I know I have seen a few posts on the forum from members who have done amazing things with their floors. I have painted my garage and now I want to do a black and white checkered pattern on the floor.

Ceramic tile would be too pricy I think, but correct me if I'm wrong.
Vinyl tile seems more reasonable - maybe a commercial grade tile. Seems I can't find any pure white tiles though.

So, please post pictures of your garages and garage floors and please be as specific as possible about manufacturers, where you bought it, maybe even part numbers. I have gone to Home Depot and they said they don't sell white commerical grade vinyl tiles. I recall a member here saying he did buy the stuff for his floor from HD.

My garage is about 22' X 22'. It is starting to get cold here in New Jersey, so that might affect what I can do now also. I purchased Rustoleum Epoxy Shield, light gray, but I have not yet applied it as it is not what I really want.

Motormat is too expensive so I ruled that out already.

Your assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 

I am about to do the same thing, so will share anything I can find. I have a new home due to complete about Mid-November - nice three car garage for the Vettes. I plan to use the same Rustoleum Epoxy product initially, but I also want to find affordable tile. I have looked in HD and found the older style hard vinyl 12" tiles for about $.50 per square foot. I am beginning to look for a source for the same product with more color choice - I would also like a black/white pattern. I think it should be easy to find a supplier with a left over supply of this older style stuff for an even lower price. I am also going to check with the company installing all the flooring in the new house - they might have some suggestions.

 

i did a search and found where someone used armstrong vct from home depot.
i remember reading about a heavy duty grade tile that is used in supermarkets.

 

I recently painted my floor with Griots epoxy (light gray). First you acid etch the floor (twice) with muriatic acid, then apply two coats (1 per day) and let dry for 4 days.

It turned out very well. It has a high gloss shine (a bit slippery when wet), seals it, looks great and is easy too clean. I highly recommend it.

The paint is $55/gallon (used 3 gals.) plus the acid, about $200 total. A great investment.

 

There is a place in Salt Lake City that makes tiles that are especially for garage floors. They have a certain amount of cushion to them, also. It was discussed here on the forum quite a while ago. If I can find it I will post the link. It was very cool looking and easy to install with lots of color options. They also had a chart for calculating the size and # of tiles.

 

Do NOT NOT NOT use that Rustoleum product, as it will probably not prevent tire lift. Several of my neighbors used it and similar acrylic enamel products and are now hating life.

If you REALLY want to do the job right, got to http://www.ucoatit.com I just got done doing my garage floor (20x20), and it's the real deal. It's an unusual, thin, runny two-part WATER BASED epoxy, so it has no affinity to tires once it has cured. Price is $250 for a kit that contains everything (rollers, brushes, stirrers, and a big bucket to mix it all in) except muriatic acid (1 gallon, $5 bucks, but not at Home Depot. HD only carries phosporic acid, which is not as "nasty". Try a hardware store or a pool supply) Anyway, I strongly endorse this product. It's the same stuff used in dealerships and hangars, but packaged for us homeowner guys.

First coat looks awful, as it literally soaks into the concrete. Second coat is killer!

Several colors are available, and this website shows several fancy painted floors....logos and such. Black and white checkerboard would be doable, but it's a masking nightmare.



[Modified by tracy, 2:20 PM 10/25/2001]

 

I have a combo of capeting and black/medium gray checkerboard tiles. They are the Armstrongs from HD. I will try to get you a picture. Armstrong makes a white tile too but I would not use it personally because even the gray tiles darken somewhat where the tires sit. I would imagine the whites would be alot more maintenance.

 

Also, if I remember correctly, the Armstrongs were about $.60 a foot. If I was doing the whole floor with no carpet involved, I would spend the extra money for ceramic tile. You can get cheap stuff at HD for around $1 a foot. Ceramic tile won't move at all, doesn't need any sealer, and will hold up worlds beter. Grouting will increase the cost and work a bit, but IMO it's worth it.

 

Here is another alternative...I am still searching for the other. http://www.calcarcover.com/product.a...o+Product+List

 

Here is the link that I was looking for. This would give you a very cool custom garage. :lol: http://www.motormat.com/main.html

 

I use floor jacks and axle stands in my garage. I would think that this would tear up most tile, but be OK with paint. Does anyone have any experience with this?

