Best floor for wheel dollys?

[1AB JAG]

Hi All, I've been poking around this forum for a while and I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the choices of flooring out there.

I have a 17 year old garage with a floor that has seen it's share of use. It's not very smooth, it's got grease, oil, paint, and rust stains O'plenty and has some cracks that will need to be filled. I live in the Pacific N/W so it sees wet cars often.

My main issue though is that I store a car over the winter months on wheel dollys. So, any new floor that I put down will have to allow me to easily roll the car around while on the dollys.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

John

 

[thegarageguy]

I'm guessing a double broadcast quartz floor is what you need. Its what most firehouses are spec'd for because of the obvious heavy weight abuse.
This is definately not a DIY system. It would have to be professionally done. Expect to pay a premium for a properly done job.

 

[WolverineCoatings]

For a DIY application you can:

Properly Prep the Floor
Prime with BondTite 1101
Fill the cracks with IntegraFlex 1921
Apply LiquaTile 1184 as thick as you can afford it

 

[menz300]

An acid stain is also an option. It will give the floor a desired color and still be smooth. There many color options and you can get very creative with designs.

 

[WolverineCoatings]

I have a 17 year old garage with a floor that has seen it's share of use. It's not very smooth, it's got grease, oil, paint, and rust stains O'plenty and has some cracks that will need to be filled. I live in the Pacific N/W so it sees wet cars often.

An acid stain will not do anything to smooth a floor that is rough. In addition, what colors the concrete is mineral salts that are added to the acid (Hydrochloric). Those salts react with free calcium compounds in the concrete that are typically concentrated in the very top layer of the concrete. Although old concrete can be stained, sometimes it doesn't work well when the mineral layer has been degraded. In that case, if you want a stained look then most people would choose an acrylic stain. The acid look can be achieved with an acrylic stain using a string mop and 'dancing' it around the floor to depost uneven amounts of stain (heavy stain is darker).

So, with acid stain, you get a smooth floor if you START with a smooth floor.

 

[rsanter]

grind the floor smooth and stain the concrete

bob

 

[Mlynch]

i am not as experienced with the acrylic stains but i do know the industry has been moving to water based stains and in some instances acetone based dyes (my favorite) that would do the job on floors where acid stain will not... However these doent seems like good options if you are starting w/ a badly damaged cracked floor because to get good results you will either
A: have to have a contractor come in and grind (still crack issues)
B: use and overlayment or microtopping to resurface the floor


why is a polymer floor out of the question? epoxy or polyurea w/vinyl chips ? In my experience the dolly shouldn't have any issues w either of these.

 

[nwrob]

Hi All, I've been poking around this forum for a while and I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the choices of flooring out there.

I have a 17 year old garage with a floor that has seen it's share of use. It's not very smooth, it's got grease, oil, paint, and rust stains O'plenty and has some cracks that will need to be filled. I live in the Pacific N/W so it sees wet cars often.

My main issue though is that I store a car over the winter months on wheel dollys. So, any new floor that I put down will have to allow me to easily roll the car around while on the dollys.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

John

I just wondered if you've contacted any local contractors yet? I'm trying to locate good (local) sources for garage flooring.

 

[1AB JAG]

I just wondered if you've contacted any local contractors yet? I'm trying to locate good (local) sources for garage flooring.

No, not yet. I'm trying to decide if I'm up for a DIY or if I should have it done. And unfortunately I don't know anyone that's done a similar project here.

My brother-in-law has done one floor in ceramic tile and one in Race Deck. I know that neither of those is a good option for wheel dollys and the wet we have most of the year (he lives in the desert), so my search continues.

BTW, thanks to all for the good info!