6 Garage Flooring Ideas
You’ve painted, decorated, and styled your entire home. It looks stunning from the front door to the back. However, you’ve left one room neglected and untouched.
It’s time to turn your attention to the garage floor. Right now, it probably looks like a plain concrete slab that’s a part of your home’s foundation. Upgrading your garage flooring and giving the walls a coat of paint can dramatically improve the looks and feel of your garage.
These garage flooring ideas will help you get started by starting from the ground up.
1. Concrete Sealers
Concrete sealers on your garage floor can make it look nicer and be easier to clean. Concrete is a porous material, so if you spill anything on it, the liquid will sink into the concrete and become almost impossible to remove. Concrete sealers remove this problem by creating a smooth surface. Any liquids that are spilled will pool up and be easily mopped up.
Use a garage floor coating that’s designed for use in the garage. You don’t want to use an interior urethane sealer because it won’t stand up to the abuse it receives in the garage. For the best results when applying your coating, keep your garage very clean during application. Otherwise, you risk the coating getting contaminated with dust, dirt, or bugs.
2. Epoxy
One of the most durable flooring treatments you can do to your concrete flooring is epoxy paint. With the proper floor prep, epoxy flooring can last for years and improve the look of your garage floor. There are several color options, making it easy to customize the look of your epoxy floor coating. Some epoxy coating systems come with paint flakes that you can sprinkle over the floor’s surface for a more colorful design.
In addition to epoxy, you will also see another option called polyaspartic coating. This is a new product compared to epoxy in the garage floor options market. This makes it more expensive than epoxy floor coatings. Polyaspartic floor coatings are similar to polyurethane and are much more durable and protective than epoxy.
3. Hardwood
Elevate the look of your garage by going with a hardwood flooring option. This garage floor covering isn’t typically chosen because people have the misconception that hardwood flooring only belongs in their homes. This isn’t true, though. Using hardwood floors in your garage gives it a sense of warmth and a homey feeling. If you plan to spend time in your garage doing hobbies or turning it into a man cave, then this flooring option is a great choice.
Choose a laminate or vinyl flooring that is more durable to moisture. Your garage is more exposed to the elements, and this includes increased levels of moisture. Choosing the wrong type of flooring can result in it buckling with changing temperatures or warping from moisture.
4. Interlocking Tiles
An affordable and easy-to-install floor covering is interlocking floor tiles. Once you install the tiles, you have a smooth rubber flooring that covers your entire garage floor. A rubber floor is perfect for turning your garage into a home gym. The rubber is thick, creating a cushion on the surface of the floor.
Plastic tiles are also a popular interlocking tile option. They are lightweight and affordable, making them easy to install on your own. You can buy them in multiple colors to create a checkered, striped, or some other design. They have holes for drainage and feet underneath to encourage airflow.
5. Concrete Floor Paint
One of the simplest treatments you can give your garage floor is covering it with concrete floor paint. The colors are endless, and you can do the project yourself. This type of flooring is ideal if you plan to use your garage for something other than vehicle storage. You may find that garage floor paint isn’t as durable as other options if you plan to put your garage through heavy use.
Vehicle tires get hot when you drive, and parking them on your floor paint can cause the paint to lift off the floor. You’ll end up with patchy paint removal in the spots where your tires typically stop in your garage. Vehicle fluids can also be caustic, which standard paint isn’t designed to withstand. This can cause a chemical reaction that discolors or removes the concrete paint.
6. Porcelan Tiles
Porcelain tile is surprisingly durable and easy to keep clean. This makes it a great option for your garage floor. Similar to the rest of your home, choose a garage tile that’s scaled to the size of your garage. Thinner grout lines reduce the amount of cleaning and scrubbing you’ll have to do.
Carpet tiles are another option for your garage floor. They are typically a tight weave like Berber, similar to the type of carpeting you see in commercial settings and offices. The individual garage floor tiles will have adhesive on the back. Position the tiles where you want them and press down to activate the adhesive. What’s nice about these tiles is that you can easily replace one or two if they become damaged or stained.