 

This two-part stuff that I talked about above (actually 3 for the first bond coat) seems to hold up quite well. It's very hard, like glass. You can certainly chip it off, but I had my car in the air the other day using the floor jack and stands and there were no marks at all when done. Vinyl tile would gouge in a heartbeat. Ceramic would not, but I don't want to roll a floor jack across the grout lines. In fact, it would get "caught" on the grout lines when you're jacking the car and the jack is supposed to move as the car goes up. Not good, as it will tilt the stands instead. This is my grievance with those Nylok (Nytek?) plastic tiles. Looks good, but not practical for doing work on the car.

I'm telling ya.......www.ucoatit.com is the ****!!!!





[Modified by tracy, 4:44 PM 10/25/2001]

 

I used Sherwin-Williams two part epoxy on my garage floor. I went with a light beige in color. They will mix any color you want. It cleans up real easily. :chevy

 

I did mine with Ucoat it. It was a 40 year old garage floor, with 40 years of motorcycle drippings, car drippings, paint from building a dune buggy etc.
I washed the floor three times with simple green and the ucoat it cleaner and solvent, followed up with a muriatic acid wash.

I applied the first coat to a TOO WET floor. It should have been just damp, so I needed a third coat( third gallon) to cover it. I have had some tire patch lifting, but not bad. I don't know if it was the too wet first coat, or the 40 years of grease. I suggested to ucoat it that they sell smaller batches, ie quarts to patch the bad spots , but I got no reply. When I needed the third gallon in a big hurry, I called them and had them air freight out a gallon. The sales person even asked me for a lot number to insure a color match, and got it out after 5:00 pm his time, so I could have it the next day. Great service.

I used the anti-slip material to insure I wouldn't fall on my rear when the floor was wet, and it REALLY WORKS. In fact, if you use it, use it very lightly, like half the supplied amount. The whole bottle on a 25 X 22 garage made the floor like sandpaper. You will not slip, but it hurts the knees while kneeling. I like the finish, as during the winter ice will drop off the car and get the foor wet, so you really need some type of anti-slip properties. Also the squeege that I bought to help scrub the floor clean, doesn't work well after applying the anti-skid stuff.

I know this reply has some negatives, but it could have been my fault in the application, and I firmly believe that there is some grease that you can never get up, and on a floor this old, I could not get all of the floor to not "bead" when wetting during cleaning. NO paint, epoxy, urethane, glue or anything will stick to a greasy floor.
If you have ever used Armorall or any stuff that has silicone in it, you won't get anything to REALLY stick to the floor. I use armorall on my tires outside in the driveway, and the armorall spots on the ground don't even get wet in a hard rain.

The water based epoxy is very convenient for clean-up of brushes and rollers, and for splatters etc. Also no smell or solvents to evaporate.

I like my garage floor. Here's a pic. More pics on my website link to site

 

I used Glidden Chemical Resistant Epoxy. The brochure showed it used at a refinery, and I decided "this is for me." I preped with a muriatic wash. Two coats with a heavy nap roller. You MUST use a chemical respirator with this stuff or you will be stupid or dead by the time you are done.
It is incredible, no lifting. The epoxy to concrete bond is greater than the internal bond of the concrete. The only place where there is missing paint, there is missing concrete. This only comes from dropping air tools, jack stands, etc.
I give it a coat of wax once or twice a year to reduce tire staining and improve clean ability. I clean most stains with scotchbrite and finish with wax. It is 8+ years and still gets compliments.





[Modified by C5 Tweaker, 8:15 PM 10/25/2001]

 

http://jonesy.homeip.net/vette/

Floor is from Motormat http://www.motormat.com

Cost a little over $1000 shipped for my 2 car garage.

 

MotorMat here...Easy install easy clean...No problems....Very Happy

More info and pics............ http://home.att.net/~jansseng/Garage.htm







[Modified by Black_Magic, 8:03 AM 10/26/2001]

 

Hey Black Magic,

I thought about using the motormat but I'm concerned about cleaning up spills. Doesn't whatever gets splilled just make it's way down to the concrete? Then wouldn't you have to lift the mat to clean under it? Or, do they make a solid motormat?

Thanks,



[Modified by tfinzel, 3:09 PM 10/26/2001]

 

Black Magic, you are really pissing me off. I love your garage, but it looks like about $1500 for the floor. I spent about $1000 this year air conditioning mine. I've done walls, but about to re do them - couple hundred more $. Does $1500 sound about right for the floor for my 3 car garage?

The web address below has some pics of my current garage.
http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c5/jsc...e_My_Car.shtml