S4 Garage Floor Options

[ojmcneill]

What's shaking everyone.
I didn't know where else to put this so I'm putting it here in our S4 forums. I'm wanting to laydown something in my garage to keep the dust and debri down. Has anyone had any experience with this? Griotts has those foam squares you can put together and lay on yoru garage floor. Right now, I'm keeping my S4 in my garage, which has a concret floor and it's an unfinished garage with studs showing.

I guess I'll research epoxy painted floor coverings as well as the rubber squares you can piece together as a base. If anyone has any other options or a good idea, please send them my way.

As Always, All The Best!

[risc427]

Check out Obsessed Garage on YouTube. He does a fairly significant review/install of Swisstrax. I'm not entirely sold on that solution as it is grated, but I suppose it depends on what your needs are.

[MrFunk]

I'd do tiles in your case. Lots of options out there. Here's easily the BEST source for finding what you need. Read some of the articles and educate yourself here. All that is garage flooring - http://allgaragefloors.com/

[gharry67]

I bought a new inventory house where they epoxy'd the floor and I love it. Don't need to put anything down during an oil change, etc, though I do anyway since I'm picky.


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[MacFady]

I don't think many of the options are meant to address "keeping dirt and debris down" as you want, but more for sealing/stain resistance/anti skid reasons.

[pdqgp]

Check out Obsessed Garage on YouTube. He does a fairly significant review/install of Swisstrax. I'm not entirely sold on that solution as it is grated, but I suppose it depends on what your needs are.

I am reviewing doing Swisstrax vs a commercial epoxy. I love the idea of S.T. but have leaned away from it as I do a lot of detailing and the dust and dirt will be under there and in need of being blown or washed out still and it won't be nearly as easy to remove as if it were just straight commercial epoxy coated. I don't want a solid race-deck style as I also have hot/cold water and wash in the garage and need for that water to run off and evaporate vs being trapped under the flooring. either way I suspect it will cost me about $1,500-2,500 to get something.

[sacandagaD]

I'd vote to go epoxy. We had a three stage industrial floor coating professionally installed in our garage renovation and it has held up perfectly for almost two years now. Prep is the absolute key to a successful floor coating, and they ground and etched our concrete first. Cost was about $ 6 per square foot.

[MrFunk]

Epoxy and sealing the floor can be a huge job if the floor is not in condition to be sealed. From OP's description it does not sound like that would be a good route for him to go... if the garage floor is flaking and crumbling causing dust etc. To keep that "down" he can tile it which would be much less expensive than repairing then epoxying the floor.


FWIW I used a product called "rust bullet" on my garage floor. It's not as "fancy" as epoxy but the product cost me 3-$400 and you simply roll it on (paint). The floor must be prepped with no grease dirt or broken cement. Any moisture in the cement will break through any epoxy or sealed floor so you also need to make sure your floor doesn't have moisture in it. I etched my garage floor prior to applying also. It's a polyurethane product.

Here's a pic for reference

[joe biker]

What ever epoxy you use
Don't use any ppg products.
I had mine done two months ago and it went
Two tone,so they gave my
Guy more product and once again another bad
Batch.
PPG rep came out inspected the floor and said it was bad product.
They were going to refund
My painters labor 750 bucks.
That was 2 months ago
And I have heard nothing.
I am going to regrind the floor and have a professional company redue it.
Lesson learned !!!!!
Was now quoted 1250 not
Counting grinding,


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[mgaman]

When we bought our new house last year I spent a ton of time deciding between a floor-tile system or epoxy coating.

I liked the floor tiles ability to let air move underneath, which means the floor is a bit warmer if you needed to traipse through it barefoot or something. I also liked that I could just pop out and replace any damaged sections. What I didn't like was all that dirt and dust would just be trapped underneath the tiles, and water from melting snow and the like would just drip through and, if it didn't make it to the floor drain, become stagnant.

I researched epoxy coatings and found that if the floor is properly prepared the coating shouldn't fail on its own. The epoxy quality matters as well, the store bought stuff has a longer working time for the DIYer versus the 100% solids epoxy the professionals use. The cost was more expensive due to the prep work, I think the tile system would have cost me about half to two-thirds the cost of the professional epoxy coating.

