Yellowihss's Garage Ideas / Garage Build
 

Looking for advice for a good garage floor coating.
Leaning towards the ArmorGarage
Garage Flooring | Industrial Epoxy Floor Coatings and Paints:
It has very little complaints, and a very good website with lots of info.

Second Question would be color scheme. (Bace coat color/Flake colors)
Leaning towards : Dark Grey base, and Black, White, Battleship Grey flakes.

Third question would be what to do with the walls.
One Idea:leave the ceiling white, black stripe, and battleship grey lower to match the flakes on the floor.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1341591775


Just looking for ideas/experience.

Not sure about budget, but...

After the Great Exploding Water Heater Disaster of 2009, I sanded the floor and then used this product to coat it. Turned out pretty well- I only lived in that house for another year afterward, however it held up nicely against ordinary use- floor jacks, jackstands, spilled oil, etc. Pure methanol does cause it to discolor slightly, but didn't seem to cause any other harm.

How are you going to keep your wife from putting her junk into your pristine garage? That's really the fundamental issue I struggle with. Maybe you guys don't have that problem.

I also have a horse that likes to sneak in and hang out in the garage. That can make a mess.

I think your color scheme is good from a long-term maintainability perspective, and the white uppers should be great for lighting. Reminds me of the USN.

I would lean toward a lighter color floor. In our shop we went form a dark gray to a medium tan color. It makes the shop brighter ,looks cleaner(read hides dirt better) and easier to find dropped bolts. Just my thoughts.

Light Grey
http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-6690550..._2215_11960133
Medium Grey
http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-6690550..._2215_14626458
Dark Grey
http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-6690550..._2215_13090545

I already ordered the dark, but I can change it by the end of the day.
I don't think its dark enough to be called dark grey.

Y'alls opinions would really help.

I agree with the posters above. I went with a lighter grey color and only used about half of the flakes included in the package. I didn't want so much flake that it made it very difficult to find small hardware that was dropped.

I do think the general "grey/black/white" theme with some red cabinet or tool chests should look sharp.

An agreement from before we got married.
THE GARAGE IS MINE.
Until I have a 4 car garage, she has nothing to do with the garage.

Mine more closely resembles the medium grey. I would go with one of the lighter two shades over the dark.

I owned the house before we were married, and garage is detached. Nothing but her bike in there.

However, the basement is a different story. I have to fight to keep the shop area clear of boxes and crap.

I did my 2 car garage with the Armor Garage Harley Tan with the upgraded top coat. Great product, and Jim is great to deal with.

I recommend the product to anyone looking for epoxy. Much more durable than the EpoxyShield I had in my previous home. My floor jack and jack stands scratched the EpoxyShield, hasn't made a mark in the Armor Garage.

Great to hear considering it cost $800 to do a 2-2.5 car garage.

I plan on being in this house for a while, and didn't want to epoxy the garage floor more than once. To me, it was worth the additional cost to do it once.

The EpoxyShield in the old house was 3 or so years old. No issues with hot tire pickup, but if you looked at it the wrong way, it would scratch.

We just did something real similar to the picture, in a friends garage.

Did a light gray floor coating, that hes having some stenciling done on, a gunmetal color for the bottom half of the wall and a 6 inch wide stripe that was as high as his tool box and the same color (saphirre blue) and the top of the wall white.

I would avoid a white color, because of the marks and fingerprints.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1341702733

I've done 2 floors so far with epoxy/sealer/flakes.

For me, the flakes make the floor. Without them it just looks too bare.

Just prep the hell out of the floor and make sure you get up every single bit of dirt and dust there is. Work quickly and evenly. If you end up doing the flakes, make sure you sprinkle them in as you go.

In for info on the floor stuff. Trying to buy a house with a 2 car now actually. Wife sugeested a wall paint that is dry erase. I plan on making a good section of wall dry erase so I can doodle ideas. Back wall will be coated in projector scene stuff on a removabke board for extraloud game nights if funds allow. Already have a nice projector. Armorcoat sounds interesting. We painted an old shop I worked at in the cheaper epoxy stuff and jacks and stuff ruined it.

I will add one thing on the walls:

Use glossy white paint.

It may get dingy more easily, but white walls reflect light, making the whole space brighter and easier to work in. And gloss paint can be scrubbed clean when it gets dingy.

I've had garages which were bare drywall, and which were bright white. The white-painted walls make the workshop experience better.

+1 to what Joe said. I used a white exterior paint, and everything wipes right off. I can pressure wash the garage floor, and don't worry about the walls getting wet.

Id recommend using a coating from Wolverine Coatings.
Its so far been the most durable floor coating Ive used.
After 3 years it still hasnt peeled/reacted to anything Ive spilled and hasnt chipped from dropping anything from tools to motors.

While on the subject of garages, I have a 12' ceiling, and a regular garage door opener. It also opens like a normal garage taking up a lot of ceiling space, and leaves no room for a lift.

Anyone else have, of had this problem, is so, what did you do.

This is my garage. (Excuse the mess, I just moved in.)
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1341963047

This is what I want.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1341963047

This thread sparked my interest. the prep work quickly dissolved it.

