Garage - New construction, Floor coatings and Car Lift opinions / Ideas?

[Mercula]

Leave it bare concrete.

[gnihcraes]

Leave it bare concrete.

Any particular reason why?

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[Mercula]

nm

[gnihcraes]

I’d go for it on the DIY epoxy. I’ve done 3 garages with very good results. I did my Mom’s old house in 1992. It still looked great when she sold it in 2016. The only place with a nick in the epoxy was where I slipped with a pry bar and actually gouged the concrete floor.

I used Sherwin Williams Tile Clad II. I just checked with the industrial products store here in Loveland near the local airport last week and the Tile Clad product is still available. They can tint it to virtually any color. You can add chips if you like that look. Or you can add silica for traction... or you can just go with the product itself and be careful when there’s snow on the ground. You can also pick the sheen—from roughly eggshell to gloss.

For what it’s worth, I just used the product itself with no additives for traction in my Mom’s garage. She ranged in age from 55 years old to 79 years old when she was living with that floor and never complained about it being too slick. In fact, I recently offered to re-do her new house garage floor to add some silica and she doesn’t want it! Stubborn old bird at 81 years old. She likes to be able to mop the floor and is afraid the traction additives will make it hold the dirt.

Even though your floor is new, I’d suggest at least doing an acid etch. Muratic acid is readily available and not as scary to work with as it sounds. You’ll also need to wait some period of time before coating your brand new floor. Buy the rollers the guys at the Sherwin Williams store tell you to buy. I tried some el cheapo rollers one time and they melted—leaving a fuzzy, gooey mess in my white floor. Whattamess!

If you sign up for the Sherwin Williams loyalty club thing, they’ll send you coupons periodically for 30-40% off. I think you should be able to get the price down to $1.50/foot. Whatever you do, DO NOT use the crap the big box stores sell. It WILL flake off and it’s a pain in the rump to remove it and start over.

Definitely a DIY-able task if you’re at all handy around the house. I’m going to be doing around 1000 ft. worth of garage space at my house sometime this summer if I can find the time. I’d be happy to talk with you about it if you’d like to PM me your contact information. I’m not affiliated with SW in any way—just a satisfied customer.

Thanks! I believe my father has an account with SW and could get a bit better pricing.

If I were doing a new garage I’d opt for dyed concrete. Worked in a shop once that was done that way and it was awesome compared to all of the shops I’ve worked in with any kind of coating. The problem with most of the coatings is they will scrape off or peel up. Drag a floor jack across it and your pretty floor probably won’t be so pretty anymore.

Interesting, hadn't given it much thought. It probably will depend on time and who's doing the floor work. I'll have to talk with my contractor. He's a two man show and I'm sure he's farming out the finish concrete work.

https://protective.sherwin-williams....3aproduct-6878

This stuff.

It holds up to all kinds of abuse. Torch slag, welding slag, chemical spills, etc. Although plasma spray has left some surface damage. A floor jack won't even begin to touch this stuff when it's applied right.

I've never seen a coating hold up better to abuse than this.

Although, as with all things coating related, the quality/longevity of the coating is only as good as your prep.

Brand new concrete will be pretty easy to get a good coat on.

Older stuff needs to be prepped really well...

Thanks, I'm Looking into it! Yes, I'd prep to whatever the directions say to do. New or old concrete. My old garage would need some cleanup etching, and I might just use the cheapo DIY stuff on it. Thanks!

Look at porcelain (not ceramic) tile. It’s what all the car dealerships are using now. You can get them nonslip, extremely water impermeable, harder than concrete, and on a good day, <$2/sqft. Make sure to back butter and respect your expansion joints.

Hmmm are we talking about normal floor tile or something more specialized? I've done lots of tile work around the house and not sure I'd use any of it for a garage floor. That would be a few long days of setting tile. ha.

I used the Rust-Oleum Pro kit for my shop floor when it was new. That was two years ago. I couldn't be happier with the durability and looks of it. But...the concrete still needs to be etched for best results, even if new.

I drag tools around, I drive a tractor on it, I weld in my shop, I use a plasma cutter, I'm constantly pulling a steel-wheeled car jack around, have a motorcycle lift I move around, drop tools, wood, etc., on it...it takes a lot to even scratch it. Even dragging sharp steel pieces across the floor it hasn't cut thru to the concrete yet...just a surface scratch here and there. It's also impervious to diesel fuel and gasoline as far as I can tell. And, it's reasonably priced.

I did it myself. It was a good day's work but it wasn't difficult. The hardest part was getting the color chips spread evenly. You can also buy a bag of "no slip" stuff to throw on top. Etching was the most labor intensive because you have to really scrub the floor to get the best result. I used some kind of concentrated citric acid stuff because I was worried about poisoning my dogs and ruining the lawn. Worked fine.

Cool. I'm not going to be gentle on the flooring/garage, but not abusive either. I might only coat the workshop side and leave the car lift bay side concrete.

I’ve also used the rustoleum with great results. I’ve used it in three different garages with good results in all. If you use chips, throw them as high as you can and they will disperse as they fall and give pretty good even coverage. My thought has always been that if it starts to flake I could buy an additional kit for touch ups under $100, but I’ve never needed to. I drag a floor jack across mine all the time.

No surprise, your results will be based on the quality of the prep.

All good information! I appreciate it!

One thing I know is that "Painting" a floor isn't an option. I did that years ago in the house basement floor and it just never lasts. A painted garage floor would look shitty pretty quick.


I just want to figure this out before I have to start moving stuff from one garage to the other and building workbenches and stuff. Hopefully new concrete cure times and floor coatings can be done fairly quickly. I'd like to do something or nothing before moving crap in.

[Not_A_Llama]

Hmmm are we talking about normal floor tile or something more specialized? I've done lots of tile work around the house and not sure I'd use any of it for a garage floor. That would be a few long days of setting tile. ha.

Porcelain, not ceramic. Back buttered. Is that what you were using around the house?

[gnihcraes]

Porcelain, not ceramic. Back buttered. Is that what you were using around the house?

No real idea, most likely both, but never kept an inventory of what I used.

Not sure I could deal at all with the grout lines and trying to roll a jack around and it will always fall into one of those lines right where you'd not want it to be. Much like expansion joints in concrete.

I looked online at some garage floors done in tile, looks cool, not sure it's for me. I might just end up sealing the concrete and leaving it as is.

[jerrymrc]

That was micro fiber, looked like peach fuzz. Not good for much. Macro fiber looks closer to short strips of yarn, completely encased in the finished concrete. You won't see macro fiber in the finished concrete.

Well then I guess I got screwed. All I know is since my son works for a testing company he came by, tested it and said it was fine.