I'm moving to a new house with a slab-on-grade concreted-floored garage. I'd like to treat the concrete floor so it cleans up easy and doesn't dust so much.

On the low end, I know that I could just seal the concrete every few years. <$200

On the high end, I could have some company come in and put in an Epoxy or Polymer covering with flakes that mimic granite for up to $2500.

I would love the Epoxy-style floor and I'm not above doing it myself, but there is a huge selection of providers and choices. I've heard the cheap ones pull up with hot tires. Some of the choices use up to 7 layers (and that's a LOT of labor!).

Do you have experience with a coating/treatment that last well? I'm looking for good bang for the buck... preferrably around $1k.

Thanks!
Mark.

This response will sound kinda wierd, but if I were you I would look at forums like FerrariChat, and other high end exotic car forums. Those dudes pimp out their garages like nobody's business. A lot of them use Racedeck, but there are a lot that use the epoxy stuff.

thekellbeast said:

This response will sound kinda wierd, but if I were you I would look at forums like FerrariChat, and other high end exotic car forums. Those dudes pimp out their garages like nobody's business. A lot of them use Racedeck, but there are a lot that use the epoxy stuff.

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That's a good suggestion! I'll do that. In the mean time, anybody here have first hand experience?

Thanks,
Mark.

I'm using the epoxy coating Home Depot sells. I have a 3-car garage and was able to use their 2-gallon kit and an additional 1-gallon kit. I've spilled oil, brake fluid, power steering fluid, coolant, etc on it and no issues with clean up. No issues with hot-tire pull up. If I had the cash, I would have used the U-Coat It kit that's featured in a lot of mags. It was about 3-4 times the price though. I'm happy with the choice so far, but it can get a little slick if you don't keep it clean and dry.

http://www.gladiatorgw.com/

I have a couple friends that have used their floor coverings. Its pretty incredible. Everything just washes off with a hose, even a week after being spilled. On top of that, it looks really good. However, you may come up paying a little more that you want. Click the link, then check out the Floor Coverings link for all the details and prices.

Have you ever visited garagejournal.com? It's a whole site dedicated to this stuff.

Here's a direct link to the flooring section of their forum:

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

You should check out the gallery while you're there, some of them are awesome.

I would put down a sealer and then get the kind of flooring that ROLLS out rather than the tile.

If you get the locking tile and they don't seal all the way, liquids will seep thru and you'll have a nice surprise waiting for you when you take the tiles out in the future.

Ludachris said:

I'm using the epoxy coating Home Depot sells. I have a 3-car garage and was able to use their 2-gallon kit and an additional 1-gallon kit. I've spilled oil, brake fluid, power steering fluid, coolant, etc on it and no issues with clean up. No issues with hot-tire pull up. If I had the cash, I would have used the U-Coat It kit that's featured in a lot of mags. It was about 3-4 times the price though. I'm happy with the choice so far, but it can get a little slick if you don't keep it clean and dry.

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I've been looking into doing this too. Can you add sand to the mix to aid in traction for that brand that Home Depot sells?

You know, I'm not sure. The brand is Rustoleum. I'd have to check to see if they have an addititve. I'm not sure how sand would work. If I had to do it again, I'd definitely check into some type of no-slip additive though. Aside from that, I'd highly recommend this low-cost solution to everyone. I've let many types of fluids sit on the surface for days, if not weeks and it cleans up with no problem later.

If you want a non-skid surface I've got a solution for that.

For the outside weatherdecks on our boat we use ground up aluminum with 2 part epoxy paint for a non-skid surface. We lay down an grey epoxy base coat really thick, then throw in the aluminum like an inch deep. Walk on every bit of the aluminum to ensure it's pressed in. After it dries you vaccuum up the excess aluminum, then roll down another coat of the epoxy to cover the aluminum. Works great. You'll never have any problems with it pulling or anything. Good luck removing it though.

