Pros and Cons of Various Garage Flooring Materials
The garage is often a neglected part of one’s home. More often than not, it serves only as a storage for cars things that are forgotten, rendered as useless, or lost. However, for the people who see their garage as a space for activity, leisure, and even productivity, making sure that it looks visually appealing is a responsibility.
Choosing garage floor materials is a daunting task. A lot of factors need to be considered so that you can arrive at an objective, practical, and lifestyle-matching decision. In this article, we’ll discuss each material and evaluate its pros and cons.
Painted Concrete
What are its pros?
If you’re looking to have a quick facelift for your garage floor without the costs and maintenances expenses racking up, this is the most excellent option you could choose. The process involves covering your current garage floor with paint. This is a durable, long-lasting, and low maintenance compared to other options.
What are its cons?
Your garage floor may begin to look dull and chipped almost immediately after painting. Although concrete paint can last up to a maximum of 3 years, exposure to rain, water, harsh chemicals, and other contaminants can wear the paint immediately. Bi-yearly touch-ups are therefore recommended.
Stained Concrete
What are its pros?
Are you looking for more of a stunning, simplistic and marble-like finish? Stained concrete offers the durability and affordability of concrete plus the aesthetic of a marble floor. With this option, your garage floor is protected from stains, chemicals, and moisture. Cleaning up isn’t a hassle.
What are its cons?
As visually stunning as stained concrete appears, it isn’t immune to scratches, wear and tear and other environmental factors like water, rain, and dirt. Preserving the marble gloss and its shine needs yearly maintenance that entails costs.
Sealed Concrete
What are its pros?
This option is more durable than painted concrete. It’s affordable, up to the point that you can even apply it all by yourself and protects the garage floor. The good thing with this material is that you can play with various colors because not all sealants are transparent.
What are its cons?
High foot traffic, constant scratches, and exposure to dirt, and water will lead to a sealer fade. Maintenance after 5-6 years of use is a must.
Epoxy Floors
What are its pros?
Epoxy flooring is known for its incredibly durable surface and its incredible resistance to a variety of things like oil, grease, water, and just about everything else. And for such a strong flooring material with great longevity, it’s also insanely affordable and cost-efficient to apply to your floors.
What are its cons?
Epoxy flooring is a temporary flooring solution that will need to be regularly maintained. Beyond that, epoxy floors are more slippery than most other garage flooring materials and have a complicated application process that you will need to hire a professional for.
Polyurea Polyaspartic Floor Coatings
What are its pros?
This type of floor coating has a hard smooth finish that is durable and that will last a long time. And like epoxy, it is both scratch-resistant and stain-resistant which makes it perfect for a high-traffic area like the garage.
It also has faster drying times than epoxy, which means the whole job can be done in under a day.
What are its cons?
Because it is relatively new on the market, it is a slightly more expensive option and you will need a professional to apply the floor coating. And because it is so smooth, it can be slightly slippery when wet.