Garage Floor Coatings

[Hoey]

Planning to have my garage floor coated. I am looking for the good, the bad, and the ugly, and any recommendations that may be offered. I was leaning towards an epoxy product, but now an thinking a urethane based product.

[givetoget]

Hoey, we did our garage floor with 2 part epoxy, grey with black and white chips. It is tuff and durable. Put it down 6 years ago and till no chips through to the concrete and my son and I have dropped some heavy stuff on it. We also put on the clear finish with the sand grit, in the beginning it looked great but buy the 2nd year the clear started yellowing and that comes from the sun. There is a strip that I didn't clear and that is still grey so I know its the clear that caused it. also last year the clear started pealing a little. You would not be disappointed with just the epoxy paint.

If you do it yourself have a game plan ahead of time. I acid washed first and let dry for a couple days. You will need help no doubt. One to roll paint, one to mix the next bucket one to be throwing color chips if desired, and maybe one more just for chasing for things that you will need. Once mixed you have to keep moving or it will start setting up on you. Hope this helps. Any other info needed let me know.

[Tom7227]

This subject has been brought up a number of times, most often this time of the year when folks are tired of the slop. Back and forth about slippery or not a problem.

The consistent point is that you have to take time to prep the floor completely and let it dry before you do the actual application. I did the big box store product and put down the chips and they wore off after about 10 years. It is in the basement laundry so slipping isn't a big issue. I did it a second time and didn't use the chips. In fact I still have bags of them left over that you can have.

[WIMN]

The prep is the most important part, if you want an epoxy floor make sure the contractor does the prep right. It's what the coating adheres to and if it's not done right it will start to peel off. I have been looking into different options and vinyl or porcelain tiles are apparently popular and just as durable as an epoxy floor. As with any building material there are pros and cons to each.

Here are a lot of guys projects for garage floors... and a lot of technical discussion about different products. I'm not sure what your budget is but if you were willing to sink a good chunk of cash I'd make sure you do your homework. Even if you do it yourself to save money you are losing a lot of your free time and won't want to re-do it 5 or 10 yrs from now.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=20

[CAMAN]

I'm moving into a new (to me) home in a few weeks and have been planning my garage lately. I have pretty much narrowed it down to Armstrong VCT(vinyl composition tile). Main reason is cost (less than $1 per sq foot complete), durability(used in many commercial/industrial buildings), and I don't have to hire anyone. The one issue I have is upkeep, it needs to be waxed/coated regularly, though a good thorough cleaning and coating once a year doesn't scare me.

I was a large advocate for epoxy garage floors until I found out two different people I know had their floors done by two separate contractors and both have large sections of the floor that remained tacky even years afterwards. Both contacted the installer and both claim "we've never seen that before", come out, look at it, try a couple things, then leave and say "we'll look into it" then stop all contact. Also I realized the colors and "designs" you can get from epoxy just doesn't appeal to me anymore.

[Archtek]

CAMAN, have you talked to Armstrong's Tech Support about using VCT in a garage? I ask because I looked at VCT for a three season porch maybe 10 years ago and they did not recommend it. If I recall it was more an issue of the adhesive than the VCT. Adhesives just aren't what they used to be 20 to 30 years ago with the old cut-back adhesives that were very high in VOC's and even asbestos.

[CAMAN]

Just g00gle "VCT Garage" and you will find hundreds if not thousands of users of VCT in garages. Also many people on GarageJournal have done it with high success as well. No idea why they wouldn't want you to use it in a porch, (possibly the substrate?), but over concrete, with the correct prep, adhesive, sealant, and cure time, it's very little risk.

I have read to use only Armstrong tiles, adhesive, and sealant, and stay away from the other brands found in big box stores.

[outdoors247]

You really piqued my interest in VCT flooring. I googled it as you mentioned and saw a lot of sport cars sitting in warm weather climate garages.

Do you know anyone in the midwest that has done this. I was just wondering about the salt and sand. I would think the salt would be bad for the wax and sealing polish you put on the floor. I would also think that the sand would do a number on the "shine" of the floor. Very curious about those two issues. I have to say they look great though!

[delcecchi]

You really piqued my interest in VCT flooring. I googled it as you mentioned and saw a lot of sport cars sitting in warm weather climate garages.

Do you know anyone in the midwest that has done this. I was just wondering about the salt and sand. I would think the salt would be bad for the wax and sealing polish you put on the floor. I would also think that the sand would do a number on the "shine" of the floor. Very curious about those two issues. I have to say they look great though!