In the end I went with the epoxy flooring. The decision came down to three things:

1. Epoxy will actually "seal" the concrete, no more dusting - which would have continued to build under the tile flooring.
2. No worries about anything getting stuck under the tiles, or having to eventually pull them up to do a clean out under them.
3. Aesthetics. Admittedly a vain thing but after a lot of looking I could never find a floor tile system that just didn't end up looking beat up to hell after a few years unless you religiously maintained it. Epoxy would let me just hose and sweep or pressure wash it down now and then, and again, without having to worry about whether the water was actually draining right under the tile.

I picked a company local to me: they diamond ground the floor, acid etched, and then thoroughly cleaned it before laying down the colored primer layer of epoxy. Then another layer of colored epoxy, then a layer of the various sized chips to make the floor style I requested, then two top coat clear layers of epoxy, and a final UV protectant coat. 25 year guarantee against premature failure AND physical damage on top of that.

Cost was a tad over $4200 for a 700 sq ft garage. I haven't regretted it a single moment since I got it, and it keeps the S4 happy :P I did have to rush to get some paint up on the walls though, since I knew any mess I made before the epoxy would be cleaned up when they ground the floor haha. So it looks a bit unfinished. It's all finished out now and looks great.

[joe biker]

Floor looks great !!!!


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[b8audis4]

If you can do Polyaspartic, thats what I would recommend. It is expensive but worth it.

I did epoxy, and hated it. Ended up going with Swisstrax after trying Racedeck and not liking it as much. Was way too slippery and could see right through the tiles. Swisstrax was the best option for me.

[mgaman]

If you can do Polyaspartic, thats what I would recommend. It is expensive but worth it.

https://www.concretenetwork.com/poly...omparison.html

Polyaspartic is good stuff, though there's things to consider. This article discusses a bit on it.

[AKPS4]

Epoxy. Careful, slippery when wet! Consider a light application of granules to some slip resistance. Here is mine

[Kdog68]

I used Rust-Oleum epoxy shield - did the whole garage (3+ bays) for about $500. It's going on 5 years now and needs a touch up but has held up really good for the money spent. Like others have said prep is the key, and yes get the texture additive to add some bite to the floor because it can be slippery (made that mistake in my last garage).


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[SForePlayin']

I used U Coat it - https://ucoatit.com/
+1 to adding texture to it because it is very slippery when wet.

[infinkc]

I used U Coat it - https://ucoatit.com/
+1 to adding texture to it because it is very slippery when wet.

How do you like the u coat it? I'm thinking of putting it in my new garage. I currently have the rustoleum one in my house and it has held up very well. It's all about the prep.

[chaos2984]

Here is my garage floor. It was recomended by another fellow Audi guy. He had it for 7 years in Canadian winters and no issues. So that sold it for me. Here is a pic of mine. I have done heavy work on mine and it shows little wear after 2 years. I scrub it with soap about every 2 months.
Here is the link of the company for the epoxy.
http://www.armorgarage.com/commercia...ng-system.html

[fonseca_q5]

VCT Tile...

[SForePlayin']

How do you like the u coat it? I'm thinking of putting it in my new garage. I currently have the rustoleum one in my house and it has held up very well. It's all about the prep.

I'm happy with the way it turned out. I think I considered the rustoleum product having seen it at Lowe's Home Improvement, but ultimately went with UCoatIt because I liked this color combination (I think it matched best with the color of my car - call me crazy, haha). I agree with you and others that say that preparation is key. Follow all instructions to the letter for surface preparation and product application.

I would do the following things differently if I could:

1) Use latex or rubber gloves when applying, otherwise the epoxy and/or polyurethane will stay on your hands for a week or so - gloves came with the product but I did not wear them.
2) My garage floor is broken up into four quadrants. With respect to the vinyl flakes, I would divide the quantity into four even amounts, thus ensuring the same amount of flakes/coverage on each quadrant. I found that I applied the most flakes on the first quadrant, and by the time I got to the last quadrant, I had significantly less, so the coverage on the last quadrant is noticeably lighter.
3) Use an anti-slip compound to make it less slippery when it gets wet - I've had a couple of people go down but thankfully they didn't get hurt.
4) Dont' mix up the whole batch of polyurethane. Try to leave a little bit left over in the event you notice that you missed an area - I missed a spot and had to order another small quantity to finish.

[finnicky7]

I used the Rustoleum Professional, not the crap at lowes. Took a week to prep but looks awesome.


You can be: fast, do it cheap, and be reliable. Choose only TWO.

