Posts
24438
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
US
Edited Date/Time
8/2/2013 8:12am
Anyone use any industrial grade ceramic tile for a shop floor? Is there actually such a product and is it anymore durable that regular tile? Drop a wrench or hammer, will it not chip or crack? Looking for an alternative to the painted epoxy floor coatings which I haven't completely ruled out yet. As for the epoxy coatings, is there an absolute best product out there? I've used some in the past with good results, but looking for something better. Got about 700-750 sq. ft. to cover and want to do it before I drag all my crap back in there. It's only taken me 10 years to get around to finishing it....
Cool garage site with a forum about floors.
Those are all finished concrete. Cheaper than tile, and stronger too. Well, it's probably not cheaper if you get into crazy designs like this:
Those nice tiles you see going into WalMart and other places like that aren't tile. It's concrete that's been stained and polished, then cut to LOOK like tiles.
As you can see, you can get crazy with logos and decals too. lol
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Free shipping: VITALMX
http://www.swisstrax.com/
Use it in my garage. Even have LED lights built into it where with keep my bike on its stand. Good enough for Jay Leno, good enough for me.
The other advantage to tile compared to stained/sealed concrete is you can go white or briter, the stains are always darker and that can be a negative for working in a shop. You'll still need pads for your center stands as that will grind way at any floor covering.
My garage was epoxied previously and I have to say...I wish I had done this stuff from the beginning.
http://www.racedeck.com/
TM
http://www.cornerstoneflooring.com/resources/5000-sb-polyurethane-slurr…
-is the color such that if I drop a small screw or spring I can find it easily.
-is the color such that it brightens the room thus making it easier to seewhat I'm working on
-can I sweep and/or mop it easily
Pit Row
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinyl_composition_tile
standard concrete floor with a commercial grade epoxy coating. That shop is seven years old and the epoxy looks like new.
Before the epoxy, I had the black and white checkered tiles motif. Looked nice, but not very practical (cracked easy), and
was a PITB to keep clean. I have the stamped concrete others have recommended for my driveway and front porch. The
stuff seems to be pretty durable, but it has to be re-sealed periodically.
For my new shop, The plan is to use radiant heat in the floor and pour high psi pads for the heavies (CNC, lifts, etc.), and
finish with a two step light grey epoxy. This coating provide a little "give" which is good for settling and dropped tools. It's
also great for spills, pretty much everything wipes right up without staining. Also with the epoxy, you can add a clear coat
with sand for additional non slip.
dogger
After seeing some of your bike projects, you've got to give us a little insight into what car projects you have in the works.
http://www.armorgarage.com/ulepco.html
My downstairs of my house is stained concrete with radiant heat, run off of an electric hot water tank, and it costs a LOT of money to keep it turned on in the winter.
My 60x40 shop has the same plumbing in the cement but has never been hooked up, waiting until I do the upgrade to Geothermal later this year and then it should be affordable to use it. This past winter I used 1 220 box heater like drywall guys use and it worked fine to keep my shop above 50 degrees while it was -20 outside. It wasn't cheap to run either so I tried to use it only during cold snaps and while I was working out there.
Same as swisstrax but nearly half the price.
products in a kit you can apply youself. I recommend the AF Gloss with the grit additive
(at least in traffic areas), for better footing. The coating hold up well against weld and grinding
sparks, along with everything else I throw at it.
I'm on the road right now, when I get back I'll post some pictures of my vintage (1980), race car
project. Branching out into cars has required additional room for items like a rotiserie, two pole
lifts, larger paint booth and a bigger powder coat oven.
I also agree about the lighting. All the race shops I've been in have really bright lights. I use dozens
of 6 bulb flourescent fixtures that nearly cover the ceiling and I could still stand to have a little more.
The radiant heating I had in my shop in TN was natural gas powered. I had a large boiler
located in the mechanicals room (next to my compressor), that was seperate from the shop.
The main reason for radiant floor heating in my case is to eliminate open flames (pilot lights),
from gasoline and other flammable solvents. The heat is just like what you would have in your
bathroom at home; nice, even heating that maintains the shop at 68 degrees on the coldest
days. My new shop is 2500 sq ft with 12 foot walls, so quite a bit of volume. The good news
is I'm in a much warmer climate and will be using geothermal, so it should be easy and
inexpensive.
dogger
Post a reply to: Home workshop floor suggestions....