How does it stand up to (perish the thought) something that drips oil? Or gas? or anti-freeze? (just a few of the things that have ended up on my garage floor over the years)

[CAMAN]

Here is a thread of a few guys that have had it installed for over a year in their daily driver garage. The OP is from Wisconsin and the floor looks like new. Others are from Kansas, New York, and Virginia.

The nice thing about VCT is most of the time the wax or sealer takes the brunt of the damage. If and when it gets damaged by gas or oil you are able to take wax stripper clean it off to bare tile and recoat. Most of the time a small spill will wipe right up as long as it doesn't sit too long. If the damage is bad enough or all the way to the tile just chisel up the damaged tile and replace. Don't get me wrong, VCT is NOT for the "set it and forget it" type person, but it isn't a constant hastle either, regular cleaning, and occasional waxing or sealing when needed if you'd like to keep it shiny.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=234997

[Macgyver55]

From the Armstrong site:

" During the service life of the floor, the temperature should never rise above 100°F (38°C) nor fall below 55°F (13°C). The performance of the flooring material and adhesives can be adversely affected outside this temperature range."

You can draw your own conclusions, but this product would not last in my shop and I heat it full time (45 when I am not using it) and air condition it in the summer. Even keeping it warm all winter it still "sweats" in the spring when it warms up. Unless you plan on heating warmer than that, plan on moisture problems and associated delamination especially near the overhead doors.

[Kyle]

I would recommend going to your local Sherwin-Williams store. I used to be a commercial coatings rep, and also worked in a few stores. They have at least a couple choices for garage floors. The cheaper one is a kit that doesn't require acid etching if I remember correctly however it doesn't provide the extreme durability that the better option will provide. These are epoxy based coatings. I have no affiliation to the company anymore, but my experience with these products as well as seeing many other failed products on garage floors leaves me extremely confident in their products. Good luck.

[BoxMN]

I used to want a "nice" floor in my garage. But on advice of my cousin a concrete guy, I have left it alone. I am so glad I did, for my uses. The jacks, stands, carbides on sleds, oils/grease/fluids, dragging saws and machines, etc. and I am not even a rookie mechanic.

But they sure do look nice. I prefer just the necessary sweep it up with the sawdust and oil absorbant and call it a day

Now, went I do my cabin "toybox" garage and party room, I am going to stain the party room seal it, area but leave the toy area normal concrete with some SureStep in sealer (have that in the existing one and it works nice for keeping the slickness down).

Please post follow up pics when you get finished, would be great to see how it turns out and holds up. Good luck.

[Hoey]

Sherwin William product is going down. I looked at a poly urea and an epoxy hybrid specialized contractors. All were priced about the same.

S W was what my concrete contractor (CC) recommended and offered, no surprise. I went with the CC since nothing has gone well. I wanted the CC to own the job, so that one contractor can not blame the other.

The old floor left winter slop puddles near the house entrance and the workbench area.

So the new floor, poured during the mid-Nov snow storm, was not adequately sloped in some areas to the installed floor drains. There were a couple of low spots and a couple areas that drained to the garage door and would freeze down in the winter. My CC resolved this with some grinding and overlays.

Half the floor is now complete. My CC allowed us to move everything to one side. Later this week they will do the other side. The other contractors wanted everything out. One even offered to rent a temporary storage container.

Once the floor is done, the CC will be repointing the foundation that was cracked during the removal of the old floor.

The exterior walls have been insulated. The walls and ceiling have been painted. New shelving is up and loaded. Once the floor is done, then I can install the base cover molding. I will post some photos when done.

[derbier122x]

Can't wait for the pictures. Sounds more like a showroom than a garage.

[PurpleFloyd]

Vanberg coatings makes an epoxy that is tough enough for commercial use. http://www.vanbergcoatings.com/

[Hoey]

Here is a before photo of the floor along the wall.  You can see the block footing is wider than the wall.  I filled these voids with spray foam. 

Here is an after photo.  Floor is in. 

Vinyl base cove molding in on.

[derbier122x]

Looking good

[delcecchi]

Looks better than my kitchen.

[PurpleFloyd]

Looks better than my kitchen.

​I could fix that.

[Moose]

Could a product like this be used to refinish a laminate counter top in a residential kitchen?

[delcecchi]

​I could fix that.

​You can get my wife to decide what she wants?  You have hidden talent. 

[derbier122x]

Could a product like this be used to refinish a laminate counter top in a residential kitchen?

I would think it would last if you prepped the surface well enough.

[Pat K]

Could a product like this be used to refinish a laminate counter top in a residential kitchen?

​Rustoleum makes a counter top transformation kit that is designed for laminate counter tops.

[perchking]

looks good