When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Anyone wanting to do Ucoat-it epoxy....Mention code UC716PD and that will get you 20% off, only good until July 1st.
I have Epoxyshield that's lasted 10 years on my floor but will be grinding off to go with something stronger. It held up well for a box store coating but I also did the clear coat.
Another brand is Armorclad Epoxy that has a lifetime warranty and supposedly very strong, but I have no first hand experience with it.
This floor is about 10 years old and had never had a finish applied. After going over the floor with a diamond grinder to give the surface grip, all the small cracks were opened up with a grinder and then filled with a fine sand and epoxy mixture.<br ><br >
After a few hours the excess chips were vacuumed and scraped up. Then a clear epoxy was mixed and spread.<br ><br >
<br >
Once the cracks were filled an epoxy color coat was applied and then the color chips spread.<br ><br >
After about 36 hours the floor was ready for heavy traffic. Lifetime warranty, we'll see!<br ><br>
My sons garage done back in May. Looks great and only took about 7 hours start to finish. Expensive but if it holds up it will be a good investment.
about to complete a 2-car shop, and one of the vehicles with have 31" x 13" slicks
any idea if the soft rubber would lift the tiles off the floor when the car is moved-around?
They are a strong hard plastic like polyethylene and hook together with a tooth and loop system.
They don't move but you could pin a few corners to the floor if you don't go to the walls and the tiled area is small.
People also use them at race events as it's easy to break the floor down in 4 ft squares
and put it together with a mallet.
It ships in 4 ft squares so if you want to do checker you have to break them down which
is easy, just pulling them over your knee with 2 hands.
Here's a pic at 1/2 way done starting around the lift.
The hooks are very strong for their size as to breaking the floor apart infinite times over and over if you take a floor to the race track
A floor like this being portable is also removable should you want to take it with you if/when you move.
Last edited by StrangelovesM6Vert; Jun 25, 2016 at 03:33 PM.
Lots of great ideas, however, where you live makes a big difference. If you do any of these things in the southern states chances are it will hold up and look nice for a long time. In northern states you could have a real mess on your hands if whatever you do doesn't hold up over the winters with below zero temps, salt droppings, etc.
One fairly inexpensive thing to do is to install several large rubber mats that come in different colors and styles. This provides a nice clean look that will not create issues down the road when the expensive floor covering begins to deteriorate and become an eyesore!
I did the Rustoleum Pro epoxy shield. These are bad pics but here they are. I did it about a year ago when i moved in and still holding up great. Its one coat of the epoxy and chips and one coat of the clear. I did mess up a few spots where i didn't cover it all with the clear with i have since fixed it.
Last edited by zdeckich; Jun 27, 2016 at 11:46 AM.
Garage floor epoxy: You have to be careful what you buy, they are not all the same. The worst is water based. Most of them are aromatic (will fade if exposed to the sun) and most get hot tire marks.
Metallic reflector epoxy: You can do it yourself, but you may want a pro do it so that you get the look you want.
Polyaspartic polyurea (PAP): Not as common of a name as epoxy, but PAP is better than most garage floor epoxy because they are aliphatic (won't fade if exposed to the sun), does not get hot tire marks, has better physical properties than most epoxies (such as elongation, tear strength, etc.). PAP's also have a faster return to service time.
LINE-X Aspart-X (PAP) being applied. I own a LINE-X franchise. This is a multi-millon dollar home! Boring colors though, but that's what they wanted.
I switched from Epoxy to industrial non-slip tile about 15 years ago - took me a whole weekend to install. I needed longer, but I only had 2 days break. No broken tiles yet! Very easy to keep clean.
I did the Rustoleum Pro epoxy shield. These are bad pics but here they are. I did it about a year ago when i moved in and still holding up great. Its one coat of the epoxy and chips and one coat of the clear. I did mess up a few spots where i didn't cover it all with the clear with i have since fixed it.
I also used the same only I did two coats, holding up well !!!!!
I considered the linoleum planks that look like wood. But as akapounder stated, my floor had a bunch of various sized "pot holes" in it and I was worried it would tear through in time. I'm also in Chicago and my wife's car brings in all kinds of snow and salt during the winter months. I worried the cold would just make them lift. If I had a heated garage or floors it would be a different story.
I ended up just doing Rustoleum epoxy, think it was a pro series (basically a step up kit also sold at big box stores). Did it about 4-5 years ago(?) and it hasn't faired very well. Have a lot of areas on my wife's side that has lifted because the surface underneath crumbled. When it does, I sometimes find white sulfur residue from the winter salt.
Think it came down to my prep and the lack of clear coat. I did muratic acid to etch the concrete per directions, but being that this was 60 year old concrete I should have done more. In retrospect, I should have spent more money to have it diamond ground and all pot holes filled in and smoothed over. Then finished with a clear coat.
Still looks better overall than the original slab and makes cleaning easy. But someday, I'll plan to do it over to get better results.
I considered the linoleum planks that look like wood. But as akapounder stated, my floor had a bunch of various sized "pot holes" in it and I was worried it would tear through in time. I'm also in Chicago and my wife's car brings in all kinds of snow and salt during the winter months. I worried the cold would just make them lift. If I had a heated garage or floors it would be a different story.
I ended up just doing Rustoleum epoxy, think it was a pro series (basically a step up kit also sold at big box stores). Did it about 4-5 years ago(?) and it hasn't faired very well. Have a lot of areas on my wife's side that has lifted because the surface underneath crumbled. When it does, I sometimes find white sulfur residue from the winter salt.
Think it came down to my prep and the lack of clear coat. I did muratic acid to etch the concrete per directions, but being that this was 60 year old concrete I should have done more. In retrospect, I should have spent more money to have it diamond ground and all pot holes filled in and smoothed over. Then finished with a clear coat.
Still looks better overall than the original slab and makes cleaning easy. But someday, I'll plan to do it over to get better results.
