Mold/Mildew issues with polyvinyl rollout flooring?

[06 Mustang GT]

Hi guys, I have been going back and forth trying to decided what type of flooring to use in my 2 car garage. I am leaning toward a rollout polyvinyl flooring such as the Versaroll or G-Floor rolls because some areas of my slab are not perfectly level as well as having flaking paint on the floor already I think this is my best option, but I really need to get some feedback from anyone who has used any of the polyvinyl rollout flooring in their garage because my biggest concern is the possibility of mold/mildew forming under the mats. I currently do not have a big problem with moisture accumulating on the floor but when the mats are laid down some moisture is obviously bound to gather under them. If anyone here has any suggestions or information on this it would be a huge help to me in making my decision. Thank you very much for your help. I hope to hear from you guys soon!
Dave

 

[Flooring For Garage]

Hi Mustang,

I am really not a fan of the rollout mat floors... I don't think mold is a major issue to contend with; I have never encountered mold caused from the rollouts, but mildew could be another story.

Do you live in a cold-winter climate? I'd be more concerned about trapped water causing more damage to the concrete surface below the mats. (I actually discussed some of this recently on my blog).

Are you dead-set against epoxy?

 

[pauls340]

A quick education on concrete...a cubic yard of concrete needs, give or take, 32 US gallons of water to produce or place it, of which it uses 15 gallons to make the concrete, leaving 17 gallons of Free Water to screw everything up! Since most of us already have a placed floor, you have to stop the vapor moisture emission coming out of the concrete or you will get dampness under that flooring. Track down a product called Vapor Lock 10/10, it's a topical applied penetrating vapor proofer and it will waterproof your concrete. Vapor Lock hunts-out that Free Water and turns it into additional CSH Gel; which will make that concrete stronger. For all you sceptics, yes we just got back testing and VL increased a 4000 psi slab to 6208 psi in 56 days. Mold needs three things to grow; moisture, food and darkness, eliminate the moisture and you prevent mold or mildew.

 

[06 Mustang GT]

Thanks for the replies. I live in Connecticut so we do get snow and sub freezing temps here in the winter. "Flooring For Garage" I read your write up on the cons of floor mats, definitely some good information. I'm not dead set against epoxy paint but I have tried many oil based floor paints over the years on my garage floor and they all have peeled over rather short periods of time, although I haven't used "U-Coat It" or kits like that yet. My biggest concern with laying down some epoxy paint is the time and hassle involved in stripping all of the old paint off the floor before I apply the new stuff and not being able to use the garage for 5 or so days after is a drag as well but definitely not a deal breaker. I have considered having porcelain tiles installed but got some crazy high quotes with leveling the slab, re-enforcing the cracks, special outdoor mud, grout, etc. and I still would have to strip the old paint off the floor. I have also considered "Race Deck" or similar polypropylene tiles but they sound like they would be very noisy to drive and walk on. So I'm still very undecided on what is the best option as they all have their share of positives and negatives. I was hoping to go with something that is fairly quick to install, not ridiculously expensive and looks great (because like most of you I am extremely particular (****) about my garage). Maybe epoxy paint would be the way to go. What epoxy paint do you guys recommend and is there any way I can just scrap and sand the loose old paint or do I have to strip it all down to bare concrete? If all of the old paint has to come off what method would be the quickest and easiest? Sorry for the long post but I really appreciate the information!Thanks alot guys!
Dave

 

[bernie egan]

I put mats down over a damaged epoxy floor and now have mold and odors in the garage, I have mold growing on the underside of the mats just from the ground humidity in the floor. Any area where the epoxy was peeled, there are mold spots on the mat. I treated with a mold killer and will see if it helps. Odor has lessened and it has only been three days. Other than that, I love the floor mats. Much warmer and easy to clean. Epoxy started failing as soon as it was installed. Recoating epoxy requires that the first attempt must be ground off.

 

[Garage Flooring]

Hi guys, I have been going back and forth trying to decided what type of flooring to use in my 2 car garage. I am leaning toward a rollout polyvinyl flooring such as the Versaroll or G-Floor rolls because some areas of my slab are not perfectly level as well as having flaking paint on the floor already I think this is my best option, but I really need to get some feedback from anyone who has used any of the polyvinyl rollout flooring in their garage because my biggest concern is the possibility of mold/mildew forming under the mats. I currently do not have a big problem with moisture accumulating on the floor but when the mats are laid down some moisture is obviously bound to gather under them. If anyone here has any suggestions or information on this it would be a huge help to me in making my decision. Thank you very much for your help. I hope to hear from you guys soon!
Dave

If you have a moisture issue, G-Floor may have an issue. If you do not have a moisture issue, it is not going to create one. I would not go with any other brand of roll out floor, EVER. I did have g-floor in my own home. We did the install video.

Tile may be a better option. We could send you some samples and see how they do at transition

I put mats down over a damaged epoxy floor and now have mold and odors in the garage, I have mold growing on the underside of the mats just from the ground humidity in the floor. Any area where the epoxy was peeled, there are mold spots on the mat. I treated with a mold killer and will see if it helps. Odor has lessened and it has only been three days. Other than that, I love the floor mats. Much warmer and easy to clean. Epoxy started failing as soon as it was installed. Recoating epoxy requires that the first attempt must be ground off.

I see this is your first post. Welcome. If you are having the issue described, I can tell you the manufacturer would love to look into this further. I've been doing this since 2001 and have never seen a confirmed mold issue. I have seen a couple of Efflorescence issues that people thought were something else.

So feel free to send me some pictures, I will get with them and we will figure out next steps

 

[Armorpoxy]

Another choice may be our www.supratile.com. We have never had a mold/moisture issue reported as any hydrostatic moisure will come out through the joints. We use these in firehouses which have tons of water in them from cleaning, see www.armor-tuff.com.