You can even get really creative and paint down one coat of the epoxy, let it dry, then use painter's tape to make patterns, then use the same process as above. We do this to make water drainage grooves. Or you can just make boxes and patterns and stuff for fun.

Here we go. The guide to nonskid.

http://www.epoxyproducts.com/nonslip.html

Aluminum oxide from a sandblasting store. (Black Beauty is what we call it)

^^^ Another link from the same source as the above link:


http://www.epoxyproducts.com/garage4u.html


A few more related links:

http://www.armorpoxy.com/home2.html?source=ASKJ&kw=floor+coating
http://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete/garage_floor/garageconcretefloorcoating.html
http://www.excellentcoatings.com/GarageDatasheet.htm
http://www.jnkproducts.com/garage-floor-coating.htm
http://www.premiergarage.bz/httpdocs/html/flooring.html
http://www.elite-xpressions.com/products_garage_floor.htm
http://www.americangaragefloor.com/
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_improvement/smart_consumer/1274591.html
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-garage-coatings.htm

Here's some pics of the nonskid I was talking about. One shows the waterlines I was talking about, the other is a close-up of the surface.

I've done a large garage for our FSAE team. We shotblasted the floor first to prime it, and painted epoxy on. Tough as nails. It was a Sherwin Williams brand epoxy if I remember correctly.

I've epoxy painted my garage and I think its great, I can't remeber what brand it was but I can weld over it and the sparks won't damage the surface, I use to weld in my old garage and it would leave black marks on the paint because it was not an epoxy. I would also advise against putting any type of anti-slip material in your garage floor as it will make it very hard to sweep up dirt unless you mop the floor also.

Sinner said:

it will make it very hard to sweep up dirt unless you mop the floor also.

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That is true. We wash the decks down with a fire hose and stiff bristle brushes, and simple green.

Get something smooth... that non-slid surface will wreak havoc on your skin (esp the knees and back) if you do alot of work in your garage.

Two years ago I did my garage with U-Coat-it. It's a small two-car size; new concrete. I prepped it (acid wash) and rolled on 2 coats as directed. I added the anti-skid grit. It has held up well for me with no hot tire problems. I don't do alot of dirty work in there though. The kit I purchased was barely enough to do the job. If you put the first coat on a bit heavy, you will not have enough left for the second coat, so beware. No_Skillz words about the grit are very true. It's tuff on the knees and also makes mopping and wiping up spills difficult. I also think it's over priced. Home Depot and Lowes have equivalent epoxy products that cost less and I have heard good things about.

After a lot of research, I ended up going with ArmourSeal 1000HS. VERY tough stuff. More expensive than HomeDepot stuff.

You can get it at Sherwan Williams. The prep is killer. Still looks great. Maybe I'll post back in 10 years and let you know how it holds up.

Oh, also, it has a high VOC content.

Mark.
http://www.markphillips.net/gsx.html

Ludachris said:

You know, I'm not sure. The brand is Rustoleum. I'd have to check to see if they have an addititve. I'm not sure how sand would work. If I had to do it again, I'd definitely check into some type of no-slip additive though. Aside from that, I'd highly recommend this low-cost solution to everyone. I've let many types of fluids sit on the surface for days, if not weeks and it cleans up with no problem later.

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I have the same stuff sitting on my toolbox. I haven't had the time to put it down yet because of my super filled garage but I am working on that and hope to have the coating down by springtime. Although, I do have 3 friends that have used this stuff in their shops and have had absolutely no problems whatsoever. It has stood their abuse thus far and I am pretty impressed with its durability/performance per dollar.

Oh and they do make a non-skid additive.

http://www.rustoleum.com/product.asp?frm_product_id=652&SBL=1

I am really not looking forward to taking the 3409 tons of shit out of my garage and leaving it outside for a day or so to allow this stuff to dry (especially with 2 coats). Lets not mention the laborious hours or degreasing, acid etching, and repairing cracks that precede it. It will be the finishing touch to my sucks-ass to kicks-ass complete garage renovation project that I started in the fall.