Epoxy garage floor coating vs floor tiles vs vinyl rolls

[Mendota]

In the spirit of car related threads, I want to get some opinions regarding doing a professional epoxy garage floor coating versus something like an interlocking floor tile system or vinyl rolls. Do you have opinions about one versus another as far as aesthetics are concerned, and also longevity or durability?

I have a 3 car garage and the double car bay floor is experiencing some chipping and crumbling on the surface. It was poured in 1989 so it has seen a lot of cold winters. My concrete guy is going to look at it for me and let me know what kind of repair coat might be needed before they could do a professional epoxy sealant over it.

It just got me thinking that if I were to go with a floor tile system or with some of the vinyl roll systems, I could skip the repair process all together and just go right to the tiles or the roll out mat. It would be a somewhat easy weekend project and I wouldn't necessarily need to do the entire floor, either. I could just do the parking bays if I wanted to.

I mainly want to make it look nicer while at the same time protecting the floor. I think that will cut down a lot of the dust that we get in there. What I like about tiles is I can do checkerboard patterns and there are many color options. Rolls seem to be the easiest. Epoxy would cover the entire floor so there would be more uniformity.

For example, here's a floor tile system. It wouldn't have to be this specific brand, it just came up in a search. Lots of colors and style options. https://www.garageflooringinc.com/ga...tro-tiles.html

Just curious to get opinions.

[fastrack1]

Originally Posted by Mendota

In the spirit of car related threads, I want to get some opinions regarding doing a professional epoxy garage floor coating versus something like an interlocking floor tile system or vinyl rolls. Do you have opinions about one versus another as far as aesthetics are concerned, and also longevity or durability?

I have a 3 car garage and the double car bay floor is experiencing some chipping and crumbling on the surface. It was poured in 1989 so it has seen a lot of cold winters. My concrete guy is going to look at it for me and let me know what kind of repair coat might be needed before they could do a professional epoxy sealant over it.

It just got me thinking that if I were to go with a floor tile system or with some of the vinyl roll systems, I could skip the repair process all together and just go right to the tiles or the roll out mat. It would be a somewhat easy weekend project and I wouldn't necessarily need to do the entire floor, either. I could just do the parking bays if I wanted to.

I mainly want to make it look nicer while at the same time protecting the floor. I think that will cut down a lot of the dust that we get in there. What I like about tiles is I can do checkerboard patterns and there are many color options. Rolls seem to be the easiest. Epoxy would cover the entire floor so there would be more uniformity.

For example, here's a floor tile system. It wouldn't have to be this specific brand, it just came up in a search. Lots of colors and style options. https://www.garageflooringinc.com/ga...tro-tiles.html

Just curious to get opinions.

I can't answer about floor tiles or alternatives, but I put the epoxy coating in my four car garage myself about 4 years ago. Besides a couple places that consistently get wet (air conditioning ductwork overhead that drips) the floor still looks great and is not flaking or peeling. I used the system offered by Sherwin Williams

[HHIslander]

I can only speak for epoxy. We just did that last year in our garage and couldn't be happier. We didn't need any work done to the floor beforehand. It took the guys a week, they treated the concrete first, then put a couple of coats down and then did some decorative flaking. It was just under $9 sq/ft which was on the high side, but they were highly recommended. Supposedly it's not as easy to do as it looks. It looks great, makes the garage more of a living space than an outdoor space.

i like those floor tiles. I'd do that in a heartbeat if it's cheaper than epoxy.

[Chewbacca]

There was a solid thread in this late last year I think. Lots of info.

[Sephiroth]

Swisstrax floor tiles were an easy DIY project so I went with that. It’s only been 2 months so can’t comment on durability but I love the look. The tiles can also pop out easily if there are spills that need cleaning.

[Avionics86]

I have the Race Deck flooring, put it down about 10 years ago and it's held up very well.

[Mendota]

Originally Posted by HHIslander

I can only speak for epoxy. We just did that last year in our garage and couldn't be happier. We didn't need any work done to the floor beforehand. It took the guys a week, they treated the concrete first, then put a couple of coats down and then did some decorative flaking. It was just under $9 sq/ft which was on the high side, but they were highly recommended. Supposedly it's not as easy to do as it looks. It looks great, makes the garage more of a living space than an outdoor space.

i like those floor tiles. I'd do that in a heartbeat if it's cheaper than epoxy.

Yeah, I think with my repair work that will be required, then the cost of the epoxy process itself, I believe I am definitely going to be up higher than it would cost for color tiles. The tiles are less than $3 per square foot with free shipping and the nice thing is I don't need to do all of the square footage in the garage, nor do I need to do much for prep work. There also isn't any labor for a 3rd party to have to do it.

If I go that route I would measure out what I need for the single bay and the double bay so that I can do a decorative border around each area. If I go this route, I would do a color pattern with a full border around the double bay parking spot, and then another color pattern with border around the single bay parking spot. In a lot of the photos you see online with the tiles, they will set them up like parking pads so you have the decorative border going around the car like a perimeter. I think it can look pretty cool when done creatively.

[Mendota]

Originally Posted by Chewbacca

There was a solid thread in this late last year I think. Lots of info.

Hey Chewie, thanks for the info! I definitely want to read through it. I have a hard time using the search function. Do you know approximately when that thread might have been going? I can try to look for it this weekend.

