What Floor?

[Richard]

I've moved house and have a large garage with concrete floor - not totally smooth as it was not skimmed. In my last house I painted my floor and generally it lasted for 20 years but by then the paint was in poor shape around car areas. I now want to do something with the floor so what have others done?

My main concern is using a trolley jack (point loading), dropping hammers, metal bits, etc, and generally moving things around such as an engine hoist with engine lifted. My choices seem to be:

- Paint - yes paint does not stay where car tyres roll.
- Epoxy paint - similar?
- Two pack epoxy paint - how good is it really?
- Resin flooring - whilst strong, does it chip using a trolley jack?
- Commercial grade flooring - same?
- Commercial grade vinyl / PVC - floor not totally smooth.
- Rubber flooring from a roll - too soft for trolley jacks and engine hoists?
- Click together honeycomb tiles - similar problems?
- Click together higher / commercial grade tiles - similar problems or do they withstand jacks, etc..

I appreciate there are variants within each category but it's difficult to choose which one / make.

I'm covering 45m2 so it will not be cheap.

Any suggestions / help appreciated. Thanks.

[steve m]

Mine is painted, and could really do with a refresh, as about 5 years old
Do you do any welding or grinding ? as about 25 years ago, I was given some lino, and did the garage in that,
it lasted, pretty well 20 years, but was covered in holes from welding and heavy grinding and paint stains etc,

but would wash up very well, if any oil was spilt,

A garage of your size could be deigned to incorporate an area for welding grinding and dirty ish work and perhaps an industrial carpet over the lino to protect it

If I had that type of space, that is what I would do

steve

[Richard]

Many thanks for all your suggestions and I've been pondering it all. My current decision ....

- I did consider ceramic tiles but they are not cheap and 50m2 is a lot of laying.
- Paint - No as it really is not tough enough and I don't want to keep on re-doing it.
- Epoxy paint - same
- Two pack epoxy paint - seems it's just a different way of the same so no.
- Resin flooring - Most of this is only 1mm thick and expensive. You need a smooth surface so that my floor needs grinding down first. In the end I got a quote for 1mm thick professionally laid at about £1,500. 5mm thick professionally laid at a whopping £4,500 and even 3mm DIY at just over £1,200 for materials. I'm not convinced at it resisting a dropped hammer, trolley jacks, axle stands, etc, either.
- Commercial grade vinyl / PVC rolls - my floor is not totally smooth so needs the surface ground down first. It's quite expensive and some needs gluing.
- Rubber flooring from a roll - similar price as tiles and as my floor is a big area it is probably difficult to lay from heavy rolls. Can't play about with colours either(!)
- Click together honeycomb tiles - not strong enough for trolley jacks, axle stands, etc
- Click together higher / commercial grade tiles - They come in 5mm, 7mm and one at 15mm thick tiles. I have been told by several companies that they (7mm grade) are fine for trolley jacks, axle stands, etc, and will recover from dents unless point loaded for 6+ weeks so that's OK with me. Costs are around £1,600 - £1,800 and loads of colours and textures. Bearing in mind I have a large 7m x 7m garage it seems that's not a bad price. That's my choice.

Thanks again for all the feedback - blue + grey and a touch of yellow it looks like being.

[scotty]

Stable tiles like they use for horses,really really tough do them in thick and think worth a look,our garage at work(not commercial by any means) has mostly bikes in it by jeeps and the kit have been in there plenty over the years and thats just floor tiles on concrete floor.

[Tony B]

What about horse stable mats?, if you bugger one up with a bit of welding then just buy another to replace it?

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... 24&alt=web

Or

http://equineplus.co.uk/horse-stable-mats.html

[Tony B]

Ha, scotty just beat me to it

[Richard]

as I said, last night I had decided but woke up in the middle of the night and realised that as I do welding, almost all the floor coverings will melt and if a red hot piece of metal falls off the bench ....

So I'll have a look at horse tiles otherwise I'm just wondering if I now have to put up with paint as it kind of worked over the last 20 years.

Yours, still in a quandary!

[scotty]

Leave the bit round the bench painted.

[Richard]

Leave the bit round the bench painted.

Good point. May work out a design for this. Then I could use a welding blanket as well (probably should have used one before instead of a an old wool blanket.

Stable mats are too soft so a trolley jack would be in danger of slipping over as the mat gives.

[Richard]

Well in the end I went for a painted floor around the workbench area - some rubbery type paint from Brewers and seems quite good. For the main floor I went for 7mm (quality ones) tiles from GarageTek that ultimately came from EcoTiles. Finally completed floor in light grey where cars stand and blue for surround with yellow trim. much impressed when I fitted it all in March.

I happened to spill some petrol in May and again in June and found the light grey tiles had stained. Then a week ago noticed a couple of oil drops from my Dax that missed my drip tray. Initial response from manufacture was it must have been an additive or warm tyres. However they (EcoTiles) have just turned up on site and told me yes, all tiles will stain and light tile colours will show it! They only recommend black / graphite tiles where a car stands so that you don't see the stains!

Hmm. Now would one not have thought garage floor tiles should not stain with petrol and oil? What is the point, otherwise. Having forked out £1,500 I'm a little miffed so now deciding what to do. EcoTiles say they tell everyone they stain however having read again http://www.ecotileflooring.com/applicat ... -flooring/ I cannot see this here. In fact they seem to suggest the opposite.

Does anyone know of garage flooring that actually does not stain?

They also say depressions from trolley jacks and axle stands may not come out especially after a period of time.