A new garage floor is generally made of concrete. Although this surface starts out looking smooth and clean, over time it can start to show its age. Cracks appear from the weight of cars being parked there and you may have dents where heavy tools have been dropped, plus it can get very dirty and oil-stained.
Although you may not think of your garage floor very much at the moment upgrading it can do a lot to make you feel good when you park you car and walk into your home and it will help maintain the value of your house.
A good looking clean garage with a new floor is definitely an asset compared to a cracked concrete garage floor which is a dumping ground for all sorts of stuff. You see, in improving your garage floor all the clutter you have left there will have to be moved and you may as well clear it out of your home killing two birds with one stone. No point putting it back in your lovely new garage!
Many people use their garage as an extension to their house and use it for hobbies and large games like pinball and table football. If you add a new garage floor it makes it so much more appealing to use the space. For example just see the neat effect you can make using specialist tiles in the image below.
Garage Floor Tiles (Click Image for Details)
It is a fairly easy job to apply garage floor coating to seal and protect the floor and give your garage a new look. Garage floor coatings are special epoxy paints which not only provide a new clean floor but also fill in small dents and gouges to give a smooth appearance. You will have to prepare your floor with concrete cleaner before applying the paint so that any oil residue or dirt is removed otherwise the covering may not “stick” well and will peel. (This makes it very attractive to treat brand new garage floors right away so you have no dirt to remove!) After that the most important thing is to buy quality specialist garage floor paint because you don’t want to have to redo the covering every few months because of chips in the paintwork. Epoxy paints come in number of dark colors which help disguise any dirt and future oil spills. As well as flat colors, you can also buy a garage floor coating which contains colored chips or a rough sand-like substance. These provide a non-slip surface, useful on wet days.
Garage Floor Mats
There are two types of garage floor mat you can buy. One type is a large rubber mat which fits under your car catching any drips and oil spills. The mat can be taken outside and hosed down for cleaning although it will eventually rot or crumble and have to be replaced. Another kind of garage flooring using mats consists of interlocking garage floor tiles which snap together. This creates an even surface of 18″ by 18″ tightly joined tiles a quarter inch thick and is a very effective garage floor covering which is particularly easy to fit. These tiles are made from PVC and are longer lasting than a rubber mat. The most well-known brand for this type of floor covering is Flexi-tile. Each garage floor tile can be purchased separately so you just buy enough to cover the area of your garage and you can buy different colors to make an attractive pattern. Another benefit is that any tiles which become stained can be cleaned or replaced individually.
