Don’t settle for an ugly garage. Clearly, establishing it as a comfortable living space begins with the foundation — the floor. Chances are, your garage floor is stained with oil, cracked, cold and just plain nasty. If you are planning to convert your garage into an entertainment center, a gym, or meditative sanctuary, you must start with the floor. Check out these awesome and affordable flooring options for your garage. When it comes to improvements to your garage, the flooring can be just as important as the quality of your garage door when it comes to comfort and aesthetics.
Cheap: Latex
We’ll start on the cheap end. Latex‑based paint and acrylic‑based paints and stains is by far the easiest on the budget. Paint is an easy DIY job. There are a range of color options to increase your floor’s visual appeal at a minimal cost. Plus this kind of flooring is very easy to clean. A word of warning — latex stains easily.
A Step Up: Epoxy
Like latex, epoxy’s advantage is you can apply it yourself, if you are fairly handy and have the right equipment. If handiness isn’t your best talent, you might consider hiring a flooring professional for the job. Epoxy is a little more expensive than latex, but it’s much more durable, as well as stain and water resistant. You have a variety of colors, chip and flake designs available.
Tiles: If You’re Willing to Spend a Little
Hands down, tiles are the most durable flooring option available. They also tend to be more comfortable if you want to pad around in your garage in your bare feet. (With your garage door fully opened on a warm sunny day, this can be the absolute best!) There are a number of tile options to consider. Rubber snap‑together tiles are easy to clean. There are a variety of colors, so if you want to mix and match, you have your choices. Vinyl composite tiles are like what you see in grocery stores. Porcelain tiles are the most expensive option, but also the most durable.
Floor Mats: An Easy Option
The beauty of floor mats is that they are attractive, comfortable in bare feet, and simple to install. Floor mats are probably the easiest method for improving your garage floor — no prep work necessary. There are plenty of great choices made from rubber or polyvinyl plastic. They work similar to garage floor tiles. Install them over concrete floors that are cracked, stained, or dirty. You could get carpeted tiles, textured tiles, or an option better suited to the work you’ll do in a garage. Other options resemble gym mats, which can be the perfect choice if you use your garage as a yoga studio, weight lifting station, or exercise gym.
A Word About Concrete
Before you get down to business, take a good look at the state of the underlining concrete. It needs to be smooth. This means filling in any cracks and making sure the foundation is flat with no sinking points. If your flooring has issues, you’ll either need to fix the damage or pour a new floor.
Consider Your Door
There’s no sense in redoing the floor if your garage door is falling apart. If you are going to invest in a new floor, it makes sense to also install a new garage door. Give us a call to discuss the options!