There is absolutely no reason you couldn't extend the tracks. You'd have to either get the torsion style opener (like in second pic), but they aren't that expensive.

To those who did a DIY floor coating, how much time/effort was invested, to get a clearer picture? do the kits come with the etching/clear? it wasn't clear on the description.

"The Armor Chip kit contains:

Etching solution
2 gallons of part A epoxy & 1 gal part B epoxy
8 LBS OF COLORED CHIPS. Colors are as follows:
Gray & Lt Gray kits have white, black and light blue chips.
Dk Gray has black, white and primary blue chips.
Beige kit has black, white and brown chips.
Beige Plus(12lbs of chips total) has black, white, brown, chocolate and clay chips.
Red kit comes with additional primer material for proper color coverage and has black, white and tan chips.
Kahki Tan kit has 10lbs of brown, buff and ivory chips.
Harley Tan kit has 10lbs of brown, clay, chocolate, white and black chips.
Harley Tan Light kit has 10lbs of clay, buff, chocolate, white and black chips.
Blue kit has black, white and gray chips.
Racing Blue kit has black, white, gray and rustic red chips.
Harley Gray has Light Gray epoxy with 10 lbs. of dk gray, medium gray, black and white chips.
Desert Tan and Sandlewood are the same color and has burgundy, white, navy, clay and chocolate chips.
If you are ordering the White kit, it comes with additional primer for proper color coverage and please specify up to 4 chip colors in the comment box at bottom of checkout page. Note: You can select up to any 4 chip colors you want with any epoxy kit, simply select base color you want ie: Tan, Gray etc and then just indicate the chip colors you would prefer in the comment box at checkout.

Two coats of crystal clear urethane fortified protective topcoat.For Fork Lift traffic or other heavy duty usage choose the single coat Fork Lift Duty Topcoat Option.

Rubber gloves
Cut in brush

Mixing sticks to mix individual cans.

Mixing bucket
1-unit of non skid additive for areas where additional traction is desired. Won't affect high gloss finish!

1-notched squeegee for spreading epoxy

3-9" epoxy roller covers (1 for epoxy & 2 for topcoats)
1-paddle mixer to mix combined epoxy parts A & B.
Clear and Easy to follow detailed written instructions"


"COMPLETE AND EASY TO FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS
Our unique system is easy to apply and can be installed by anyone who can paint with a roller. Its simple and easy!
1.Clean/wash the floor well (power washing is preferred but not required)to remove all dirt, loose paint and residues. If your floor was previously coated with an inferior epoxy that has failed or is beginning to fail please refer to these set of images on how to properly redo your floor with Armor Chip. HOW TO COAT OVER AN EXISTING EPOXY. Please note that if a major percentage of the floor is peeling or flaking off it means that its only a matter of time before the entire floor fails and it's best to completely remove the coating.
Apply epoxy in temperature range of 45-95 degrees. Do not apply if raining.

2. Mix our supplied environmentally safe floor etching solution with water per packaged instructions. Apply and scrub in well with a stiff shop broom, let stand for 10 minutes then rinse thoroughly. Let dry 24-48 hrs to be sure concrete is completely dry. For best results floor must be completely clean, dry and have a slightly rough feel to it. A second etching may be necessary for new floors due to large amounts of curing residues at the surface or older floors that are extra dirty. See our Acid Safe Etching Kit for additional etchings. If using the Acid Safe Etching Kit prior to rinsing acid off sprinkle 2 boxes of the supplied TSP over the floor, brush in to neutralize the floor and then rinse thoroughly.
3. Mix the contents of each individual can of the two part epoxy and then mix the two parts together at a 2 parts A to 1 part B ratio. Use two measured containers to get accurate amounts of each epoxy part(2:1 ratio). Pour the container of A and the container of B into the supplied 6 gallon bucket and mix thoroughly for 3-4 minutes. Do not mix all the epoxy at once, this is not like store bought epoxy paints that have a pot life of up to 8 hours. Armor Chip is pure Military Spec epoxy and has a pot life of about 45 minutes. We recommend doing your floor in 3-4 batches per kit, this will allow you to apply the epoxy and chips without rushing and still have plenty of work time left over as a safety margin. Apply a bead of the mixed base color coat from the container in a left to right direction directly to the floor do not use a roller pan. Spread evenly over a 4-5 ft wide strip(you can do much larger sections if purchasing the optional spiked soles) with supplied notched squeegee. Then roller over to smoothen. Armor Chip Epoxy will automatically be at the proper thickness.

4. While the epoxy is wet, apply the supplied color chips by simply tossing them slightly up into the air and at a 45 degree angle away from you so that they freely rain down onto the epoxy in an even pattern. We give you plenty of chips do achieve the look your eye thinks is best. You can use as much of the chips as you want without worrying about running out. Avoid tossing too many chips at a time so that you don't wind up with piles of chips which will spoil the the look of your new floor. Tossing a little at a time is best, you can you use a Johny Apple Seed type spreader if you have one. Leave the last 6 inches of the epoxy without chips. You will overlap the epoxy from the next section onto this area and then apply the chips. All the sections will blend together to form a single monolithic seamless finished coating.

