Expo garage flooring

[cstamm81]

I read through the Expo garage thread and it got me thinking about garage flooring. The epoxy floors look really nice but I have heard a lot of bad things with even professional installs as far as lifting on the product goes. I see a few people recommended RaceDeck http://www.racedeck.com/
My concern with this style of flooring is fluids getting between the tiles. They even say you can hose off the tiles, but I can't see how that wouldnt leave a ton of water trapped below. All of the tiling pictures shure look pretty, but what I need is functionality not a place to park 3 freshly waxed Ferrari's.
I also ran across this roll out garage flooring, apparently it can be purchased at Costco http://www.bltllc.com/blt_main.htm
So who has experience with what for a garage that actually has real work done in it?

 

[j_nigrelli]

epoxy is only as good as the guy running the shotblaster. plus they're slippery as hell when wet if there isn't some grit put in it.

 

[goodtimes]

Epoxy is ~80% prep work and 20% material.

Some of it holds up better than others, assuming it is mixed properly.

Shot blasting is a good way to prep a surface...but not always needed. I just cleaned my garage floor about 5 years ago with a citrus cleaner of some sort (recommended by the epoxy MFR), and I haven't had any problems with it, other than it is getting a bit dull.

 

[Rockcrawler]

Epoxy is ~80% prep work and 20% material.

Some of it holds up better than others, assuming it is mixed properly.

Shot blasting is a good way to prep a surface...but not always needed. I just cleaned my garage floor about 5 years ago with a citrus cleaner of some sort (recommended by the epoxy MFR), and I haven't had any problems with it, other than it is getting a bit dull.

I agree... mine is about 4 years old now and have one spot about 2 inch by 1 inch that has peeled up. I'm assuming that it was poor prep in that area... it also is right under the front of the Dodge and is subjected to the extra pressure of the front tires turning back and forth to the the Dodge into position in the garage... it is a tight fit to say the least.

Kyle

 

[mhiscox]

I had terrible results with some epoxy put down in a storage area by a construction crew-level painter and medium results when I put it down in the garage myself with a helper. In spite of meticulous attention to detail, the paint still lifted in places where the car tires sat. But it has held up very well where the car tires aren't, so what I have now is the epoxy job everywhere, but with cheap multipurpose carpet mats under the cars themselves.

I've also used the plastic tiles extensively. I've had Motormat tiles for about a decade now, and I believe them to be the best balance between quality and cost. There is an issue of stuff falling down the perforations, but outside of loosing a tiny ball bearing or screw every couple of years, it hasn't been a problem. I doubt anyone would want to mop them regularly to keep them all shiny; I just sweep and they do look a little grundgy, but far better than anything else with comparable care. I like this flooring a lot.

I also have some of the Costco tiles. They were a bit cheaper, and are fully functional, but I don't like them as well. The tiles are harder, more "plasticky"/less "rubbery" (though the Motormat tiles are themselves pretty hard) and don't seem as comfortable. One of the big advantages to the Motormat tiles over the Costco tiles is that the Motormat tiles aren't embossed with anything. Think twice before getting tiles with a pattern on them, as it's more bothersome if you're kneeling on a bunch of sharp-edged bumps.

I can answer questions or post pictures if they'd be helpful.

 

[mog]

99% of my experience is with painted hangar floors. All have held up very well. Our current hangar floor is still fine after 18 years (put on WWII concrete, so 45 years old at time of painting) with a 25,000 lb (at gross weight) aircraft on it. We put carpet squares under the tires so we don't get black marks when they are hot after landing. Of course the paint was $100 a gallon in 1990 (humm, 196,000 sq. ft. one gallon covers 200 sq. ft. so that works out to $10,000 in just paint, no labor!).
Plus side is they are very easy to clear, reflexes tons of light under the aircraft for inspects and work, and look great/professional to the passengers. Down side (besides cost) is slippery then ******** ! I can't count the number of slip & falls we have had. The cheaper floor paint I put in the shop, su*ks. It really shows every mark, even from tool box wheels.
Another option that I like is what a buddy did in his shop/garage. He had the concrete polished. It sealed it up, looks great, but no issued with peeling or marks. It was cheaper then painting, but not cheap as professional done as you need special equipment.

 

[cstamm81]

The airplane hangar paint sounds great, but at 100 bucks a gallon a little too steep for me. You do get what you pay for though. The slipperiness of it would be a killer too. It sounds like DIY results would probably stink from an epoxy, which is why I am leaning towards either tiles or even roll out vinyl.

mhiscox, if you have pictures of your motormat tiles they would be great, but don't kill yourself to get them... Where did you purchase that brand of tile? Thanks for the comment on the Costco tiles, as I was looking at them.

 

[mhiscox]

mhiscox, if you have pictures of your motormat tiles they would be great, but don't kill yourself to get them... Where did you purchase that brand of tile? Thanks for the comment on the Costco tiles, as I was looking at them.

Here's a couple of pictures of the Motormat I have in the garage. As I say, it's about 10 years old and maybe seriously cleaned just once or twice in that time. The tiles can be cleaned up pretty well if one cares enough:

Now for the semi-bad news . . . I bought my tiles directly from motormat.com, but they seem to be out of business, at least as a direct seller. If you google "Motormat," you can find some places that still appear to have stock. If you can find what you want, I wouldn't worry about buying this orphaned product; it's not the sort of thing that's going to need warranty work.

 

[mog]

Here's a couple of pictures of the Motormat I have in the garage.

Mike, how slippery do the tiles get? I see standing water can drain throught them, but are they bad until they dry out? BTW nice weather you are having up there

 

[mhiscox]

Mike, how slippery do the tiles get? I see standing water can drain throught them, but are they bad until they dry out? BTW nice weather you are having up there

This weather has been a PITA. Portland isn't Chicago or Syracuse and we really don't handle the snow well. Since they started recordkeeping started in the 1870's, there'd only been 5 White Christmases, three with trace amounts and two with an inch. This year, depending on where you were in the metro area, there was anywhere from 12 to 22 inches. The snow removal equipment--actually mostly old dump trucks with a blade--gets overmatched pretty easily, and most secondary roads (not to mention neighborhoods) don't get touched. It's melting now--good riddance--and everybody's out today cureing their cabin fever.

As for the Motormat, I wouldn't count the slipperiness as a major drawback. The tile surfaces have a little wobble to them, which might help, and the holes definitely give a place for the water to go. I've never dumped myself given the regular kind of shoe treads you'd wear in a shop, though I can imagine a set of smooth leather soles might require caution. Bottom line is that I wouldn't count the slipperiness as much of a drawback unless you're doing something--like car washing--that would regularly dump a lot of water on it.

 

[86scotty]

Hello, I am getting closer to laying the new floor in my 1974 Arrowglass Cougar and really don't want to put carpet back in it. I was wondering about the epoxy garage floor coatings you can buy at Lowes. Would this adhere to the plywood floor and how waterproof would it be? Thanks

I would recommend starting a new thread with a title more specific to your situation. Plus, this thread is 14 years old.

 

[Choff]

Had our EPOXY garage floor done in Wisconsin done last year, had spalling and cracks that were fixed also, no one day installation , took two days, looks new and went through salt and winter, no problems
$2,600 dollars later also.
You pay for what you get too!!!

 

[billiebob]

Big factor with any finish is following the install instructions. How old is the concrete? Age is a factor as fresh concrete is giving off moisture for months after the pour. But read the directions including room temperature. And don't cut any corners.