If you're fortunate enough to have a garage for storing your favorite vehicles, you have a space that's filled with potential. Sure, the walls of your garage may be finished nicely enough. But the floor? Depressing and dismal to look at, most likely.
That needn't be the case - because all it really takes to transform a dingy garage into a stylish showroom is the right floor covering. In this article, we'll discuss three different styles of garage floor coverings, all of which are cost-effective and easy to apply.
Floor Paint
Lobbies of big office buildings, luxury showrooms, and even the most avant-garde museums often have non-carpeted floors that look glossy and inviting. A closer look at these floors reveals the formula is a simple one: an epoxy gloss coating applied to bare cement, with decorative color flakes for stylish accent.
For a nominal cost and a small amount of effort, the Plastikote Valspar 2-Part Epoxy Garage Floor Coating lets you apply this same kind of cement floor paint to your own garage - creating a much more enjoyable space while increasing the value of your home at the same time. A 1-gallon can will provide coverage for 250 square feet, which is a typical 1-car garage. If you plan to cover the floor of a 2-car garage, 2 containers will be required.
To ensure paint adheres properly, thorough cleaning of the garage floor beforehand is a must. For that, we recommend a quality concrete floor cleaner, along with a scrubbing brush, protective gloves, and safety goggles. After the floor has been prepared, applying the epoxy is as straightforward as painting any other room in your house.
Your kit will include a jar of "color flakes" that can be applied should you wish to create visual accents on the surface of your garage floor. Note that while these coatings offer good resistance to oil and other contaminants, we recommend an additional layer of protection against fluid spills (such as a specially designed spill mat, covered further down in this article) if you plan on wrenching inside on a regular basis.
Inter-Locking Floor Tiles
If stylish looks are what you're seeking, consider interlocking tiles as offered by WeatherTech. On our product page, you can customize the look of your own garage floor with the exact number of tiles you need in a variety of colors, shapes, and textures. 12" x 12" square tiles are the mainstay, with slimmer pieces for contrasting accents and non-textured border pieces for smoother tire bump-up. These tiles do not have an adhesive backing, so they're easy to remove.
TechFloor tiles feature a top surface of durable yet flexible polypropylene that's grippy and easy to clean. Additionally, it's got built-in give that's easy on the body while remaining strong enough to withstand the weight of an automobile - or any heavy furnishings. For these reasons, TechFloor tiles can create functional and stylish floor coverings for other rooms in your home such as entryways, washrooms, or child playrooms.
If you'll be working on your vehicle inside the garage, note that 12" x 12" tiles can be selected with or without built-in drainage slots in the Product Options section of our TechFloor page. These perforated holes allow spilled fluids to drain out of harm's way and stay contained between upper and lower tile sections until you're ready to hose things out. Puddles and slippery footing conditions will be greatly reduced - if not eliminated altogether.
As with the garage floor paint referenced above, we recommend using a spill mat (see further down) for maximum protection against leakage or spills if you'll be working on your vehicle inside regularly.
Roll-Out Mats With Adhesive Backing
If you plan on doing heavier restoration or repair work on vehicles in your garage, consider purchasing a roll-out floor mat with adhesive backing. We've got several variations from the New Pig brand. All of them come in large sizes that are easy to cut (as needed) with a utility knife, and all of them feature adhesive backing to keep them in place. While these make attractive garage floor coverings by themselves, there's no reason you can't place them on top of a painted floor or interlocking tiles for extra protection if the need arises.
First, the New Pig polypropylene Traffic Mats are designed to hold liquid spills for later cleanup with water, scrubbing, and a shop vacuum. These Traffic Mats come rolled up in your choice of 36" x 100' or 36" x 150' dimensions, with gray colors that effectively hide stains.
New Pig Leak & Drip Mats are designed for vehicles with heavy, continuous fluid leaks. Constructed with 8 layers, these absorb and trap a greater volume of oil, coolant, brake fluid, gear oil, and other liquids. These aren't meant to be cleaned the way the Traffic Mats above are. Instead, simply discard them when they reach their saturation point. We've got them in a short 32" x 40" roll for localized protection, and a large 32" x 50' roll for more complete garage floor coverage.
The choice is yours: paint, tiles, mats, or some combination. Some of these choices require more prep than others; some are more useful for the "show" garage compared to the "working" garage. The nice thing is, it's all there for your perusal at our online store!