I have a basement/garage that I am in the process of making some changes to. The garage started out as a 2 car garage, but I have moved some things around, so it now is capable of holding 4 cars (a little tight, but it works). I added a room that surrounds my furnace...this is for safety reasons, but doubles as storage for tools, parts, etc... My next plan is to paint the walls, floor and add better lighting. I'm trying to decide on a good color scheme. Although I like the checkerboard style floors, it seems like everyone has them. I know the walls will be a lighter color in order to brighten things up...but it seems like I need a stripe, or another color to break things up a bit. I was thinking about going with something similiar to the scheme on "Horsepower TV". They have a checkerboard floor with gray halfway up on the walls, a thin red horizontal stripe, then white the rest of the way up. I'm not looking to "copy" off anyone, I am just looking for some ideas. I have looked around on the Internet and have not found much. I thought the Corvette Message Boards might have something, but I didn't see much there either. I have the usual array of posters that will likely go on the walls, as well as some TTA advertisements (framed) and tin signs. The important thing is that the garage stays functional as an area to work on cars...not just admire them! I just want something different than everyone else on the street...so I am open to any ideas that you might have!
Do you have pics of your custom garage?
- Thread starter brn agn
- Start date
The black and white checkerboard is popular because it looks BAD!!! I did that under my car and I get more compliments on the floor than the car. I don't think you would be "copying" any one. It looks sharp! I ddidn't paint the floor, I used 12" x 12" cvt tile like you see in schools . Drew
I agree that the black and white floor looks awesome...I'm just trying to think of something that is different. I'm not familiar with the tile you are talking about. Where did you buy it from? I'm not too crazy about painting the floor, but I didn't know if I had any other options given the amount of abuse it might take (floor jack, dropped tools, transmissions sliding across it, etc...). How hard is it to install the tile? I've laid ceramic tile before.
add better lighting
That is important also. I upgraded my lighting in the gararge using the screw in flourescent bulbs. The trick with those is to get the highest wattage you can find. Mine are 32 watt which is the same as a 150 watt incandescent bulb. They do a very good job. I bought the tile a my local carpet store. Home Depot sells it also. The surprising thing is solid colors are typically not stocked so I had to special order them I did half the floor in my 24 x 24 gararge. I used white and black that has white fleck in it. Using floor jacks and such on any floor covering is a consideration. I slide peices of plywood under jacks or stands when using them . If you are going to be welding a painted floor might be better. As far as painting goes, go talk to someone about the proper way to paint (I'm guessing concrete) the floor and you most likely will not go that route. It's more expensive than you might think, there are multiple steps to preparing it properly, you can't drive or walk on it for 72 hours and if you don't follow the instuctions to a T it will peel as will just regular paint so don't use that either.If you've installed ceramic tile you can handle this. I'll fire you off a pic or two. Drew
That is important also. I upgraded my lighting in the gararge using the screw in flourescent bulbs. The trick with those is to get the highest wattage you can find. Mine are 32 watt which is the same as a 150 watt incandescent bulb. They do a very good job. I bought the tile a my local carpet store. Home Depot sells it also. The surprising thing is solid colors are typically not stocked so I had to special order them I did half the floor in my 24 x 24 gararge. I used white and black that has white fleck in it. Using floor jacks and such on any floor covering is a consideration. I slide peices of plywood under jacks or stands when using them . If you are going to be welding a painted floor might be better. As far as painting goes, go talk to someone about the proper way to paint (I'm guessing concrete) the floor and you most likely will not go that route. It's more expensive than you might think, there are multiple steps to preparing it properly, you can't drive or walk on it for 72 hours and if you don't follow the instuctions to a T it will peel as will just regular paint so don't use that either.If you've installed ceramic tile you can handle this. I'll fire you off a pic or two. Drew
Consider concrete stain...
