Choosing The Better Garage Floor Based On Its Ability To Weather Damage
Before you choose your flooring solution, you need to think about what you plan to use your garage for. Are you just planning to park cars in there, or do you intend upon actually working on those cars, or other things? Either way, an epoxy garage floor coating or some other covering will be needed, but if there will be work done in that garage, you should be a lot more specific. Keep in mind, garage flooring takes time and money, so why not be sure to get it right for your needs?
Protection From Chemicals
If you are working in your garage, you will spill chemicals; that’s just the way it is. Motor oil, of course, is the first thing to come to mind, but it’s not alone. The manufacturers of most garage floor coatings and coverings seem to have thought of this, though, since pretty much all garage floors out there will deflect almost every type of chemical. However, if you would also like to manage the spilled chemicals, most garage floor mats and tiles actually channel the liquids, generally out of the garage. This is great because it makes a standard water hose into an awesome cleaning tool. Be careful that you don’t pollute the ground, though, as the chemicals flow out of the garage. Contrary to popular belief, diluting dangerous chemicals does not make them any safer to the Earth.
Resisting Damage From Automobiles
Anyone who has done much home improvement has probably heard of what traditionally happens when hot tires hit epoxy garage floor paint. Automobiles, even in the winter, have hot tires when they’ve been driven for a while and, when driven on garage floors treated with epoxy, that paint is known to stick to those tires. This is referred to as “hot tire pickup”. Luckily, modern epoxy paints are not supposed to be susceptible to this issue. Many people, though, will tell you otherwise, but always remember that paint that was not installed correctly can also cause this issue. You could also avoid even the possibility by using garage floor coverings, or maybe garage floor tiles, as they don’t do this, although some mats will bunch and gather underneath a car’s tires when steering. Most mats advertise that this, too, is now a non-issue.
Deflecting Less Predictable Damage
Epoxy paint does not fare well here, either, due to chipping. When a dropped tool hits a garage floor mat, the result is usually a bouncing tool. However, if it hits paint, there will be a chip, and likely much cursing. Of course, an floor with epoxy paint is a lot stronger than a non-protected concrete garage floor, but anything solid is still going to be prone to this type of damage. Garage floor tile sometimes has the same problem, depending on the tiles’ consistency, but unlike epoxy, you can merely exchange the affected tiles for new if needed.
Surviving The Elements
Of course, the elements have a lot to do with exactly what the flooring will have to survive. As long as moisture doesn’t get it first, epoxy will definitely do the best job protecting concrete. With that in mind, be sure to test your floor for moisture before you even order or buy your epoxy. Tiles do not do a lot to protect against the elements, except cause some heat retention, which is still a good thing in the winter months as that’s when concrete often splits and cracks. Even less effective, but still better than nothing, would be a garage floor covering, such as a mat.
Visit Sweet Garage Floor for more information about every kind of garage floor out there.
