Garage flooring

[L33 LEG]

A few of you would of noticed in my project thread that im making a big mess at home lol and extending my garage. Ages ago i searched all over for some flooring so it would look neater than painting straight onto the concrete but the prices of it were VERY expensive and considering that i basically need a double garage floor amount it wasnt going to be worthwhile.

However i really want to do it and feel like splashing out on the place but am hoping that there is a much cheaper option. The closest i have found at a decent price is this...

http://www.slip-not.co.uk/products.php?SID=57&secname=Garage%20Flooring

They do 10m roles but il probabaly need 3. No idea if it wil be good enough to use and even look good. Does anybody know of any ideas or where to buy something? Must be something out there that doesnt cost over £1k :roll:

[nova_saloon]

just try some self levelling cement so its nice and smooth then paint it. as that's well expensive. might as well go hardwood flooring lol. however that stuff would be absolutly mint to buy!

[L33 LEG]

The plan was to just use the concrete. We were going to mix it with granite to give a smoother finish but just thought id look at what floors are out there to buy but iv just searched all of google and everything is way too expensive.

Most sites sell the interlocking squares and ends up being around £900. Think these are the cheapest tiles around but not sure how many i will need http://www.bigdug.co.uk/clearance-c18/garage-flooring-set-c116/garage-flooring-set-p1358

[nova_saloon]

well you get 6 for 13.95 right. thats not bad at all considering. wonder why there so cheap compared to the rest now looking at it all. but i reckon 6 packs of thoose would do the job nicely

[L33 LEG]

There's no way 6 packs will do it IMO. My garage is basically 30ft long by 13ft. You can do the maths if you wish lol

[nova_saloon]

you will need 17.5 packs roughly but does involve some trimming around the edges of them so i say 17 packs. but thats a big old garage. mmm i want one that big

[L33 LEG]

Well that comes to £323 with vat and delivery which is still a bit expensive but much better than other sites.

The garage isnt big, iv just extended the floorspace by 10ft and another few foot for some workbenches. Will do nicely for me though and i can get two cars in there which is the main reason for doing it :)

[brainsnova]

I would lay that chequer plate sytle lino looks smart and easy clean lol

[loggyboy]

Just paint it!!

[paddy quinn]

just fire a few gallons of rubberoid roof paint down

[Royston]

just fire a few gallons of rubberoid roof paint down

Literally:eek:

Some nice materials there! and a good selection, have put the site in my favourites

I think I'd paint it personally, but it is your garage, you decidelol

[L33 LEG]

I probably will paint it, just think it will make it a special garage with some nice flooring down lol it will be finished within a month so i have plenty of time to decide about the floor anyway as that's the last thing to sort.

[L33 LEG]

Just had a quick look on ebay and saw this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/128-Sq-Ft-Cushioned-Floor-Tiles-Flooring-Garages-Mats-/320597938858?pt=UK_Flooring&hash=item4aa52052aa

Seems way too cheap, and there was actually one very similar for a bit less. It says you can drive cars on them but would they be ok to actually work on a car or be ok to put a piece of wood under the jack before jacking it up? I dont do that much work on my cars really but may end up driving in and out on them daily, do you think these are durable or just plain crap for what i need? Could end up being cheaper than doing a floor and painting it lol

[MK1_Ben]

Generally you get what you pay for :)

If you're wanting special tiles for the floor, get a decent type (which will set you back a chunk). I would personally just concrete the floor and paint it with a rubberised paint.

[L33 LEG]

Ye i agree with you there, those tiles must be a load of crap as it's way too cheap.

These seem a better option as it's more expensive, but obviously if im paying something like that i want to know if it will do the job.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Garage-Flooring-Rubber-PVC-Floor-tiles-double-garage-/270711287740?pt=UK_Flooring&hash=item3f07a66fbc

Also going down the tile route means that i could always take them with me when i move house so it's not exactly something that will be lost after a few years.

[L14MNP]

Costco sell the interlocking black and white tiles. Seem fairly durable mate but I wouldn't like to drive over anything like it day in day out.

Brians idea of black/white chequered lino would be cool, but no good for working on with jacks/axle stands as it would puncture.

I say paint.

[L33 LEG]

I priced up the costco stuff ages ago and it was mega expensive iirc. Theres plenty of these tiles for sale at totally different prices, i really need somebody who has had experience with them to see how they cope, may google it and find it on some forums.

Painting it will happen Lol, but if i find something cheap and good enough i may change my mind :)

PS. never been keen on the black and white chequers, have no idea why they are so common lol. My paint scheme is a darkish grey floor, black on the bottom of the walls (prob a quarter up the wall) and then the rest is going white. May also put a cheeky red line near the top aswell lol

[L14MNP]

Best not to rush into it as you say. It's nice to have options but it's infuriating when there's so much choice all the same! lol

IMO, the majority of people that have nice flooring in their garages never use it as a workshop, so the durability isn't much a factor.

Not to mention it will contain a trailor queen that barely moves.