[finnicky7]

You can be: fast, do it cheap, and be reliable. Choose only TWO.

[finnicky7]

Be sure to fix ALL blemishes or you'll see every flaw....


You can be: fast, do it cheap, and be reliable. Choose only TWO.

[chaos2984]

I spent 600 for my floor coating. It was a complete kit came with everything except shoes, bucket and a drill. It takes about 3 days to do it and then 72 hours before you can put a car on it. Its worth the wait trust me.

like one guy said don't buy anything you can get at a store it will be crap. Perfection isn't quick.

[EIAlfonso]

Epoxy and sealing the floor can be a huge job if the floor is not in condition to be sealed. From OP's description it does not sound like that would be a good route for him to go... if the garage floor is flaking and crumbling causing dust etc. To keep that "down" he can tile it which would be much less expensive than repairing then epoxying the floor.


FWIW I used a product called "rust bullet" on my garage floor. It's not as "fancy" as epoxy but the product cost me 3-$400 and you simply roll it on (paint). The floor must be prepped with no grease dirt or broken cement. Any moisture in the cement will break through any epoxy or sealed floor so you also need to make sure your floor doesn't have moisture in it. I etched my garage floor prior to applying also. It's a polyurethane product.

Here's a pic for reference

This still holding up well?
How long did have you had it on?


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[ECS Tuning-Audi]

I did ceramic tile at the house, and out at the farm I had the concrete sealed then we laid down race deck. The tile looks amazing but is slippery as heck anytime it's damp, I put a few industrial style mats in high traffic areas to help keep everyone from falling. Race deck has been down for two years with two large tractor going in and out of the garage along with all the "toys" (4 wheelers etc), no sign of breakdown of the flooring.

If I did it all again, deck at the farm, it just works well, it has water channels so moisture heads to the floor drain and the texture of it keeps you from slipping even with muddy boots. The house, I'd probably do a roll on with grit/grip, the only reason we went tile was I scored a great deal on closeout tile.

-James

[adoonan]

I just got a quote from www.GraniteGarageFloors.com and they have a great variety of bases to use, but the real advantage is how hard the coating is and their guarantee. Here is a copy of the email for some details (I'm not affiliated with them, just interested in getting it done in my own garage and I was impressed). There aren't a lot of cities, though, and I don't see one in Lexington, KY, but in case other forum members are interested, check it out.

"The attached estimate includes covering the entire area that we discussed with our signature, five-step, “Granite” process. Our methodology utilizes industrial grade, 2-part epoxy base coat, upgraded uvS Polyaspartic top-coat, and acrylic chips integrated in between these coats at a coverage ratio of 25 lbs. of chips per 100 square feet – a significant need for a long lasting and durable epoxy flooring system. Our prep work will include utilizing diamond grinders to properly prepare the concrete for permanent wicking of our slower curing epoxy to allow for full penetration the concrete substrate. Our concrete preparation also includes patching of all imperfections, cracks, and spalling on your interior concrete with 2-part epoxy patch to ensure a strong, flat, & continuous surface. A very important part of our system is our slower curing base coat. Other systems provide a one-day install and use a thinner, fast-drying material for the base coat that cures too quickly to fully penetrate the concrete pores. The Granite Garage Floors system utilizes a thicker, slower-curing epoxy base coat which allows for a deep-penetrating bond to the substrate that creates a tenacious and permanent bond to your garage floor. We do not believe in sacrificing quality and longevity of our coating systems for a quicker back-to-service time. Lastly - Our Granite Garage Floor systems come with a Lifetime Satisfaction Guarantee against peeling, hot-tire pick up and delamination. We have installed over eight-hundred thousand square feet and have many former customers in Johnson County, Jackson County, and the KC metro area willing to share their experiences with you that they have had with Granite Garage Floors. The coating of your stem (foundation) walls is included in the estimate, but is entirely optional. At your discretion, you can either include or exclude this area to reduce the overall cost of your installation."

Prob do this in the summer.

[lopott]

Go to Garagejournal.com. they have a forum sub heading all about flooring. Very active and multiple vendors that offer deals and advice on flooring. be prepared to spend the next week and audizine to drop on your go to forum visits for awhile.

[doughboy17]

Epoxy. Careful, slippery when wet! Consider a light application of granules to some slip resistance. Here is mine

Granules are a must with epoxy!