I "painted" my garage floor with concrete stain. I would not get the epoxy based stuff because on hot days it can stick to your tires and peel off the floor. All you have to do to concrete to stain it is spray it down with muratic acid to etch it. This will allow the stain to penetrate into the concrete. Wash it down with water. Let it dry for a day, then stain it. The stain is solvent based and you must have good ventilation. It is very strong and may run your family out of your house for a day. Once it is done, it is very nice and seals up the concrete well. I love my floor. I can quickly wipe up dirty oil with a cloth. If it leaves a small stain, I spray brake cleaner on a rag and wipe it again and you cannot tell it was even there. I do have an off colored spot from gasoline pooling up for a while before I cleaned it. I can easily stain right back over it.
I "painted" my garage floor with concrete stain. I would not get the epoxy based stuff because on hot days it can stick to your tires and peel off the floor. All you have to do to concrete to stain it is spray it down with muratic acid to etch it. This will allow the stain to penetrate into the concrete. Wash it down with water. Let it dry for a day, then stain it. The stain is solvent based and you must have good ventilation. It is very strong and may run your family out of your house for a day. Once it is done, it is very nice and seals up the concrete well. I love my floor. I can quickly wipe up dirty oil with a cloth. If it leaves a small stain, I spray brake cleaner on a rag and wipe it again and you cannot tell it was even there. I do have an off colored spot from gasoline pooling up for a while before I cleaned it. I can easily stain right back over it.
Little6pack
Active Member
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2002
About a week ago someone had a post about garage floors that you covered with a puzzel type material that made great looking patterns. THAT WAS COOL!
The only pics of my custom garage are in my BRAIN..
I constantly think what I should do with my current
house/garage combo.
Only having a 1 car oversized garage which is a tease.
The 2 trail bikes, GN, air compressor, tool bench & snow blower
all share the same 14"x 23" area.
I have had many contractors come in but they are intent on doing what they want to add a second bay to the current garage.
Prices have been from 13k to 17k
Some guys want to leave the outer wall then just add 3 sides
With the wall inbetween. That would be like 2 seperate units!
Others want poles between if the current outer wall is to be history.
Yet another wants to take it all down & rebuild from scratch.
At that point I might be better of selling & moving.
The only pics of my custom garage are in my BRAIN..
I constantly think what I should do with my current
house/garage combo.
Only having a 1 car oversized garage which is a tease.
The 2 trail bikes, GN, air compressor, tool bench & snow blower
all share the same 14"x 23" area.
I have had many contractors come in but they are intent on doing what they want to add a second bay to the current garage.
Prices have been from 13k to 17k
Some guys want to leave the outer wall then just add 3 sides
With the wall inbetween. That would be like 2 seperate units!
Others want poles between if the current outer wall is to be history.
Yet another wants to take it all down & rebuild from scratch.
At that point I might be better of selling & moving.
Thanks for the pics Drew. Your tile floor looks very nice. It definitely adds a touch of class to your garage...of course the GN sitting on it helps too . I've read/heard a lot of different opinions on painting a concrete floor. I've had some people tell me that they have had good luck with cleaning the floor with muratic acid and using cheap floor paint and others who say that the only way to do it right is to spend some $$.
xlr8ngn, do you have any pictures of your floor that I could see? Does the stain leave a glossy finish? What brand did you use? Is it reasonably priced?
littlesixsteve, I saw the material you are talking about...seemed a little high to me though...I'm a DIY guy (read: I'm cheap)
I've got some decisions to make in the next few weeks. Thanks for all of the replies so far.
. I've read/heard a lot of different opinions on painting a concrete floor. I've had some people tell me that they have had good luck with cleaning the floor with muratic acid and using cheap floor paint and others who say that the only way to do it right is to spend some $$. xlr8ngn, do you have any pictures of your floor that I could see? Does the stain leave a glossy finish? What brand did you use? Is it reasonably priced?
littlesixsteve, I saw the material you are talking about...seemed a little high to me though...I'm a DIY guy (read: I'm cheap
)I've got some decisions to make in the next few weeks. Thanks for all of the replies so far.
The only way to prep a floor before painting, or putting on a sealent is to (SAND BLAST IT..) Trust me, I have done countless custom paint jobs on floors, and this is the only way the paint will soak in and stick to Concret.. Im not saying it will not work if you dont, but this will look 100 times better, and last a life time. Not just afew months. I will send you some pictures of shops we have done for Car nuts, tomorrow.. We just got done with a Checkerd 30/40 custom paintjob for a guy that looks Killer.