Ask Nick J what he has in his place. (Joke!) lol

[L33 LEG]

If i did get somesort of flooring i would more than likely put my nova on some wooden mats for under the wheels, would do that even if i was to paint the floor as it would flake off everytime it moved (which isnt often lol)

Im just in the middle of searching for similar questions on random forums, seems a lot of people are asking the same as me.

[16v Nova Kev]

cba reading but have you looked into garage floor tiles.

[L33 LEG]

cba reading but have you looked into garage floor tiles.

What kind of tiles are you thinking? Be a bit more specific lol

[16v Nova Kev]

i cant find the ones i mean on ebay. but they are just smooth red tiles you see in garages/workshops they are ceramic.

[L33 LEG]

Dont really want ceramic tiles, cheers for the idea anyway :)

[16v Nova Kev]

oh well paint it then the floor im my work is fine painted lasts ages.

[big_wig_074]

i have a big tin of grey garage floor paint if you want it?just pay the postage,got to be 5 litres in there

[C612DNM]

Nip down your local auction rooms and search out carpet tiles. Hardly anyone ever bids on them, you could get a pallet load for a fiver if you nod at the wrong time! If you really screw it up, you might get two pallet loads!

[mowgli]

you could buy some lino or similar.... just how smooth is the floor?? you can rent floor grinder/polishers. and get it really smooth, then paint it.. remember, you can floor paint in lots of interesting designs, and not just boring one shade.

[L33 LEG]

Cheers for the offer big wig but il need about 20litres and for what it's worth i may aswell just buy it from a shop, appreciate the offer though.

Cant see carpet tiles looking good or even working well especially if they get wet, i also dont mind spending a bit of money lol

The floor is quite smooth, i just hae the odd line running here and there (if you have read my update on my thread you'll see why Lol). I know that it will look good once painted, i painted it red a few years ago and it looked ok, just had to go over it once a year which i didnt mind.

However though i think these locking floor tiles will look great, i am very tempted to try out the cheap ebay ones just to see what they are like and if i ever need to do an engine change or whatever i suppose i could always lift the tiles up in that area as they arnt stuck down. I just have the finished picture of the garage in my head and think that a smart floor would suit it really well, if it doesnt work i could always take it up and paint it (could also use the floor tiles somewhere else so it isnt wasted).

[db_1.2]

Vinyl? As long as you jack up with a bit of wood it should be fine. Probably too expensive though, as you'll have to screed the floor, the stick all over.

[L33 LEG]

Ye it would have to be really smooth if i was to vinyl it and then i may aswell just paint it. I have a few more weeks to decide so il see what i feel like then.

Thanks for all the suggestions :)

[paddy quinn]

Literally:eek:

Some nice materials there! and a good selection, have put the site in my favourites

I think I'd paint it personally, but it is your garage, you decidelol
yes literally lol thats all im doing when i clean my garage out

[paddy quinn]

lol sorry ment grey bitumen paint

[Lewis.]

I'd have an epoxy resin screed layed. It's hard as nails,lasts forever, is super smooth and can level imperfections in the concrete, and looks great.
various different types here: linky (http://www.john-lord.co.uk/products/resin-flooring/index.php) no idea on price, but I cant imagine it being particularly expensive.

[L33 LEG]

Just a bit of an update with this for anybody who is interested in doing a floor or future reference...

The ebay stuff and the flooring from costco/maplin/etc are basically just rubber mats. I've searched all of google and read hundreds of different forums talking about each type and these are simply too soft and would be no good using a car on, although at the price (especially the ones on ebay) i suppose it could be worth buying and just replacing any that rip, but if it is to be used everyday i cant see it lasting long at all.

The tiles that are used in garages are the pvc ones. Searching the top end car forums most people tend to use racedeck, for a double garage the cost is way over £1k. After a few enquiries and more searching i found 2 companies that sell pvc tiles at decent prices.

Tileplans got back in touch with me with a quote of £740 delivered, these are only 4mm but apparantly are durable enough for a garage.

Eco-tiles also replied to an email. These sound by far the better option and customer service sounds spot on. The tiles are 6mm and 7mm thick and described as extremeley durable and are used in industrial workshops (easily cope with forklift trucks,etc), these also come with a 10year guarantee so if anything does fail i could always replace them, but seen as it is just for a house garage there should be no problem at all. The price is basically the same but that was if i chose the black tiles as they are stock clearence and get a further 10% off, went from £29m2 to £16.50m2 (ex.vat). At the original price i cant see them being much different to the racedeck ones.

A sample of these are coming in the post tomorrow apparantly so i will check them out then, the first option from tileplans arnt too far from me aswell so i can go down and compare tiles (even though they dont sound as good).

It's a lot of money to spend on a floor but it at least gives me an option. Once i have finished my garage and if it looks as nice as i hope once painted then i will be seriously tempted to get some of this stuff to finish it off nicely (and as said earlier, i could always take it out if i ever moved house so wouldnt be wasted).

Sorry for the essay lol