vader1

Has anyone ever done one of these (especially in a cold weather climate) and how did it hold up? I want to epoxy mine this year but hear different things about how it will do in the winter. Cracking, spiderwebbing is a potential problem. Some people recommend paint instead but that does not sound very durable to me or risitant to oil spills and so forth.

CosmosMpower

I did this in my garage in 2010 before I moved in. The house was new and the concrete was cured. I prepped it according to the instructions and used a commercial grade 100% solids epoxy (not the cheap water based kits at Lowes/HD). A year later I had a few spots that flaked away maybe a quarter size. I patched them and a few more holes popped up. This wasn't hot tire pickup or anything just normal wear and tear. I'm a bit disappointed. Not sure if the issue was related to prep, the materials or what but I'd probably do something else like RaceDeck if I was going to do it again. I definitely wouldn't use paint, that will certainly not hold up.

vader1

Race deck looks really neat but too spendy. I am looking at something called Armorclad right now. But I think my garage is close to 900 square feet, though I have to measure to get the exact dimensions. That stuff is still probably going to run $750 and a full days work.

Saki GT

I thought about it but I think I'd just seal the concrete at this point.

LandR

We've used this on our garage as well as our workshop(lifts, equipment, storage for cars) with varying levels of success.

I would advise against the cheap epoxies, also advise against ceramic tile and advise against most of the click together plastic tiles as well.

Get your floor sealed bya professional and have him create some cool effect.

madkimchi

i did it last year with my wife with a kit we bought from Home Depot. so far no issues at all other than it's dirty as hell. well i don't think there are any issues but i havn't really look closely to find any problems. it's just garage floor i am not gonna go out and buy expensive epoxies you guys are recommending. i just want it clean enough that i don't have to wear shoes inside my garage.

Mr.E.G.

My buddy recently started his own mechanic shop and, as his business has grown, he has expanded and moved to successively larger shops each time. Each time he moved he redid the floor. In other words, he's had a good exposure to the various floor treatments available and he puts them through a great deal of abuse.

He has made it abundantly clear that the do-it-yourself kits are not worth the money and that the best system so far has simply been to stain the concrete.

yamahaSHO

I did my garage when we moved in in 2008. Like above, the house was new. I degreased and acid etched it twice. For the most part, mine has held up. The stall that my wife uses year around has seen the most abuse. It's got scratches and I've had a couple spots pull up WITH little pieces of concrete (I blame the builder... tip of the iceberg here). The other two stalls which house summer toy cars has held up very well. I've got two or three tiny chips where tools were dropped, but I generally put rubber mats down when I work and rest jack stands on them as well.

The biggest killer to mine has been the sun. When my wife leaves the garage open in the summer, we get a lot of sun on that side and you can see where it is starting to dull. If we don't decide to move (I want my own shop on a big piece of property), I'll have it professionally redone this time or stain and seal the concrete. It is nice for cleaning and laying down on when working. I mop it every now and again and squeegee it out. I opted not to put the flake in or any texture enhancers as I wanted something easy to clean.

A few pictures:



You can see the mats I put down do keep tools and jack stands from scratching or chipping the floor.





I tried to find picture of when I first coated the floor, but they're buried deep somewhere on my server and couldn't find them.

vader1

Very nice, Yamaha. Thanks for the pics.

SlowTeg

Kinda OT but is there any harm to getting oil and other junk on the concrete other than just discoloring/cosmetic issues? I think I'd be inclined to just seal it once and leave it be. I'd hate to have to worry about putting padding under things all the time or dropping a tool afraid it'd damage the floor. It just seems like one more thing to worry about with a house (and there are already plenty of things).

Nice floor Yamaha! Definitely looks very nice.