Matt
Matt
Hey Matt, My e-mail address is kjcooper@yhti.net I can't wait to see pictures! Is there any other surface prep after sand blasting? Do you use a sand blaster, nozzle, etc... specifically for this type of application? What type of paint do you use? Thanks in advance!
The Garage Ma Hall!
If I am smart enough I have a couple of pictures of "The garage Ma Hall". My wife says i got carried away. What does she know!
12oo square feet of heated and air conditioned 3 car garage, a lift, 14 8'double tube flourescent lights, ALL of the interior is painted gloss white ( I am fat and old and blind). I had the floor epoxy coated. White base, and black and red flakes. kind of like terrazo flooring if any of ya know what that is. Killer stereo. FULL BATH! Kind of been hoping to get thrown out of the house, now that I have a place to go!
Chip Parman
cannot figure out the picture thing, but if someone will help me with this I'll show ya my most favorite place in the world
If I am smart enough I have a couple of pictures of "The garage Ma Hall". My wife says i got carried away. What does she know!
12oo square feet of heated and air conditioned 3 car garage, a lift, 14 8'double tube flourescent lights, ALL of the interior is painted gloss white ( I am fat and old and blind). I had the floor epoxy coated. White base, and black and red flakes. kind of like terrazo flooring if any of ya know what that is. Killer stereo. FULL BATH! Kind of been hoping to get thrown out of the house, now that I have a place to go!
Chip Parman
cannot figure out the picture thing, but if someone will help me with this I'll show ya my most favorite place in the world
I will send out afew tomorrow. You have to see the Checker Floor..
Its killer... The only downside to sandblasting is Clean up after your done.. Another thing that would be a downside is getting an Air compresser big enough to do the Job.. your standard shop Compresser will not work.. You will need a Compreser that runs on Gas or Diesel that a guy pulls behind his truck.. (Dont know if your familar with them or Not.) THe sandblaster we use is a 55 Gallon Industrial that we also use for blasting down Excavating Equiptment.. So The bad part about this is Renting or borrowing the right Equiptment for the Job.. After cleanup we put down a Clear floor sealent, Let it dry for afew days (Depends if the shop has heat or not) Then Layout what we will be painting (Design) or whatever, Then Nothing really fancy for the Paint. Typical Arcurlic (Spelled wrong) wall paint, because we are not really paint the concreat. We are painting the floor sealant. Then let that dry for a day or two, Then go back over with the Clear sealant once again. It does take time and alittle Money but when its done right everybody that stops by will have neck cramps from stairing at your floor.. Matt
P.S. And when you spill oil or paint on it (And you will
) You just wipe it right up with a rag.. Paint, a little thinner comer right up, And its about impossible to scuff, or scratch. If you do get a buffer and buff it right out. That is why we put the sealant on 1/4th inch thick over the whole floor.
A
AsphaltAnihil8r
Guest
Chips garage and his toys can be viewed here:
http://www.turbojim.com:231/tbpics/chip1.jpg
http://www.turbojim.com:231/tbpics/chip2.jpg
http://www.turbojim.com:231/tbpics/chip1.jpg
http://www.turbojim.com:231/tbpics/chip2.jpg
TT/Ameasap
The White Blur
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2002
I am wanting to do something to my garage floor also and would like to see some pic's if possible.
Are there any websites dedicated to just garages? If so, lemme know
Thanks,
Bo
Are there any websites dedicated to just garages? If so, lemme know
Thanks,
Bo
Right now I'm building a 1600 sq ft. garage next to my house. I'm acting as my own General Contractor and doing some of the work myself. I expect to spend ~25k for the entire garage. That includes roll up garage doors and lift. That does not include air conditioning though. If you're willing to spend a lot of your own time it's the only way to go. Foundation gets poured next week hopefully. I have some of the plans in my photo albums, but that's it so far..
James
James
rag93vette
Member
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2003
