Garage flooring - tiles vs epoxy

[Ck1720]

Hey guys, I am in the process of redoing my garage. I'm debating on tiles vs epoxy. I prefer the look of tiles but am worried about moisture getting trapped underneath. I live in the Chicagoland area so will be tracking in snow. No drain in garage and would get the closed tiles. Also considering a scissor mid rise lift and think the tiles will hold up better as well.

Any thoughts / experience?

Thanks

[Flint Rockbone]

I've done epoxy flooring in garages at two different houses and I'm always very happy with the results. The floor looks great and it's easy to clean. If you do the job yourself, be sure to do the clear coat step. Many guys skip this, but it's vital for the look and durability down the road. The only concern is that it tends to be a touch slippery when wet. So just be careful stepping out of your car on a snowy night.

[Mintsopoulos]

Our garage in AZ was epoxied and I miss it everyday. I highly recommend epoxy.

[Pittz1]

Plastic is nice. I have it, but I live in MD where it gets a bit cold in the winter, so working on the floor isn't an issue. Its nice to move my Quick Jack around on. Spills are easy to clean up.

Downside is that jackstands will mess them up.

[Ck1720]

Originally Posted by Pittz1

Plastic is nice. I have it, but I live in MD where it gets a bit cold in the winter, so working on the floor isn't an issue. Its nice to move my Quick Jack around on. Spills are easy to clean up.

Downside is that jackstands will mess them up.

How's the drainage after snow or rain? No odor or mold issues? Any recommended sites to order from?

[Pittz1]

Originally Posted by Ck1720

How's the drainage after snow or rain? No odor or mold issues? Any recommended sites to order from?

10 yrs, never an issue. Snow or rain, it just puddles up until it drys or pushed out. Summer time I was my cars in the garage and leaf blow it out. I've got some tire marks, but it is what it is.

[Kilabyte]

Originally Posted by Pittz1

10 yrs, never an issue. Snow or rain, it just puddles up until it drys or pushed out. Summer time I was my cars in the garage and leaf blow it out. I've got some tire marks, but it is what it is.

I've always worried that things like jacks/ jack stands would dig in and leave marks.

[9M71]

Originally Posted by Kilabyte

I've always worried that things like jacks/ jack stands would dig in and leave marks.

The jack stands with a sharp bottom will potentially dent them (swisstrax). I use a quick jack and no problems. The tiles make it very easy to maneuver the quick jacks around.

If I am using jack stands, I do lay a piece of scrap tile under it. But do be cautious that if your doing any work with strong lateral forces this is an added risk of the jack stands slipping. Never happened but always thought of it as a possibility.

Only other input I have is the lighter swisstrax colors stain and discolor overtime. I had a light silver color that looked amazing when new, the entire garage was like an operating room. However 3 years in, it did show their age. Switched to dark grey and have no problems with spills, tire marks, etc.

[MisterF80M3]

I just bought a new house. Haven't moved in yet and debating between stock, epoxy, or tiles.

Do you get what you pay for when it comes to epoxy? I'm looking to hire a professional and there is a wide range of prices.

[Carrera Dave]

Also building into a new home and looking for a durable floor option. From my understanding, polyaspartic offers much better option than epoxy. I'll have mine professionally installed and topped with a marble flake ("schist"). Lifetime warranty. Key is to ensure your garage floor has a moisture barrier.

Polyaspartic is supposed to bond to the concrete better than epoxy, once the surface has been diamond 'sanded' to open the concrete pores.

YMMV.

D.

[FaRKle!]

The contractor I hired used the Roll on Rock product and I upgraded from the epoxy top coat to polyaspartic for better durability. I've been happy with it, and with the flakes it's not slippery at all. I work on my cars in the garage all the time and it's held up great so far.

I looked at doing it myself vs hiring a company, and at the end of the day it cost me $600 in labor for the pros to complete my 3-car garage over two days versus buying the materials myself and probably spending many weekends figuring it out...

[John dillinger]

i just had my floors done (epo) polyaspartic ill take pics when i can ~ 3rd house w these floors

can't beat it ..... looks and maintenance

[DDD31]

I've had Race Deck tiles for 3 years now in snowy Michigan winters. Tiles are designed to allow moisture to drain through tiles down to concrete floor. I mop tiles twice a year and they still look brand new. I'm very satisfied with tiles and highly recommend them.



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[Ck1720]

Originally Posted by DDD31

I've had Race Deck tiles for 3 years now in snowy Michigan winters. Tiles are designed to allow moisture to drain through tiles down to concrete floor. I mop tiles twice a year and they still look brand new. I'm very satisfied with tiles and highly recommend them.

Attachment 2732938

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Looks great. Was your concrete sealed underneath?

[DDD31]

Originally Posted by Ck1720

Looks great. Was your concrete sealed underneath?

No, concrete is not sealed. It is new concrete though since the house was built in 2017. You can put tile down on any concrete floor, no prep required unlike epoxy floors where prep is Everything.

Water, snow, and ice just drip down on to concrete floor which either runs out front of garage or evaporates on its own, no issues so far.

[Ck1720]

Originally Posted by DDD31

No, concrete is not sealed. It is new concrete though since the house was built in 2017. You can put tile down on any concrete floor, no prep required unlike epoxy floors where prep is Everything.

Water, snow, and ice just drip down on to concrete floor which either runs out front of garage or evaporates on its own, no issues so far.

Are your tiles sealed / solid or are they vented where you can see concrete below? Lastly - where did you buy from and how much per square foot? Thank you

[ntg44]

Have you considered polished concrete? Definitely the way to go in my opinion.

[DDD31]

Originally Posted by Ck1720

Are your tiles sealed / solid or are they vented where you can see concrete below? Lastly - where did you buy from and how much per square foot? Thank you

Tiles are from RaceDeck. They’re the Free Flow style of tiles that are designed for snowy climates. You can barely see the concrete below the tiles and that’s only if you’re looking straight down through tiles. Tiles are $3.79 sq. ft on RaceDeck’s website. If you mention you saw them on www.garagejournal.com you get a discount (can’t remember how much but was at least 10%).



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[ineedae46m3]

Originally Posted by ntg44

Have you considered polished concrete? Definitely the way to go in my opinion.

Definitely a good option if you don’t deal with road salt.

[the_scotsman]

Watching this thread.

I’m building a detached 30x45 garage and got my first quote for a Polyaspartic coating - $10k.

I’ve have an epoxy coating in my main garage and, other some (cleanable) stains, has had zero issues for over 16 years.

[henrylee]

I did epoxy with top layer poly, looks great!!

[carchrism5]

I've done RaceDeck tiles (although not the Free Flow) and professional epoxy. One thing to note is the tiles do allow water to get in there and dry out, however your floor must be perfectly level otherwise it will pool. With the tiles we had two 2 car garages and one garage the floor was slightly pitched so water from rain and melted snow would get under the tiles and pool. Enough that we'd use a wet vac to clean because if you stepped on them you could feel it. Also every year we'd pull them out and clean them which while not difficult was a bit of a task. The other garage was more level so it wasn't as much pooling but we still took them out and cleaned underneath and the tiles. Again that was the solid tiles, the free form ones may be much better.

Epoxy is excellent, did it with a slight flake finish so you can't spot dirt as much and it is as close to zero maintenance as you can get. I've even hosed down parts of it to clean.

Tiles have a cooler garage/shop look to the finish and epoxy makes it look more like a finished floor. Personally I prefer the epoxy after having both.