I'm in the process of completing my new garage to store my 1957 Chev and ElCamino. The garage measures 24' wide x 42' long and the walls will be 12' high to accomodate my collection of gas & oil signs and other memorabilia. The concrete floor looks great and is about 30 days old and I'm trying to decide what type of floor covering to put in my garage. I won't be doing any major repair work on my cars, but I will do tune-ups, brake jobs, oil changes etc. I have thought about epoxy, snap & lock floor pieces, tile squares etc. I will probably have the car on a jack from time to time and I'm not sure how durable some of the decorative floor materials are. Any products out there that look great and are reasonable in price???
Any covering that works good will be expensive. They make concrete sealers that retain the look of the concrete but will allow you to easily wipe up your oil spills. The concrete store here sells a product called Seal Pro that sells for $150 for a 5 gallon bucket and that will do your entire floor plus some. There are cheaper products but they won't last as long. My shop has the same square footage as yours. Originally I was planning on 12' ceilings but went 12'6" because the 2 post car lift needed 12'2" for clearance. The lift was surprisingly affordable and has come in very handy. Mike
4 Years ago I had to make exactly the same decision.... I choosed italian country tiles that already had scratches and pits.... 4 years after this for me it was the perfect decision .. No scratches , colourmarks, or oil is visible on these tiles.. It also matches to the vintage cars and other stuff...
An acid stain will give you an antiqued-patina in earth tones. An aniline stain will go on in any color you choose.Both will give you a reasonably priced alternative to those other ideas that are subject to fail- without putting a "layer" on top.If your floor has a sealer already on it that would need to be removed. With shallow saw cuts or stencils the design posabilities are limited only by your imagination. The final touch is an acrylic sealer that gives your floor a deep,rich almost wet look. Do a search for "staining concrete" and youll see the benefits of staining. You'll still be working on concrete with any look you want.
[This message has been edited by JimT (edited 11-10-2007).]