Top 5 Recommended Flooring Options for Garages
- Polished Concrete Flooring – The Best of All
Polished concrete flooring is the best option for garages. Concrete flooring is generally hard and resilient. They can perform under high pressure without any wear and tear. Concrete floors are less priced and are easily available for the customers with low budgets. Polished concrete surfaces look graceful and elegant that compliments the entire semblance. Polished concrete finishes are generally stain resistant and easy to clean making it the best option for garage flooring. - Epoxy Flooring – The Smart and Feasible Option
Epoxy flooring is quite feasible and a smart choice for existing flooring. Epoxy is a tough and long lasting coating that can be used on any flooring. It can be used on concrete floors; stone floors any floor to increase its performance and durability of your garage floor. Epoxy flooring is available in many attractive colors and can be cleaned easily. Before trying to go for epoxy make sure your sub floors are resistant to moisture and no dampness is observed. Epoxy is not suitable for the floors that absorb moisture. - Rubber Tile Flooring – Easy to Install or DIY Option
Rubber tiles are available like flexible mat and tiles. This type of flooring can be easily installed and is a good option for DIYers. Rubber floor tiles are flexible and come in attractive interlocking patterns to provide extra strength and stability to the floors. These are mostly available in the dimensions of 12×12 inch or 24×24 inch. Rubber tile flooring requires less maintenance and can be cleaned easily. The most feasible option with reasonable price is rubber tiles. They can with stand any climatic conditions. These floors can be installed on any sub-floors especially concrete floors. - Vinyl Flooring – For Low Traffic Garages
Selecting vinyl flooring for garages is not at all a wrong choice. If your garage doesn’t face much traffic and heavy pressure then enhanced Urethane coated vinyl tile flooring is a best option. These tiles are flexible and comfortable. You can enhance a unique look to your garage by picking the multiple color shades and attractive vinyl composite tile flooring available in market. Vinyl flooring requires very less upkeep and cleaning is extremely easy and comfortable with the cleaning agents available at home. - Stone Flooring – Excellent but Expensive Option
Stone flooring like sandstone, graphite and flagstone are excellent choice for garages but are a bit expensive. Stone flooring are extremely cold in winters hence considering your budget and local climatic conditions is vital before going for stone flooring for your garage. Stone flooring is resilient and extremely hard and available in eye-catchy designs and pleasant colors.
How to Choose the Best Garage Flooring
The main things you want to look for are durability, loudness (more on this soon), look, cost, maintenance and installation. It’s up to you to determine the priority for each of these – maybe you have
It’s up to you to determine the priority for each of these – maybe you have really bad hearing and don’t care how loud your tiles are? Or, maybe cost isn’t a factor for you. Every garage is different and so is every person. Let’s dive a little deeper and discover what’s best for you.
Durability
I think this is a deal breaker for just about everyone. There’s nothing worse than getting your garage just the way you want it and having your floor fall apart right underneath your feet.In shocking new discovery: cars are heavy! So are tools. And oil, along with other automotive fluid, can be really tough on your floor. You need a beefy, brawny, durable floor that will stay sharp and intact through any amount of abuse.
Loudness
This one’s more of a personal preference. The truth is, traditional plastic garage tiles are a little noisy when you walk on them. There are some tips and tricks for reducing this (like underlayment – it’s the best!), but they will never sound as smooth and quiet as walking over a garage roll. In fact, even something like epoxy has a certain degree of loudness. When you drop tools on a harder surface, they make a lot of noise. The softer the flooring material, the quieter your floor. Simple as that.
Look
let’s be honest; you want your garage to look sharp. Although functionality is important, you get garage flooring because you want your garage to look awesome. Most garage flooring options come in diamond, coin, smooth or vented patterns. And that’s just the beginning! If you choose tiles, you can do all sorts of fun patterns with your layout – mix and match colors, create that classic checkered look, or get real crazy with full on designs
Of course, epoxy is a whole other story, giving more of a speckled look. If you hire a pro, there’s a ton you can do with epoxy. However, it does require a bit more skill to get more than a basic wash, which, to be fair, still looks great!
Floor Epoxy
Epoxy floor coatings are sometimes regarded as a form of paint, since both are applied with paint rollers and paint brushes, but in reality the materials are quite different from a chemical and performance standpoint.
While paint hardens through the process of evaporation of its solvent, usually water or an oil-based liquid. True epoxy coatings, on the other hand, harden by means of a chemical reaction between a resin and hardener (catalyst). Genuine garage floor epoxy creates a durable, long-lasting, attractive coating for the garage. However, this product should not be confused with so-called “epoxy paint,” which is a one-part latex paint product with a small amount of epoxy added to it to improve the hardness of its finish. Epoxy paint is generally not as good as a true epoxy coating in overall performance.
Epoxy Paint
Popular epoxy floor paint is an extra-tough garage floor coating that resists marring, chemicals, oil and gasoline. It comes in many colors. Water-based epoxies are easy to apply and clean up with soap and water.
Applying an epoxy finish is a multi-step process. The floor must be clean and free of grease or oil, and holes and cracks should be patched. Next, the floor should be sealed with a primer made for concrete.
Epoxy garage floor coatings require premixing the base product with a hardener before applying. However, some manufacturer’s have simplified the product so it can be used right out of the can — mixing additives isn’t necessary.
Just like painting with latex
Applying epoxy—a type of paint containing a built-in hardener—requires that you patch, clean, and etch the floor if necessary. Then you blend your epoxy paint and hardener, and apply it to the garage floor—quickly, because the mix is viable for only two hours. Scatter color chips across the floor’s surface and seal with a clear coat to create a durable, long-lasting floor that resists oil stains and wipes clean easily.