Flooring for my garage

[darksparkz]

My garage is a two-car garage that's 20'x17'. It has a automated door and one regular door in the back. The garage is attached to the house. The flooring is most likely cement.

I have oil and tire mark stains on the flooring that are quite hard to get off, any recommendations on what's the best thing to use to remove this? I've tried Simple Green, but to no avail.

I'm considering putting some type of flooring onto this so it'll look less messy and be easier to clean up. There is quite a bit of snow in the winter, so I'm not sure what type of flooring would work best. I also don't want it slippery. Any kind of recommendations? I know nothing about garage flooring at all.

[ScottB]

They make concrete cleaners .... and you might need to etch the floor with muratic acid and then paint/epoxy . I always like the garage mats (http://www.autogeek.net/garagemats.html)seemed a relatively cheap and effective way to keep a garage more tidy.

[Reddwarf]

Killr's right (as always). You have to use concrete cleaner to get the stains out. Very potent stuff. Check Lowes, Home Depot or the like. They will also sell a product to paint the cleaned floor if you like. But as Killr said, the mats and other florring systems are a lot less messy to apply.

I keep going back and foth myself on which to do. The paint method is cheaper, but I think the tiles look way better.

[NorahCRV]

Killr's right (as always). You have to use concrete cleaner to get the stains out. Very potent stuff. Check Lowes, Home Depot or the like. They will also sell a product to paint the cleaned floor if you like. But as Killr said, the mats and other florring systems are a lot less messy to apply.

I keep going back and foth myself on which to do. The paint method is cheaper, but I think the tiles look way better.

Be sure that the garage is WELL-VENTILATED when you use those cleaners and paints!!!

I had my garage floor professionally cleaned & painted three years ago (it was 14 years old at the time & had stains from Ford Power Steering Fluid) & it is looking great!! Of course, I don't have the snow, salt & rain that a lot of you do :)
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/norahcrv/DSC00169.jpg

[darksparkz]

So the best method for flooring is either painting it or putting on a mat?

Would painting it actually do anything? Other then obviously changing the color, would it make it have more grip or easier to clean up spills? How much would it generally cost to put acid on it then paint/epoxy it?

[Reddwarf]

So the best method for flooring is either painting it or putting on a mat?

Would painting it actually do anything? Other then obviously changing the color, would it make it have more grip or easier to clean up spills? How much would it generally cost to put acid on it then paint/epoxy it?

My understanding is that the kits come with stuff to add some traction and it is an epoxy paint so spills are easier to clean up.

As mentioned earlier the stuff is potent. We had our living room floor stained. They had to clean the floor first and tehn apply stain. Our house smelled terrible for days. We should have gone to a hotel ... it was that bad!

[Meghan]

http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/autogeek/diamondplatemat.jpg
Diamond Pattern is a nice look!

[NorahCRV]

. . .yeah, but that ORANGE door has to go!! I clashes with the red car!! :p

[dirtyboy]

I've been looking into this also but I was wondering if water dripping from the car would get trapped underneath the rubber mats and create a bunch of mold?

[darksparkz]

It looks like it'll cost a bit more then $500 to buy a mat for the whole garage.

How would the paint route go? Would I just clean it, apply muratic acid, paint it some color, the apply epoxy to the top?

Are there any advantages/disadvantages between the floor paints or painting it?

[sparkie]

I put this down in my garage yesterday. I had to buy two kits. $62. for a kit at Lowes. I should have took some before pics. Easy to put down, about two hours. Love it!

EPOXYShield Garage Floor Coating
The Ultimate Garage Floor
Get the kind of showroom-quality garage floor that will make you the talk of the neighborhood

Long-lasting performance

Protects against gasoline, antifreeze, motor oil, salt and hot tire pick-up
Easy to keep cleanEasy to apply
Water-based for low odor and easy clean-up
Kit includes concentrated surface cleaner - no muriatic acid etching needed
Environmentally friendly
Durable and time saving one-coat application - no primer neededKit includes:
2-part epoxy floor system
Concentrated cleaner
Decorative chips
Stir stick
Detailed instructions
Free Instructional Video

[Reddwarf]

Sparkie! Let's see some after pictures!

:Picture:

That's the process I've been thinking of doing as well. Mainly due to the price. I love the look of the tiles, but it is more expensive.

[sparkie]

Sparkie! Let's see some after pictures!

:Picture:

That's the process I've been thinking of doing as well. Mainly due to the price. I love the look of the tiles, but it is more expensive.

I'm a work now, so tomorrow I will puts some pics up!

[chitown]

I live in Chicago (obviously) and used a very strong epoxy. It's used in construction. Runs about $45- 50 a gallon. It's unbelievable. I will try to track down the # for the company. The guy will ship it to your house. I will say this, far and away the most important thing(s) when using an epoxy on your floor is PREP and thorough mixing. Etch a couple of times. Do it right with this stuff and you won't have to do anything for years but sqeegee it out after hosing it down. I did mine 4 years ago and it's awsome.

3.5 garage = about 3 to 4 galllons depending on app thickness (roller nap used to apply).

[Surfer]

What you could also do is a decking. Our old house had a large garage that was black and white checkered Race Decking the previous owner decided to leave, think I have some pics somewhere. New house just has a normal 2 car garage and the floor is concrete so we're thinking of doing our own decking. Kiwi and Race Deck are the only ones off the top of my head, I'm sure their are others.