I hate nice floors! rant

[stinkity stoink]

Does any one else hate nice garage floors. Dont get me wrong I think they look incredible!!
I am just upset because I did an epoxy job in my new garage. I went with rustoleum because I knew I would beat it up. I prepped my *** off put it down. I didn't even put in flake because I thought that would screw me up when I drop a nut or bolt or something small on the floor. It looks good ,but could have probabably used another coat.

I moved all my stuff in and started working. Welding ,painting etc... I have burn marks and chips allready. I knew it was going to happen ,but it still got me pissed.
I find myself running to the band saw to catch the big hunk of metal dropping so it doesn't give more chips in the floor. I even put a drop cloth under some shelves I was painting. I would never do that.

Sorry I feel a little better now. The wife doesn't wnt to hear me complaining about my new garage.

 

[Ruddy]

Just like a shiny new car or paint job on your project car. All that fussing in the beginning, then you slowly just live with it!

 

[nate379]

Just be glad you didn't drop a few grand on that epoxy like some guys do! I know what you mean though, same exact thing with me!

 

[OccupantRJ]

Place a piece of plywood on the floor under the saw drop area to prevent chipping the floor when the piece drops. Works perfectly, and absorbs some of the sound. A cardboard box with a piece of plywood in the bottom works well for shorter pieces.

RJ

 

[WVBrady]

Maybe you should have deliberately made a flaw in it to start with. I remember reading a long time ago of artists ( weavers in Spain, perhaps ) who would deliberately design in a flaw, because only god was supposed to be perfect.

 

[Pster]

When your honey takes her clothes off and says "Do me now" in your garage, you WANT a nice epoxy floor! It's her way of saying "I love my manyly man and what he can do, now do me!"

 

[Jack Olsen]

A floor is a 'wear item.' If it's a working garage, the floor should show signs of use. In the same way new work boots or a new welding jacket look kind of strange, I think I'd be more bothered by a too-virginal floor than one with some chips, scrapes and burns.

 

[walwal63]

So do you think you could touch up the chipped and burned parts without it looking worse? Also, would a thicker coat gouge easier than something really thin and assumably harder? Thats what I'm afraid of cause I work hard in my garage... putting a thick epoxy floor down and it being softer than a thin coat of paint or such on the hard concrete.

 

[AlphaGarage]

So do you think you could touch up the chipped and burned parts without it looking worse?

Yes and no. If you use a clear coat, and if the underlying epoxy is of high quality, then you can do a pretty nice job of touching up the system because the only layer you need to work on is the clear coat. The top clear coat layer acts as a sacrificial coat to protect the pigmented epoxy layer(s) below. The clear coat itself may be scratched and have some welding spots, but hopefully it held up well enough that the pigmented epoxy layer wasn't affected. And hopefully the thicker epoxy layer mitigated dropped and dragged tools such that no concrete chipped out.

On this particular floor it sounds like the pigmented epoxy layer itself was damaged, and maybe even the concrete, so the repair will be a bit more difficult.

Also, would a thicker coat gouge easier than something really thin and assumably harder? Thats what I'm afraid of cause I work hard in my garage... putting a thick epoxy floor down and it being softer than a thin coat of paint or such on the hard concrete.

Most good epoxies are hard, in fact harder than most of the concrete they cover. And they usually are also much harder than a single component paint. In fact they can be too hard, and like glass, which is also very hard, an epoxy coating can be brittle, which means it can gouge, and also not protect the concrete.

That's why better quality epoxies are formulated to have some measure of flexibility. In the case of LiquaTile 1184 that balance is struck by adding ceramic content, which makes the cured coating hard without being excessively brittle.

And thick is usually better, evidenced by the fact many manufacturing and production factory floors pay dearly to have floor coating systems 250 mils thick, or thicker.

 

[bmwpower]

A floor is a 'wear item.' If it's a working garage, the floor should show signs of use.

+1

All is not lost. Sand and recoat it when it gets too messed up. A majority of the work is in the prep. Once you have coated the floor for the first time, recoating it is easy and much less time consuming/expensive.

 

[tcianci]

I'm with Jack as well. A floor is certainly a wear item. I have had Stonhard epoxy on my floor for over 10 years now and the wear and abuse created sort of a "patina" although it looks brand new in the corners. All in all your floor will break in nicely like a good pair of shoes and over time you won't even notice the little flaws. My floor is a solid gray color and someday down the road, maybe when the 40 <<<< (look at my avatar) is done, I'll scuff it and roll it out again.

 

[stinkity stoink]

I am starting to understand. I say Jack said it very well.

I don't really think I will ever epoxy this floor again. Just for the fact that I have moved my stuff in and will probabaly never want to move it out again.

I really do love the fact that when oil spills it just wipes right up without leaving a stain.

Sorry for the little rant ,but I am over it now. I will just go about my work in the garage and live with it . Like a badge of honor. I now a hot rod or kustom that doesn't get used is a trailer queen. I am not sure if a garage has a nickname like that ,but it isn't a trailer queen. You know what neither are my cars.

Lots of great info on this site. I really appreciate the stuff I learned. It really helped in my garage build.

