I have been researching and researching different products for a durable, affordable garage floor coating. And what I've come up with is that no such thing exists - speaking specifically to the latter...affordability.
That said, affordability is subjective to every individual and, should a product prove to be durable and stand the test of time and condition, a high price might be justified.
I narrowed my choices down to two very different products. One is a premium modular interlocking tile called
Swisstrax. I absolutely love love love the look of this stuff, especially the Ribtrax. However, one major flaw in this floor is that when working in the garage, if I drop something small on the floor, it would be a PITA to 1. find it and 2. get it out of the flooring (yes, I could use a magnet but if it's not metal, I'd have to get needle nose or something). Not a big deal at all but if im laying on my back, under a vehicle and drop something, it would get old. The other aspect I dont like about the Swisstrax is the cleaning thing, as in cleaning under the tiles. The company does address the issue and shows how easy it is to clean but I just cant get on board with it. There are other pros/cons to the floor but I won't get into those.
The other product is epoxy. There are TONS of companies who sell epoxy floor coatings. Through my research I've come to realize that there isn't a single product that is perfect for every application. It is the responsibility of the consumer to do their research, determine what might work best for their floor, prep the area accordingly, and follow the manufactures installation guidance. As such, for me I've decided to purchase a custom kit from
ArmorPoxy.
I love the idea of a seamless floor as opposed to the interlocking, floating floor like the SwissTrax. Moreover, my garage floor isn't a perfectly flat plane and any "clacking" from a floating floor would get on my nerves.
I will be doing a full broadcast (completely cover the floor 100% with the little flakes) installation, which will include a primer epoxy coat, the flakes, a 100% solids epoxy to encapsulate the flakes, and then a final UV resistant top coat.
Temps/humidity have to be right for the installation and I'm sure it'll be a few weeks before the Virginia weather starts to cool down. Nonetheless, I will be posting my progress in this thread. If all goes as planned, I'll have a video of the process (Dont expect much) and an amazing floor! Here's the color I'm going for.
