Polished w/ clear epoxy vs. colored epoxy over ground vs. tile

[Motoshow]

Hello all!

First post here!

I am buying a house in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Has a very large (for downtown) detached garage (34x24 feet).

I think it would be wise before I move all my stuff into the garage that I finish the walls and floor.

Walls are easy (so I think), drywall and done.

Floor, not so much! Too many options.

I would like to keep it inexpensive, but don't want something that looks like **** in a few years after some abuse. I will be doing metal work in the garage, so their will be sparks.

I own a bunch of dirt bikes, so there will be dirt in the garage too.

Tools will get dropped, things will get spilled. As much as I want this to be a showpiece, I use my garage space to do plenty of hobby work.

Here are my options:

1) Do nothing. The floor is decent as is. Relatively smooth, and relatively clean.

2) I have a friend who works for a concrete polishing/sealing/epoxy company. He said he can borrow the equipment and do a cash job grinding and clear epoxy for around 2-3 a square foot. Not sure if I believe it, but who knows. Polish with seal (no epoxy, won't stick to the polish he says) will be around the same price.

3) Tile if I can find cheap tiles somewhere. I am scared of breaking tiles, otherwise I would totally go this route! Maybe there are tiles that exist that are relatively impact safe?

4) Epoxy, either professionally done or done by me.

What do you all recommend? I don't need anything fancy, just want clean, durable, and bright.

Thanks!
Aaron

 

[Big-Foot]

I'd do exactly what I have already done - get hold of Christine (RugerLady) at Epoxy Coat and do it right the first time.. Lay down some welding blankets in areas where there may be some sparks or weld splatter..

 

[Motoshow]

I'd do exactly what I have already done - get hold of Christine (RugerLady) at Epoxy Coat and do it right the first time.. Lay down some welding blankets in areas where there may be some sparks or weld splatter..

Nice to see you on here too! Forum folk get around eh?

That coating looks extremely promising! Self install (cheap), durable, withstands jacks, etc.

....very nice! And they are in Michigan, will be calling them tomorrow for questions

 

[sr71]

Aaron....on one hand I'd say leave it as it is - first spend your money on other ....perhaps more useful garage items - like a hot dawg gas heater for the MI winter months. On the other hand .... if you decide to finish the floor (and there are cleanup advantages to this) get a pro to do it or someone in the business (like your buddy).

 

[Jack Olsen]

The key to not breaking tiles is to install them right. With thinset on both the tile and the floor, your tiles are pretty tough.

Mine are only ceramic. Porcelain would be even stronger. I had never set tiles before I did this. My floor was not flat.

Here's a video of some strength-testing for mine. That's a four-pound hammer.

I paid .59/sf for the floor tiles four years ago. I am very happy with them.

 

[marty_p]

Aaron:

You will soon learn that 'The Force' is with Jack; you can take his posts straight to the bank!

Good luck, and keep us posted!

 

[The Frisco Kid]

I think that I've decided to acid stain the floors and then put an epoxy clear over it. Anyone done this and have some pictures? I'm thinking a gray polished floor with some texture in the clear (like a grippy Lowe's store finish)

 

[AlphaGarage]

Yes, stain with epoxy is a pretty common set-up. You can also apply a clear coat over the epoxy for increased abrasion mitigation and higher UV resistance.

Probably the trickiest part is the acid stain, the results vary quite a bit from floor to floor. The epoxy does increase the contrast and intensity of the stain.

We generally spec BondTite 1101 for the epoxy and EnduraShield 2254 (with optional grit additive) for the clear coat.

 

[Motoshow]

Aaron....on one hand I'd say leave it as it is - first spend your money on other ....perhaps more useful garage items - like a hot dawg gas heater for the MI winter months. On the other hand .... if you decide to finish the floor (and there are cleanup advantages to this) get a pro to do it or someone in the business (like your buddy).

I think the expense of doing the floor is worth it when the garage is empty. It seems like that epoxy might be a great solution, especially if there is an installer that can apply it for 3-400. I am on trips for work and personal items at least 50% of the weekends this year, so doing things on my own is VERY hard....

The key to not breaking tiles is to install them right. With thinset on both the tile and the floor, your tiles are pretty tough.

Mine are only ceramic. Porcelain would be even stronger. I had never set tiles before I did this. My floor was not flat.

Here's a video of some strength-testing for mine. That's a four-pound hammer.

I paid .59/sf for the floor tiles four years ago. I am very happy with them.

Tile is so tempting...I need to see if I can find great tile at a discount price. I need roughly 800 sqft, so less than a dollar a foot would be awesome. Did you just call tile places to ask for discounted/closeout tiles?

Thanks everyone! I will make sure to post photos of the progress. I do not close until Monday. Very excited!

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Polish and seal don't go together.
You are either polishing or you are coating, two completely different animals.

 

[slickgt1]

I second tile. In my endless research on the subject, if it wasn't for Jacks advise, I would be redoing my floor today. Search my name, and "can your floor do this". Tile is by far the toughest floor I have seen around me. If you do an epoxy job, you have to be really really good, or pay someone really really good. Even then, I am not sure it would stand up to the careless abuse I dish out to my floor.

 

[Turbota]

I agree with everyone that a tile floor might be the best choice. As long as you don't drop something heavy like a steel vice on it, it will look good longer than you will ever live in the house.

The house I am renting now has some kind of colored finish on it, and it looks like ****.

I am moving into a new house in about a month, and I have convinced myself that I won't be playing around with any epoxy floor finish, or any other kind of stuff you paint over the floor (in hopes that it won't peel off sometime in the near future).

I am going with either Swisstrax modular tiles, or ceramic tiles like I have on the carport and driveway of my house in the Philippines ... To be honest, I think ceramic tiles are really even a better option than those plastic modular snap-together tiles.