would. It completely transformed the space. I ended up ordering the other half right after I installed them today.

Really happy so far!

Thank you for your trust and your business! Your floor looks great!

 

[smackey05]

Follow up here. I ended up ordering the flow through tiles from Garageflooringllc. I ordered enough to fill half the garage to make sure they would work on the crappy surface and I would like the outcome enough. I

I got around to installing them today and I have to say it came out even better than I imagined it would. It completely transformed the space. I ended up ordering the other half right after I installed them today.

Really happy so far!

That came out looking phenomenal.

RaceDeck is next on my list for my garage flooring. It will only look better when you update the lighting.

 

[Bighead38]

Floor looks good. Where in NY are you?

 

[frankd]

Looks great! I'm also in NY. My house was built in the 50's and floor looked very similar to yours. I also went with interlocking plastic tile but went with sold rather than free flow. The floor is over a year old and I'm very happy with my decision. I'm sure you will be too. Enjoy!

 

[razorlab]

That came out looking phenomenal.

RaceDeck is next on my list for my garage flooring. It will only look better when you update the lighting.

Thanks! Painting is next, then lighting!

Floor looks good. Where in NY are you?

Thanks! Mid Hudson, Poughkeepsie area.

 

[razorlab]

Made some more headway in the garage this week. Finished putting down all the tiles. Painted half the back wall. Lights and finishing painting is next

 

[bucolic]

That looks really nice!

 

[Garage Flooring]

Made some more headway in the garage this week. Finished putting down all the tiles. Painted half the back wall. Lights and finishing painting is next

LOOKS GREAT!

 

[razorlab]

Finished painting the back wall. Made a world of difference.

Started putting up lights. I put eight up. Doesn't feel like a dungeon anymore but I need eight more!

 

[PGSD1]

It looks GREAT, nice work! You might consider also painting the cinder-block walls (cement paint) for a more finished look plus more light reflection.

 

[razorlab]

It looks GREAT, nice work! You might consider also painting the cinder-block walls (cement paint) for a more finished look plus more light reflection.

Thanks, it's getting there.

I was thinking of painting the cinder block walls as well. However, I had a basement specialist over for a radon mitigation system install. He told me if I did that, it would trap moisture more in the garage as it would seal the cinder blocks from breathing.

 

[Rorin67]

We see you have a window high on the wall. Just open the window to ventilate the garage. That's precisely what it's there for. Now go get that paint for the cinder blocks!

 

[bucolic]

If you are worried about painting the cinder blocks you can also fasten furring strips to them and place metal roofing on the walls. Comes in all different colors! They did this to the outside of our work building and what a transformation. That is placed right over the cinder block.

 

[Garage Flooring]

Finished painting the back wall. Made a world of difference.

Started putting up lights. I put eight up. Doesn't feel like a dungeon anymore but I need eight more!

LOVE this garage!

 

[ebarker9]

There are also more "vapor open" masonry paints available if you're concerned about trapping moisture within the wall.

 

[razorlab]

We see you have a window high on the wall. Just open the window to ventilate the garage. That's precisely what it's there for. Now go get that paint for the cinder blocks!

Sure, but not such a valid option in the middle of winter, although I guess it's technically drier then.

If you are worried about painting the cinder blocks you can also fasten furring strips to them and place metal roofing on the walls. Comes in all different colors! They did this to the outside of our work building and what a transformation. That is placed right over the cinder block.

Cool, I'll look into it. I was also thinking about what it would look like if I put a slated wall over the masonry...

There are also more "vapor open" masonry paints available if you're concerned about trapping moisture within the wall.

Didn't know that, I'll look into it, thanks!

 

[bucolic]

Cool, I'll look into it. I was also thinking about what it would look like if I put a slated wall over the masonry...

The slated wall would be great also. Plus much more functional space than the roofing as there are tons of systems for slat walls.

 

[razorlab]

Added two more tool chests. My plan is to get a work table to put over these and either take the wheels off and place them on the floor or find some leveling feet that I can use on these. Anyone know of some good adjustable feet I can use for these?

For now, I am loving that I no longer have to dig through overfilled drawers to find the tool I need!

 

[razorlab]

Well, today I found out if you want to actually jack up your car and work on it, these free flow tiles aren't the ones to get.

The jack gets stuck in the grooves, so the jack won't move when you jack up the car, the tiles will bellow out and the whole car will shift. Then when you put it down it bellows out all the tiles around the opposite side of the car.

The jack will also destroy the tiles.

Oh well, I was looking for a good excuse to buy a QuickJack!

 

[cstmg8]

Looks great! What did you lay under the tile during install??
FYI, I'm pretty sure you're supposed to use a mat/pad when using a jack. Floor jacks like that roll during the lifting motion. Should solve your issues.

 

[razorlab]

Looks great! What did you lay under the tile during install??
FYI, I'm pretty sure you're supposed to use a mat/pad when using a jack. Floor jacks like that roll during the lifting motion. Should solve your issues.

I actually tried it a second time with a solid mat and it did the same thing. Just ordered a set of QuickJacks. Didn't need much of an excuse for me I guess.

I put landscape fabric under the tiles. Glad I did as it makes them feel much more cohesive without the **** concrete slab showing through!

 

[rburke65]

Your floor does look great but it is, after all, plastic. Nice job!

 

[razorlab]

More progress. Cabinets came in. Quickjack came in. Can't believe I waited this long for this. So much better than a jack and jackstands.