Garage floor

theone8181 · 21 Sep 2018 at 13:04

So i'm looking at doing something with my garage floor, i'm thinking either rubber interlocking mats or painting. Each has a few pros and cons but not sure if theres any other choices and just wondered if anyone had any alternatives?

rhysduck · 21 Sep 2018 at 13:23

What is the garage used for?
Storing Car? Workshop? Gym?

samcat · 21 Sep 2018 at 16:41

theone8181 said:
So i'm looking at doing something with my garage floor, i'm thinking either rubber interlocking mats or painting. Each has a few pros and cons but not sure if theres any other choices and just wondered if anyone had any alternatives?

As above, depends what its used for. This is the single most important question

Dads workshop is done with high grip garage floor tiles. VERY hard wearing/bullet proof. Few of the faces I know on the classic VW circuit have used the same as well, and regularly dragging jacks/engines across the floor with NO ill effect.

You would be looking at commercial, non glazed tiles, he bought from here: https://www.directtilewarehouse.com/commercial-tiles/, fantastic to deal with.
These ones: https://www.directtilewarehouse.com/dotti-anti-slip-floor-tiles-anthracite-floor-tiles/ (note the R9 non slip coating)
DONT go glazed, will be lethal if slightly damp/oily.... Think Ice Rink!

You can get them epoxy sealed as well, powder float or similar. From memory needs to be a 2 pack, and options vary depending on current floor (powdery concrete, already sealed etc )

theone8181 · 21 Sep 2018 at 20:48

It's more of a worship, whoa keeps cars in garages these days anyway

. I do drag a trolley jack across it twice a year to change wheels.

coolsurfer · 21 Sep 2018 at 21:01

I want to go for Epoxy Resin.

samcat · 22 Sep 2018 at 13:28

theone8181 said:
It's more of a worship, whoa keeps cars in garages these days anyway.

I do.... Garage and workshop, 8m x 6m with a 2.3m ceiling

Currently restoring a classic bug in there, 70s fiat 500 next.

theone8181 · 23 Sep 2018 at 08:32

samcat said:
I do.... Garage and workshop, 8m x 6m with a 2.3m ceiling Currently restoring a classic bug in there, 70s fiat 500 next.

I hate you

. Mines just a normal single. I'm just undecided what to go for, for me the only downside of something like rubber tiles is cost, and even then its not that much (if i factor in time theres even less in it as i think painting will take much longer). I'm trying to stay away from tiles as i'm not sure how level the base is. My preference is hard rubber mats, and hopefully they will be durable enough.

eddie101 · 23 Sep 2018 at 09:08

I have carpet in mine

I work for an events company and managed to pilfer a load of Black Exhibition carpet. Works a treat

samcat · 23 Sep 2018 at 09:43

theone8181 said:
I hate you. Mines just a normal single.

I get that a lot, bought the house because of the garage... Also has a pit and an I beam with roller hoist thingy.

I fitted ~12 6ft flourescent tubes and insulated it.. Lovely place to work on the cars/build DIY Hifi and to hide from the other half...

theone8181 said:
I'm trying to stay away from tiles as i'm not sure how level the base is. My preference is hard rubber mats, and hopefully they will be durable enough.

Friend did similar in his when putting in a home gym. He initially used the interlocking cheap(ish) ones, awful. Then went and asked the local gym what they used, they pointed him at amazon at "Heavy Duty Large Rubber Gym Mat Commercial Flooring 12mm Garage Flooring Natural". Good stuff, VERY heavy duty!

Mucky_Pup · 23 Sep 2018 at 11:30

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Industri...-Vinyl-Flooring/371878417475?var=640844346493

I did my garage in those, easy to fit, easy to cut with a saw. Will slightly dent if something heavy is on a small surface area for too long though, I put a spare tile underneath the side stand of my Harley to absorb the weight. Has reduced the ammount of dust in my garage quite a bit covering up the concrete. Will get a photo once I've tidied it up tomorrow.

theone8181 · 23 Sep 2018 at 12:47

Mucky_Pup said:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Industri...-Vinyl-Flooring/371878417475?var=640844346493

I did my garage in those, easy to fit, easy to cut with a saw. Will slightly dent if something heavy is on a small surface area for too long though, I put a spare tile underneath the side stand of my Harley to absorb the weight. Has reduced the ammount of dust in my garage quite a bit covering up the concrete. Will get a photo once I've tidied it up tomorrow.

I've only just ordered some racking from that company too. Could have saved on delivery.

GravyMonster · 23 Sep 2018 at 13:15

coolsurfer said:
I want to go for Epoxy Resin.

Same here. I painted the walls of my garage at the end of the summer and now the weather's turned I'm not going to be able to do the floor, as I would need to leave all the garage crap in the garden for a few days.

However, this is what I was planning on using. 2 * 5L tins works out to about £100 delivered inc VAT and should be more than enough to cover a single garage with a few coats.

Mucky_Pup · 24 Sep 2018 at 10:49

There's mine:

Still need to get a few more tiles to cut up and fully close in the right hand side, though, just haven't got round to it.

theone8181 · 24 Sep 2018 at 13:06

Mucky_Pup said:
There's mine:

Still need to get a few more tiles to cut up and fully close in the right hand side, though, just haven't got round to it.

That does look pretty good, is there much of an imprint where your bike sits? (trying to mentally work out how squishy the pads are). Also if there are cracks in the floor or a few bits missing, is there any point in repairing it before using tiles?

Mucky_Pup · 24 Sep 2018 at 13:24

Not really, they're still pretty resilliant, only a small couple of dents were on the floor when I first put them down, which I can't even notice now, but I now use a spare tile to put the bike stand down on. The trolley jack I have right by the door has two little dents in the floor where the castors are on it, due to the weight/surface area. There aren't any other dents on the floor as everything else is spread out over a decent area. The photos show the spare tile I use for the bike stand.

theone8181 · 24 Sep 2018 at 19:50

If it's similar to how durable I think it is, it should be OK. I do have a trolley jack so I wondered how they would fare (TBH having indents where it lives might make it easier to 'park'). AAre the tiles easy to cut?

Mucky_Pup · 24 Sep 2018 at 20:00

Easy enough to cut I used a small wood saw and it eased right through it.

theone8181 · 25 Sep 2018 at 07:48

Mucky_Pup said:
Easy enough to cut I used a small wood saw and it eased right through it.

Cool, did you buy those edging strips as well then? And did you need to do any floor repairs first?

Mucky_Pup · 25 Sep 2018 at 10:55

Yeah, I got the edge ones from the same place. No didn’t need to do anything to the floor as it’s a new build so in decent enough condition already.

psd99 · 25 Sep 2018 at 11:32

Interesting thread, paint would be the cheapest?

I might paint mine next year as it is solid concrete and just looks boring lol which paint though is good?