Garage flooring recommendations - paint vs tiles vs ...?

[ch3tman]

Considering having our garage floor finished early in the new year; at the moment its uneven dusty concrete - not ideal.

New Hormann doors are on order, meaning the garage will soon be well insulated and secure. Next up is the flooring...

I always leaned towards some kind of industrial grade epoxy resin paint (once self levelling compound has been applied) to prevent the paint from peeling from hot car tyres, however it seems interlocking tiles (PVC/rubber) are very popular these days.

Any first hand recommendations and advice would be appreciated, especially from those who have the benefit of hindsight!

[MarkIII]

How about an alternative....i have just moved into a house and the garage has astroturf laid onto a concrete floor....the car feels well at home....

[Gary71]

I’ve got big porcelain tiles, laid on a full bed of cement.

Indestructible other than weld splatter that can stick to the surface.

I laid them myself, which was fun, but I’d do the same again in any new house having had bare concrete and epoxy paint in the past.

I didn’t go for plastic tiles as I sometimes like to move engine & box on a jack and was worried about them rucking up.

[shambly]

I went with low cost industrial grade porcelain tiles from eBay which I laid myself. A few years on, I'm happy with my choice, and would do the same again.

I had interlocking plastic tiles in my previous garage. The biggest issue for me was discolouration from reacting with the compounds in car tyres - leaving unsightly tread marks wherever a car rested.

Simon

[hot66]

I've got a painted floor .. and now after 8 years or so the paint has lifted everywhere & I just have a bare dusty concrete floor ... and there is nothing better to put you off working on a car than a dusty cement floor.

If I was doing it again I'd either tile like Gary etc

Out of interest Gary & Shambly, how much a squ M did your tiles work out ?

[Darren C]

Yep, tiles over rubber or paint.

I've got several garages at home..

The 3 garages with painted floors are worst, mark, scratch, stain & flake over time. Needs annual maintenance, doesn't like grinding or welding.

I have a double with a sheet 5 bar aluminium chequer plate floor (seemed a good idea at the time) in reality a pain to sweep or kneel on, curls at joints & slippy when wet. Good resistance to grinding & welding though.

My other largest double I chose to tile. Thick ceramic floor tiles laid on concrete with black grout to hide oil/dirt staining & expansion gaps in black silicone to match those in the 5m sectional concrete cast slabs beneath. So far no maintenance required in 15 years & by far the hardiest & the CHEAPEST to do per m2 as I bought the tiles on one of those 50% off days at B & Q The only downside is it's bloomin noisy/squeeky to steer tyres over

[Lightweight_911]

.

I took a different approach - fitted cheap self-adhesive vinyl tiles.

They've been down for ~ 8 years now & are easy to keep clean, don't stain, allow trolley jacks, etc to move easily & aren't damaged by axle stands, etc.

[911GP]

Has anyone tried polished concrete floors? I'm thinking that it won't be as dusty as regular concrete.
Gitesh

[Darren C]

Yes, we have a highly polished concrete floor in the workshop. (never again)
It's a bit of a nightmare when it comes to spills & slips (even dusty/dry slips) Even pushing cars around you cant get grip for your shoes. Stains easily too! Only advantage is you can see small nuts & bolts you drop easily & its easy to sweep

[shambly]

Out of interest Gary & Shambly, how much a squ M did your tiles work out ?

I paid £400 (end of 2013) for 42 sq m of CIPA GRANITI ELBA GREY SPECKLED PORCELAIN FLOOR TILES. But they were 200 x 200 so took a while to lay!

Simon

[ch3tman]

Thanks for the very helpful replies.

Out of interest Gary & Shambly, how much a squ M did your tiles work out ?

These appear to be very popular for garage applications:

https://www.directtilewarehouse.com/dot ... oor-tiles/

Porcelain though, so must stay very cold...?
Also, I suspect you'd need a very flat floor prior to laying to prevent tiles cracking under weight. Where in comparison the rubber/PVC ones offer some 'give'.

Yep, tiles over rubber or paint.
<snip>
The only downside is it's bloomin noisy/squeeky to steer tyres over

...the squeeky aspect is a deal breaker for me! cannot stand that noise

[911hillclimber]

My experience:
Had painted on painted etc concrete floor for years, terrible.
Bit the bullet and had tool-room use plastic tiles from a company in Birmingham, local to me.
Laid the whole 2 car wide garage in dove grey straight on top of the old floor after a good sweep and vac., £600 delivered as 400mm x 400mm pre assembled tiles.

That was 4 years ago, lots of car work, engines out on hoists and engine stands with the loads static for weeks in one spot.
Simple to move at any time.
All my axle stands have round feet or plated welded on them, so none dig in.
Trolley jacks work well.

Problems?
Yep, keeping the floor clean to remove all that paint drop, tyre mark and WD40 aftermath.
I spring clean it using cheap cellulose gun wash and a lot of cotton cloth with a good mask. Heady stuff

This removes a lot/all of the marking except the tyre rubber reaction to the tiles, but this is not a big deal to me, it is a garage after all!

Whichever floor you have I feel a good light colour is essential.



After a good spring clean:

[mean_in_green]

If tiling with porcelain just check whether you need to acrylic prime first (very likely) and use the right adhesive (for porcelain / bagged, not ready mixed tub cr&p).

Standard adhesive doesn't cope with porcelain's very low porosity. "Butter" the tile backs with adhesive as well spreading it on the floor, and get some knee pads!

[Hugh Jorgan]

I am approaching the point of having to make the same garage floor covering decision my self.
I was just going to paint it, but quite fancied the rubber interlocking panels.
I hadn't thought about ceramic tiles, but I can see the benefits.

[Winston Teague]

I did terracotta coloured industrial tiles. Utterly fantastic. indestructable, cleanable. I would never again consider alternatives. We recently crowbar-ed a large bridgeport milling machine across the floor. Chipped one tile. That's what i call tough. Nuts and washers tend to only roll as far as the next joint too. W