Thanks for listening. Only people with the same addiction would.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

I am with Alpha.
High impact epoxy coatings do not come from The Home Depot and they do not have to cost thousands of dollars.

There are several of us who either supply the materials or install them everyday in warehouses, chemical plants, foundries and forges. They hold up to steel wheel traffic, fork-lifts and all types of impacts.

Look beyond mass merchandising and seek out the good stuff.

 

[trbomax]

Exactly why I wouldnt waste my time and money doing it.My shop is for working,not gazeing at.The wheel chains on the tractors,welding,carbides and studs on sleds,the studs ( all 500+)in the tracks of the 8120t,dont have time to worry about it.

 

[pragmatist]

I find myself running to the band saw to catch the big hunk of metal dropping so it doesn't give more chips in the floor.

FWIW I placed a large magnet under the cutting surface of my band saw and whenever I'm cutting steel I never see a spec hit the floor. Quite often it even catches the cut material. Every few weeks I roll it outside and remove the magnet to blow it off. In Florida the humidity has the shaving rust to nothing in about five minutes.

 

[Jack Olsen]

I don't mind burns and chips on my floor. But every single time I've had a new windshield installed in a car, I get a small chip in the first couple of days. And then nothing. For years.

 

[Grumpy365]

I feel your pain.

My last garage I had this problem.

The shop I am building, I am planning on putting down some type of heavy rubber welding mat over my work areas. I am looking for some interlocking welding mat, But I can't find it. I am probably going to use the THICK rubber stall mats from Tractor Supply.

 

[Ruddy]

I already have two nice gouges. One from flipping up a new Gladiator cabinet after I put the casters on. It sort of slid and dug in on the cabinet edge before I got it up on the wheels. The other gouge was from dropping a big 4wd spindle socket. In both cases they went through the clear and base to bare concrete. I'm thinking about just floating a little bit of sikaflex over them. really too small to patch with epoxy.

 

[bigstuie]

The main thing to remember is .... "It's a GARAGE Floor" .... it's not your bedroom ... or is it????

 

[stinkity stoink]

The main thing to remember is .... "It's a GARAGE Floor" .... it's not your bedroom ... or is it????

I never know what my wife will say. It could turn into my bedroom

 

[thegarageguy]

Not everyone's garage is a work shop. There are many people who use their garages for storage and believe it or not, many use it as a main entrance. It's the first room they see when they arrive to their home. Having a clean environment to come home to is very satisfying to many.

For an actual "working" garage, we would not recommend, nor would we ever install a paint job because it simply will not hold up. Our recommendation is a double broadcast sand or quartz floor or a step above that, a urethane concrete floor.

In life, unfortunately in some cases, perception is reality. Neighbors see a mess in the garage and you are assumed a slob or messy, at the same token, if it's well organized, neat and clean, your the envy of your neighborhood. Same goes for a business, a neat and clean environment shows professionalism and care. Many companies pay big money to have an incredible and everlasting first impression. A strong, drable and beautiful floor is part of it.

Which garage would you rather come home to?

or

Which mechanic shop inspires more confidence to you?

or

 

[Ruddy]

Nice truck. Half ton?

 

[foss]

Not everyone's garage is a work shop. There are many people who use their garages for storage and believe it or not, many use it as a main entrance. It's the first room they see when they arrive to their home. Having a clean environment to come home to is very satisfying to many.

For an actual "working" garage, we would not recommend, nor would we ever install a paint job because it simply will not hold up. Our recommendation is a double broadcast sand or quartz floor or a step above that, a urethane concrete floor.

In life, unfortunately in some cases, perception is reality. Neighbors see a mess in the garage and you are assumed a slob or messy, at the same token, if it's well organized, neat and clean, your the envy of your neighborhood. Same goes for a business, a neat and clean environment shows professionalism and care. Many companies pay big money to have an incredible and everlasting first impression. A strong, drable and beautiful floor is part of it.

Which garage would you rather come home to?

or

Which mechanic shop inspires more confidence to you?

or

how true.......

 

[e-tek]

how true.......

I hate to always be the anti-guy, but I'd take the "lived-in" garage becuase it looks like the family is happy and they have some fun, and I'd take my car to the first shop -because the second one looks like it has a lot of overhead, but not many cutomers - means they'll be looking to make a profit on ME!!

For me, after much consideration and time here, I decided NOT to epoxy my shop floor. I will, however, be doing my 2-car attached. It'll be the "show-piece".

 

[bmwpower]

The main thing to remember is .... "It's a GARAGE Floor" .... it's not your bedroom ... or is it????

I have slept on it, but it wasn't very comfortable. I'd much rather sleep in house.

 

[stinkity stoink]

I know what you are saying about the spotless mechanics shop. I worked for two different shops. The first one was a wreck. When we moved in it was comfortable for 4 cars. After only a few years it was down to 2. There were engines,parts, and tools everywhere. No matter how hard I tried to clean my boss wrecked it. Bottom line was we were very busy, he didn't kill any one with price. He also had very few come backs for bad work.

The other shop was like the one in the pics. Very neat. No junk anywhere. His prices were high and he wasn't very busy.