go cheap, for $39 at Home Depot you can get any color/texture of indoor/outdoor carpeting you want. plus they will cut it to your specs. too easy, and your tires will love it when its cold outside

 

They are a vendor here. I bought mine through the board with a discount. It ships UPS ground out of Salt Lake City, don't remember the cost though. Great customer service and response, I was one tile short and they promptly sent me another.

I've tried many types of flooring and Racedeck is the best.

Use a jigsaw for your corner cuts, table saw tends to get hot and melts the plastic.

 

NJ911 I surprised my father 3 years ago by having his garage epoxied by professionals. I had previously painted it with a 2 part homedepot industrial epoxy mix 10 yrs prior with a pre-muriatic etch. While it did hold for the most part, there was some minor lift from the tires of his performance cars, scratches from the snowblowers/shovels/jacks, and what was most annoying to me was pits and crevices which I didn't fill from the old concrete garage floor.

The NJ crew took 3 days and actually filled all the cracks, sanded, etched, painted (with chips), and then clear coated. The prep work was superb.
My parents loved the marbleized look of the floor which also proves to be less slippery when wet compared to the prior DIY application. It still gets abused by the carjack, snowblower, shovels, generator, etc without any visible scratches or damage. Cleanup is extremely easy with a leafblower and occasional powerwasher (40 degree fan). I spray a citrus based cleaner and wipe clean when there are oil/gas/chemical spills. Additionally when I visit I park my 991 in the garage after a spirited drive and have seen no evidence of tire liftoff.

I was initially debating between epoxy and tiles (wasn't a fan of the racedeck with water filling in the cracks from melted snow) and was worried about ceramic tiles cracking from cold weather or stress from objects falling on it. I'm glad I went the epoxy route.

 

I wanted to chime in and add my 2cents.
I'm an architect and epoxied my living room floor.
If you want a concrete looking floor, you would first put a self-leveller, mixed with dur-a-tec bonding agent (so it won't crack) down over your structural concrete and then put a clear poly over it. That way the concrete finish is consistent and you won't see any aggregate.

If you wanted a solid color, roll a couple coats of epoxy before the poly. Look at decocrete.
With drying time it would take a minimum of four days, two days of application.

It's simple enough to do with a friend, a bucket, and a mixer.

Otherwise you can have your concrete sealed for a more industrial look.

991/50 C2S 7MT X51 SPASM PDCC

 

Thanks Faz, what part of NJ are you guys in? Do you have any issues with the water table and bubbling as mentioned earlier in the thread?

Appreciate the feedback Moje, I've seen a few techniques that produce a granite / marble appearance, which would be my first preference. Are those hardwood floors you're epoxying over??

I guess my concern remains the 4 day timeline, as I'd need to find somewhere to keep the 991 out of the elements during that period.

 

I'd go with a ceramic tile floor. There is even a thread in the Garage forum about it. https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...age-floor.html

 

Parents are in Short Hills. The installers did warn me possible issues down the line (to protect themselves), but I have not seen any bubbling etc. I even had them pain the weather strip (the part of the garage exposed to the elements) which they told me they can not warranty at all. This 12" strip still looks new. I'm sure with time and UV light it will weather but thus far still looks good.

 

If it survived the winter we just had I'm sure it'll be fine! I guess depending on the elevation in SH, we could be in a similar situation. I'm just off ext 120, with a pretty heavy clay base. Maybe I'll just have my landscapers extend the pavers in the driveway through the garage : )

 

Can I tile over epoxy, or do I have to remove the epoxy first?

 

Can I Tile over epoxy, or do I have to remove the old epoxy first?

 

NJ911 my parents have a pretty decent slope in front of the house with the lowest part aimed towards the garage side of the house. We did have some drains placed to help divert water but there must still be some water logging around the cinder blocks which make up the garage.

I may be by this weekend. You're more than welcome to swing by and see the floor if that would help in your decision making process.

dhill911 I don't see why not but I would assume for the best adhesion, etching the surface with a product like muriatic acid would help. Then again your best bet is consulting with a mason/tiler.

 

Appreciate that Faz. I'll be in Cleveland this weekend, or I would have definitely taken you up on the offer. Would you be able to snap a pic or 2?

I know what you mean on the water, I had to run 3" PVC underground from my gutters to the edge of my property, to reroute whatever surface water we get. Luckily there's a well there, that I was able to tap into.

 

there are ways to test water vapor that goes through concrete.
We had a company test our garage for epoxy floors and we were advised not to do it. It was in northern NJ. One quick way is to leave some plastic film on the floor over the course of a few days. Tape the edges down. When you lift it up, is the concrete a different color, or wet? Mine was! ugh!! It is not super-scientific, but a good test to start with. Many builders don't put vapor barriers under the garage, like them do under your foundation.
The other thing is with the plastic tiles....some are hard plastic and click when you walk on them. Try before you buy. The best ones I had ever seen were over $6/sq/foot. Ouch!!
Ceramic tile is great & cheap until you drop a wrench on them. Then it is fubar. Don't even think about jackstands either. Some plastic or vinyl tiles can handle that though, but not all.

 

Yeah I did the 2 part epoxy mix from Home Depot, using a major brand name that does a lot of spray paints. I live in MA etched the garage with muriatic acid cleaned in thoroughly and within 2 years most of it had lifted. I did check the moisture level by laying a piece of plastic over the floor and got not water, so thought I was safe. Looks like a mess now, looked good for a couple weeks. I let it cure for almost a week. I was thinking of plastic tiles, I am concerned about the slippery tiles though since I have a Harley which I park in the garage. Still looking for a good solution .

 

Of course...I'll snap a couple and send them your way.