5. Once you have completed the first section repeat steps 3 & 4 until done. Note: After the first section you may do larger areas as you get comfortable working with the epoxy. You should be done painting and applying chips in about 2 hrs per kit. Note: for large areas use our spike shoe bottoms which allow walking on the wet epoxy. Use Xylene for any clean ups(available at Home Depot/Lowes).

6. Let epoxy & chips dry to the touch, usually in approximately 5-6 hrs, you can let the peoxy cure overnight also. Once dry to the touch sweep the floor good with a stiff shop broom or shovel with plastic edge to remove any loose chips or any chips that are sticking straight up. Then apply half of the clear topcoat to seal in the chips and magnify the beautiful high gloss finish. The chips themselves give the floor some texture but if you desire to use the non skid additive supplied for added traction, mix it right into the second final clear coat. Allow first coat to dry to the touch before applying second coat. Clear coat dries to a touch/walk on, in about 2 hrs(you can move all your stuff back in at that point). Let cure for 36-72 hrs before driving on it. That's it!"


or
Garage Epoxy Flooring Kit| Epoxy Floors

For 600sq ft it cost me 801 shipped with the roller, and the spiked shoes so you can walk on it to apply the flakes.

I assume a full Saturday of work.
I will be doing it this Saturday if it shows up.

Apparently this is the end-all, be-all of the side openers.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1341964401
http://www.liftmaster.com/lmcv2/page...px?modelId=436

Again, anyone with experience?

It's not as much work as it seems. I've done 2 garages, one an older home, the other new construction. The prep work on the older home was a little more time consuming - had to treat a few oil spots and fill a couple of cracks. Can easily be done in a weekend, as long as the floor dries completely from the acid etching.

Not much more difficult than painting a room inside the house.

Every kit I've looked at includes the etching acid, it's usually just a powder citric acid that you mix with water. Clear coat is usually an option. The higher end kits usually include a clear that you can upgrade to the "heavy duty" clear coat.

I do garage floors for a living and one thing that is necessary is proper floor prep.unless you put your coating over a clean diamond ground floor you are asking for trouble later on. Sticky tires will pull the coating off in a heartbeat unless its properly prepared, acid washing and cleaning doesn't cut it.. I redo 3 to 4 floors a week that people did themselves and listened to so guy at home depot that never did a floor in his life..they call me when it peels off. Maybe I should buy the guy lunch at home depot !!

A clean and etched floor with properly applied epoxy shouldn't peel, hot tire lift, etc. The floors you redo were most likely applied improperly.

Maybe they were done by someone who doesn't know how to make a picture larger than a postage stamp?

Damn... some of you bastards make me so jealous

I have no doubt that your floor jobs are vastly superior to the one I have done and mine is only about 18 - 24 months old, but I can tell you that mine has held up better than expected given that:

A) I probably only did a mediocre cleaning job
B) I did not lay the coating down nearly as thick as I could/should have

On the other hand, my garage floor was in reasonably good shape because the house was only about 5 years old.

Braineack - If I remember correctly, I did prep on Saturday and application on Sunday.

Mmmmm.. My welcome to the forum
Hey I'm sorry my picture posting doesn't meet your standards . considering it was my first time posting a picture I thought I did good..I'll try to live up to your expectation next time

Because we give a lifetime warranty on our floors we do grind the concrete to remove the sealer and any other coatings.this will let let the coating soak into the concrete rather then lay on top of it..
Its like painting a car. you can do a quick sand and spray or a meticulous strip to the bare metal it all depends on what you want the finish product to be.

A floor that has not been sealed will hold up longer to a epoxy job then one that was sealed and etched..

Thanks for the tips ladies. I realize like all paint jobs, it's the prep work that makes the biggest difference.

we had a similar unit installed (could actually be the same) on our third garage door because we needed the space on the side for my father's motorcycle lift.

like much of the new "efficient" (space, energy, time) gadgets coming out today, it works well for it's purpose and isn't as loud as the traditional setups we have on our other garage doors.

So to start the actual build:

One drawback to having high ceiling in my new garage is that the entry is not ground level. Building code required this huge waste of space.
I converted my huge landing, and stairs to just stairs to free up a lot of space.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1342149802
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1342149802

Next was my work bench.
14' long, 40" high, and 30" deep.
It is made out of 3/4" pine, and I will be covering it with 1/4" plate steel.
It also has a nifty lower shelve that is shorter so I can pull a stool up and work without hitting my legs.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1342149802

my 2 cents:

I help build my grandpop's garage earlier this summer, and what simple rule he followed was brilliant... lighter colors, the more light reflects. we built 6 rows of 8 flood lamps in the ceiling for his projects and it lights the whole damn place up, very little shadows in engine bays when lifted on a lift with little to no help of hook lights. He has gloss white walls, with a heavy gloss light greyblue-ish garage floor coating

That's that arrangement I made with my new fiance (now wife) before we got married. When we get a house the inside is hers the garage is mine.