[airchitect]

Dunno but I’m kind of in the same boat. Interested to see how it comes out.


Sent using Tapatalk

[Andy0331]

I went with RaceDeck over bare floors out of timing. Didn't have enough time to have professionals strip, clean & prep my garage floors before moving in. The floors definitely needed work, as it was a previous model home & they had glued industrial carpet down in the garage, leaving patterns of old, dried glue when the prior owners ripped it out.

Anyway, to hide glue spots, etc., I just dropped RaceDeck Free-flow tiles over the entire space. I'd say total time was probably in the ballpark of 6 hours for a 3 car garage, including cutting tiles to meet walls & corners. I'm pretty anal about things & unless I'm specifically thinking about what's underneath, this is a 99% solution. You have to get in very close to see the composition of the concrete beneath. Also, as noted above, you can design patterns, etc. that gives it more character.

[Chewbacca]

Originally Posted by Mendota

Hey Chewie, thanks for the info! I definitely want to read through it. I have a hard time using the search function. Do you know approximately when that thread might have been going? I can try to look for it this weekend.

https://www.rolexforums.com/archive/.../t-698928.html


I use Google. Epoxy+floor+rolexforums

The forum search isn’t my fave. Although some say it’s OK.

[BNA/LION]

A lot of good info on this thread. I think this is the one referenced above...

https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=698928

[pickettt]

This is the company we used in our hospitals….which have been very durable for years. https://www.florock.net/

[selpo]

Had epoxy coating done on our garage floor 16 yrs ago and it still looks almost new. I did do it when we built our house and before any cars rolled in! Was pretty darn cheap, too- my builder did it for me, just cost me product cost

[CalSRQ1]

I used racedeck on both my main garage and my workshop. Had epoxy first and was so-so. Did it 10 years ago now and absolutely love it. Easy to clean and maintain.

[Tricolore66]

I have experience with Racedeck and epoxy garage floors, and this is my take. Racedeck looks great when it's new, but it's a pain to clean and starts to show wear and tear over time. I think it's a great floor to use in a man cave or to display a car collection, and the creative options are endless. I just don't think it's the best for a garage that cars are getting moved in and out of daily, with hot tires, dirt, stuff spilling on it, etc.

2 years ago I went with a high-end epoxy with a multi-color flecked finish. It was professionally installed over a 3 day period on an older floor that had some cracks and the moisture issues common in Houston. It still looks like new and it is so much easier to clean than any other floor I've had. I've spilled all kinds of nasty stuff on it wrenching on my sports cars and motorcycles and nothing seems to hurt it. It has a lifetime warranty too. It was around $2,500 for a large-ish 2 car garage.

I think epoxy is the way to go, but it's only as good as the company installing it. After seeing the grinding, crack filling, priming, and final color flake/clearcoat process that went into my floor, I don't see how a DIY install can possibly come close to the final result and longterm durability that a good specialist can give you.

Here's a pic:

[V25V]

I ended up with Polyurea. It's awesome and highly recommend it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[TNT009]

Couldnt be happier with epoxy. Dropped tools with no gouges and a simple hosing to clean!

[colpol]

Following This one

Been talking of doing my garage up for about 10 years now

[Goin2drt]

Had epoxy, Racedeck and now Swisstrax for the second time.

Epoxy looks like he’ll quickly especially when bringing in hot cars in and out all the time.

Racedeck is a thinner plastic tile and doesn’t do well in extreme temp changes as the floor starts to bow and you can’t mount them right up against the wall you have to leave an ugly gap.

Swisstrax has been the best. Mount the tiles right up to the wall. No expanding. When it gets dirty you spray down a little simple green, use a push broom and spray clean with a pressure washer. Like new.
6E80499C-EFCE-4786-A9AC-BDA39C001716.jpeg

[m j b]

Mr. GT3 above, got it right. What he said.

[thedak]

RaceDeck

Vacuum it every now and then.

Mop with Ammonia once a month.

[Mendota]

Originally Posted by colpol

Following This one

Been talking of doing my garage up for about 10 years now

Haha, me too! There is always something else that comes up and I put it off.

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

[Mendota]

Originally Posted by thedak

RaceDeck

Vacuum it every now and then.

Mop with Ammonia once a month.

Nice! What's in the foreground of that shot? It's a cool green.

Is that a speedster in the back on the lift? What do you do with the space underneath it when it's raised? I have also been toying with the idea of getting a lift.

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

[thedak]

Originally Posted by Mendota

Nice! What's in the foreground of that shot? It's a cool green.

Auratium Green

https://rennbow.org/colorwiki/AuratiumGreen

[sleddog]

In my limited experience, Epoxy has been the best.
Extremely durable, easy to clean, and looks great.
As Tricolore66 said above however, if it's done by a pro, doing the correct prep before hand, it will last a lifetime. The home handyman will never get the same results.

[superdog]

My garage floor is scratched to all hell.

But still looks pretty good all things considered.

[Mendota]

Originally Posted by thedak

Auratium Green



https://rennbow.org/colorwiki/AuratiumGreen

What is the Porsche model in front? The lime green modern one.

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

[thedak]

Originally Posted by Mendota

What is the Porsche model in front?

The lime green modern one.

Macan

It is Mamba Green

[Mendota]

Originally Posted by thedak

Macan

Nice green. That Speedster though...

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk