Did you know that 63% of American homes have a garage or carport? The garage flooring is often solid concrete, but your garage floor needs protection. How can you stop your garage flooring from turning into an oil-stained, scratched mess?
If you’re curious about garage floor protection, we’re happy to help guide you. Read on to learn the best ways to keep your garage floor safe.
Covering the Floor
The first thing to look into is the easiest methods. A simple solution is often best if you have a small garage or don’t want to invest much time and effort.
These solutions are cheap, quick, and easy. However, they aren’t always the best solution. Here are two ways to keep your flooring safe.
Garage Tiles
Installing garage tiles across your flooring is a quick method of protecting the floor. Garage tiles typically come in plastic or rubber, but others are available.
Interlocking garage tiles across your floor will give a protective barrier. They’re the easiest to install but won’t last long on high-traffic flooring. Tile tiles may fade if you frequently use your garage or drive in and out daily.
They also get dirty easily, so make sure you aren’t picking a light color. In many cases, tiles will trap moisture. Unsealed concrete can cause significant damage.
While these cons sound overwhelming, tiles are the lowest-cost method to protect your flooring. These are a strong choice if you don’t regularly spend time in your garage or drive out rarely.
Floor Mats and Coverings
Do garage tiles seem unnecessary? What if you have a sealing coat over your concrete and don’t need tiles over the whole floor? Floor mats are a strong choice for such an occasion.
Floor mats work the same as a rug in your house’s interior. Ensure you find a floor mat with a grip on the bottom so it doesn’t slide out from under you.
These are good for soaking up spills, covering a stain, and keeping footprints and tire tracks off the concrete. However, they can also become a mess and prove a hazard in some garages. If they soak up too much, they may leak oil onto the floor.
Chemical Solutions
If you need a more in-depth solution, chemical sealings are a great method. Coatings will cover the concrete flooring and provide a strong barrier.
Installing a coating for garage floor surfaces will last several years, but multiple options exist. Here are some options to consider while researching the many types of garage floor coatings.
Epoxy Floor Coatings
One of the most popular options you can use is epoxy floor coatings. These coatings cover the surface of your garage floor and stop contaminants and hazards from reaching the concrete.
Epoxy is lauded for being an economical system, having a low cost per square foot. While some options require a separate floor system above the concrete, epoxy can settle over the existing surface.
As the epoxy fades, it’s easily replaced. Replacing it also isn’t necessary often, as it can last more than two decades before fading. Proper care will prolong its life while neglecting maintenance will cause the epoxy to fade.
Furthermore, epoxy is highly resistant to most hazards. Epoxies repel cleaners, vehicle fluids, gasoline and oil, and industrial chemicals.
Customization is also a strong benefit. These coatings can have different colors, designs, and patterns to help beautify your garage.
The primary con is that epoxy floorings are often slippery. A skid-resistant topcoat can help reduce this effect. The floor becomes a hazard without such a topcoat, especially in an oil spill.
Polyurea Coatings
An equally popular option is the polyurea coating. While the formulation of these coatings is complex, they function similarly to an epoxy coating.
These coatings are good for setting fast, typically in under 10 minutes. Polyurea is fantastic if you’re setting a garage floor and need it done quickly.
They also are more durable than epoxy coatings. High weather resistance, protection against abrasion and scratches, and chemical resistance are all wonderful for your garage.
Polyurea is more heat resistant than other options, up to 266 degrees Fahrenheit. Rarely will your garage ever reach such a temperature, making them virtually heat-proof.
The thickness of the coating is easy to control, and they can bond to most substances. Wood, concrete, metal, and cement are all easy to pair with polyurea.
With such benefits, why would you pick anything but polyurea? Naturally, there are some flaws that you should note.
First, polyurea has strict methods of applying it as a coating. It’s significantly more difficult to work with compared to other coatings. Epoxy is much easier to deal with, making it better for a DIY project.
Additionally, polyurea is difficult to customize. Adding in decorations or mixes can sometimes damage the coating.
Finally, polyurea is also more expensive than epoxy or simpler coatings. Polyurea provides better protection, so the higher price range makes sense. But if it doesn’t fit your budget, it may be unobtainable.
Overall, polyurea is highly protective and quick-setting. It fits most temperatures and environments with ease. As a result, it’s more expensive and difficult to install.
Polyaspartic Coatings
Polyaspartic coatings are similar to polyurea coatings. There’s a serious debate about polyurea vs epoxy flooring, and polyaspartic is often critical to these conversations.
Polyspartics are a topcoat for polyurea floorings. Part of a two-part system, the first coat is the polyurea. The coating will strongly bond to the concrete and seal the flooring.
Above the polyurea, the polyaspartic easily attaches to the base coat. The polyaspartic coating is glossy, resistant to chemicals and abrasions, and aesthetically attractive.
As a result, these floorings are often more pleasing than plain polyurea. They also provide a second layer of protection to prevent the flooring from falling.
You’ll frequently find these floorings in places with displays. Automobile showrooms and warehouses are common places. Here, their aesthetic benefit combines with their strong protection against high foot and wheel traffic.
One downside of these floorings is that they’re highly expensive. Depending on your customization options, polyaspartic coatings are often the most expensive option. If you’re combining the cost with polyurea coatings, they can cost a hefty fee.
Another flaw is that polyaspartic coatings are difficult to install. It’s a time-consuming and expensive process that can pose a significant hassle. Still, the benefits of beautiful, well-protected flooring outweigh such cons.
Floor Sealers
Do the above coatings sound too complex or unnecessary? If you feel that way, you may prefer a flooring sealer.
Sealers provide a protective layer between your concrete and the outside world. However, they’re considerably weaker and less effective than the above coatings.
The primary sealers are acrylic, latex, and urethane. Urethane provides the strongest protection but won’t compare to polyurea or epoxy coatings.
Many sealers have a glossy finish, customization options, and are relatively cheap. They’re easy to install and are great if you have a low-traffic garage.
Avoiding the Elements
Once your sealing and coating are done, more must be done. These coatings need maintenance, and they won’t protect your floor forever. Here are two steps to help your coatings last longer.
Leave Garage Closed
The first step is to keep your garage sealed from the elements. While a coating can help repel moisture, that doesn’t mean it’s immune to weather.
High temperatures and direct sunlight can cause a coating to deteriorate. Conversely, cold temperatures can induce freezing and damage the barrier.
Rain and snow can cause the coatings to fail over time as well. Hard precipitation, like sleet or hail, can cause abrasions and scratches. While none of these will ruin your flooring, they’ll reduce its effectiveness and lifespan.
Frequently Clean the Floors
There’s still maintenance to be done on your garage floor. If you leave debris and trash over the coated floor, it can damage the coating.
Regularly use a soft broom to keep your garage floor clean. Doing so can reduce hard trash, like stones or sticks, that may scratch the coating. A single deep scratch can render your coating useless, so do what you can to protect it.
Protecting Your Garage Floor
Keeping your garage floor safe is easy with the right coating or sealing. If you prefer to leave your garage flooring as concrete, mats or tiles are a healthy option. Regardless of your preference for garage floor protection, keep the floor clean and protect the ground from the elements.
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