You wouldn’t believe how much a garage floor covering can change the look of your garage for the better. Even more, installing one is really not as hard as many people make it to be. It is a process that can be done very easily and relatively quickly. However, the advantages you get are of utmost importance. Among these, some of the most important ones are:
- A good garage floor covering will help reduce the smell of gas, because nobody really likes that smell;
- The floor covering will help you a lot in the process of cleaning your garage. You know very well that when dirt accumulates directly over the concrete, it is much harder to clean;
- If your car has a leak and fluids come out on the concrete, you will manage to clean all that mess a whole lot easier. This is not really a very pleasant scenario, but it is one with which many car owners are confronted each day.
There are many types of floor coverings. For instance, there is the roll over, mats or tiles which anyone can use to cover the garage floor. Some of the best results are achieved when using roll over floor covering. This is also usually easier to install than the other ones. All you need to do is to purchase the roll over taking into consideration the surface of your garage. Then, you roll it over using an adhesive and you are done. It’s amazing how easy it is to make your garage look much better in just 2 easy steps.
Then again, you can always ask the shopkeeper if you’re not sure about something. You can also ask him for someone who does this as a job and knows his way around. That’s the easiest way, but is also the most expensive one. However, for people who are not very handy or simply don’t have the time, this is by far the best option.
To conclude, a garage floor covering can be a very wise investment. The cover makes the floor less sticky and slippery, thus reducing the risk of slipping and falling down. Two of the most important advantages of installing a covering are the fact that it will make your garage look gorgeous and the fact that it will dramatically reduce the risk of accidents inside your garage.
5 Types of Garage Floor Covering
1.Interlocking Garage Floor Covering
The interlocking garage floor covering can be a useful way to make your garage look gorgeous. You may ask yourself: why not use other types of floor covering? Well I can give you some good reasons why you should use this one. Like all other types of floor coverings, it will be very easy to clean it. The difference, in cleaning, is that this kind of coverings are usually made to withstand more then usual to all kind of chemicals, oil, gas and so on. You just have to use a hose to clean it up. So it is perfect for someone who works a lot on their vehicle. It also protects all your machines and work tools better. This way you can have a perfect working area.
Interlocking floor covers are very similar to epoxy covers. Just that epoxy covers are way harder to install than interlocking covers. For the epoxy covers the concrete must be perfectly cleaned and even. That means all cracks have to be fixed. For the interlocking covers, you just need to clean the concrete a little bit and then snap all the tiles together. So as for the installing part the interlocking floor covers are more cost effective and way easier to install.
Another good advantage is that you can find the tiles in almost every color and model you like. That means you can style your garage floor exactly the way you love it. Using interlocking covers the design of the floor will look much better than using other covers. The interlocking covers are also made to resist the heaviest mechanical tools. Another good instance in which you should use this type of covering is if you are a professional mechanic.
Besides the perfect environment the interlocking cover creates, it is also resistant to moisture. The cover also isn’t slippery if it is wet. So risks of accidents are reduced. If the cover is damaged, it is very easy to repair or replace it. Replacing is cheap because it is likely you will have to replace only one tile. If the concrete cracks, the cover won’t crack as it is very resistant. But that happens only if the concrete is old and can’t handle heavy things.
So if you are a mechanic or you work a lot in your garage using heavy machines, many chemicals and other tools, the best garage cover for you would be interlocking garage floor covering. It protects you, saves a lot of time cleaning and, of course, it is very resistant.
2.Blt Garage Floor Covering
BLT is a company which can provide you with almost all types of garage floor coverings you need. They also can provide flooring installation adhesives, professional covering installers, installation guides and so on. They give you all the detail you need and all locations you can buy coverings and tools that you might need for them.
A very good product they have is the G-Floor roll out covering. You don’t need adhesives to install it. It is easily kept clean, without big efforts. The dirt that you could take in your home is reduced. It has thermal isolation that prevents moisture. The covering perfectly hides cracks in the concrete and it also protects the concrete from getting dirty or deteriorated. You can install it very quickly, as you just need to cut it to fit your garage and then roll it. The G-Floor is designed to last for a long time. You can find it at Blt in almost every color and model you think it suits you best. It is made 100% out of high quality polyvinyl. Not many companies use a high quality material to make a roll out covering. That’s why this one is surely to last the longest and protect your floor the best.
The colors available for BLT products are as follows: Sandstone, Royal Blue, Brick Red, Metallic Silver, Midnight Black, Slate Grey, Forest Green. There are three grades in which BLT coverings are made: G-Floor 55 – It has a 55 mil thickness. It can be used for standard garages. G-Floor 75 – It has a 75 mil thickness. That is almost as thick as a nickel. G-Floor 85 – It has a 85 mil thickness. That is a bit thicker than a nickel and is graded as industrial. The widths available are 7.5 , 8 , 9 or 10 inches. As for the length you can choose a custom length, but the maximum length for it still is 10 inches.
So if you want to get a floor covering and install it the easy way, without any headaches the best solution for you is G-Floor from BLT. In short terms, it is cheap, available in all sizes you need, almost the best colors you can get, it takes thirty to sixty minutes to install it, protects the concrete and its easy to clean. So when you have a free hour you should go and get one for your garage! It can save you a lot of time and money!
