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Before i ever had a shop, i decided that i would have an epoxy coated floor. A little less than two years ago i finally got a shop, a two car garage that i have to share with one car. The floor was cluttered even before we moved in, and i have been working ever since to get the floor cleared out so i could epoxy it.
In January i finally finished my wood and clamp racks to get a lot of stuff off the floor and i moved the rest out to my shed. The first step was to clean the floor, which was covered with twelve years of paint splatter and soaked in oil.
I experimented with everything i've heard suggested - TSP, Simple Green, Greased Lightnings, Oil-Dri, dish detergent, industrial degreasers, CLR, carborator cleaner, mineral spirits, lacquer thinner, and probably a few other things that have damaged my memory from their chemicals.
The paint was pretty easy to get off, but the oil stains still remained. I ended up doing a hands-and-knees scrubbing of a degreaser and one of Simple Green (the most effective thing i tried), then etched with muriatic acid.
The acid made the biggest difference, but there were many small areas which likely would not hold epoxy. To get a good covering, it looked like i needed to shot blast or grind the floor down. I checked into a couple of rental places, and it looked like the equipment would run me $250+. As i researched epoxy coatings, i found that most people happy with their floors at Garage Journal did two coats of a high quality epoxy, which would cost about $250/coat for 400 sf, for a total over $750!
My floor was decluttered and well cleaned, so i wanted to do something with it. After a bit more research, i ended up with:
This is Armstrong Commercial vinyl composition tile. A lot of people on Garage Journal use it and are very happy with it despite not being recommended for garages by the manufacturer. This stuff is very tough - it is the same stuff used at Walmarts, Woodcrafts, and many other stores. It should provide a little bit of protection for dropped chisels and individual tiles can be removed and replaced as necessary. It will take more maintenance than epoxy, but if it is too much of a pain i may look into putting a urethane coating over it.
The color choice was to minimize showing dirt and any tire stains while still reflecting a lot of light, and i added the accent colors just to make the floor a little more interesting. I'm happy with how it turned out, but the true test will be how it wears long term.
In January i finally finished my wood and clamp racks to get a lot of stuff off the floor and i moved the rest out to my shed. The first step was to clean the floor, which was covered with twelve years of paint splatter and soaked in oil.
I experimented with everything i've heard suggested - TSP, Simple Green, Greased Lightnings, Oil-Dri, dish detergent, industrial degreasers, CLR, carborator cleaner, mineral spirits, lacquer thinner, and probably a few other things that have damaged my memory from their chemicals.
The paint was pretty easy to get off, but the oil stains still remained. I ended up doing a hands-and-knees scrubbing of a degreaser and one of Simple Green (the most effective thing i tried), then etched with muriatic acid.The acid made the biggest difference, but there were many small areas which likely would not hold epoxy. To get a good covering, it looked like i needed to shot blast or grind the floor down. I checked into a couple of rental places, and it looked like the equipment would run me $250+. As i researched epoxy coatings, i found that most people happy with their floors at Garage Journal did two coats of a high quality epoxy, which would cost about $250/coat for 400 sf, for a total over $750!
My floor was decluttered and well cleaned, so i wanted to do something with it. After a bit more research, i ended up with:
This is Armstrong Commercial vinyl composition tile. A lot of people on Garage Journal use it and are very happy with it despite not being recommended for garages by the manufacturer. This stuff is very tough - it is the same stuff used at Walmarts, Woodcrafts, and many other stores. It should provide a little bit of protection for dropped chisels and individual tiles can be removed and replaced as necessary. It will take more maintenance than epoxy, but if it is too much of a pain i may look into putting a urethane coating over it.
The color choice was to minimize showing dirt and any tire stains while still reflecting a lot of light, and i added the accent colors just to make the floor a little more interesting. I'm happy with how it turned out, but the true test will be how it wears long term.
), so you can save some money if you plan ahead.
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