3.Rubber Garage Floor Covering
Why should you use rubber garage floor covering for your garage and why not other types of floor covering? Well this depends on what you are looking for. It also depends on how much you want to spend on a cover. If you want to use the garage as a room you might want to go for linoleum or vinyl covering. For a long lasting cover you use epoxy or rubber covering. So before choosing a floor covering you should really know what you want to do with your garage in the future.
Rubber garage floor covering is a very durable type of cover, that’s the first advantage I mentioned, but it also has some other useful advantages. All floor coverings make it easier for you to clean the garage, but this type of cover also reduces the dirt you can track all over the garage or your house significantly.
The rubber garage floor covering is a roll over cover type. That’s why, maybe one of its biggest advantages is, that you can install it very easily. You just have to cut it the way you need it and then roll it over your garage floor. You can also remove the cover very easily if you want to do a major clean-up in your garage.
Like the most roll over covers, the rubber cover has thermal isolation which protects your garage from moisture. It also protects your concrete from substances that could deteriorate it. The fact that you will surely like the most about rubber coverings is that they are very cheap. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get the material and cut it the way you like for your garage.
This type of cover also has some disadvantages, and they might change your mind about getting one. Rubber garage floor covering isn’t recommended if you keep a car or a motorcycle in your garage. If the tires from your vehicle are too hot after a long trip and you park it in the garage, this might have a bad ending. The tires might melt to the rubber cover. You surely don’t want that to happen.
In conclusion, it is very important that you know what you want to do with your garage in the future before choosing what type of cover you want to use. If you change your mind you might also have to change your cover later on. In my opinion you should think a few days about it and then install the cover.
4.The Vinyl Garage Floor Covering
If you want to improve your garage’s looks, you should really use vinyl garage floor covering. Vinyl covers can help you get any look you like. It also reduces garage accident risks and cleaning time. That’s because the floor is much easier to clean and isn’t sticky or slippery.
The vinyl floor directs all dirt, liquids and debris out of the garage without you having to make almost any efforts. That leads to the fact that you also don’t take the dirt into your home, which is very important, because you don’t have to clean your home every time you come from the garage. The vinyl floor covering is very easy to install. You surely won’t get a headache doing that. It also protects the concrete. By having a cover, the concrete deteriorates much slower. That’s because it prevents soil and water contamination. All that is thanks to the thermal isolation that the cover has, without which that wouldn’t be possible.
The cover will also prevent moisture penetration and it will keep the garage nice and dry. It is designed to also improve the looks of your garage. You can make your garage look any way you want because the covers are in almost every shape, size and color. Having it on the floor will make it easier for you to walk around because it is very smooth. It also makes it easier to work in your garage, where you can lay down without any problems. Even if it gets dirty, that isn’t a big problem.
If your garage floor is old and has cracks or stains that you haven’t fixed or cleaned, the vinyl cover will make them disappear in an instance. If you want to make changes to your garage or you want to clean it the cover is very easy to move and it doesn’t stay in your way. You can cut the cover exactly the way you need it to suit your garage.
In conclusion, having a vinyl garage floor cover can help you a lot and save you a lot of time. Because you don’t have to worry about things like : having to scrub a lot to clean, moisture, slippery and sticky floor, bad looking floor, having to work and cold and hard floor and so on. So in my opinion you should get a vinyl garage floor cover, it makes your life a whole lot easier.
5.Epoxy Garage Floor Covering
An epoxy garage floor covering is one item which will make your garage look the way you like. There are other ways too but this is one of my favorites and I’ll try to explain how it works, so that you don’t think its just applying paint to your floor. It is more than that. By choosing this method you really can make your garage floor look exactly the way you like.
First of all make sure you got all the products you need for the work, so that you don’t have to go back to the store. After that you should create a workspace and temporarily remove all your stuff from the garage. Then take a cloth and place everything you need on it, that should be near somewhere you are working. There will be surely some things you won’t be able to remove and those you can protect using something like a plastic sheet.
After doing that you should check for cracks in the concrete. If there are any cracks you are advised to repair them, otherwise the project might look bad at the end. But before applying any concrete, the surface where it is going to be applied must be thoroughly cleaned. That should happen also after the concrete has dried, any dirt or debris left anywhere on the garage floor could have bad endings.
Another important thing is to prime the uncoated concrete, after it has been cleaned. If the concrete is new you should wait 30 days before doing this. After you did this you can start applying the epoxy floor cover and if you followed the instructions before, everything will turn out great. After you are done applying it, you can start cleaning the garage. You should slowly remove the sheets that were protecting the things you could not remove from the garage. Leftover products should be placed in a dry area. The brush you used to apply the paint should be cleaned in a bucket with soap and water, it is recommended to protect your hands while doing this. After everything has dried you can also bring all your stuff back.
And Voila! You should now have the garage you always wanted, no more stains, no more cracks, the color and model you always wanted! The best part is if done correctly it will last so long you wouldn’t believe it! You surely will also impress all your friends with your new garage look.