Useful Garage Floors:

1. Epoxy Garage Floor Paint – It’s cheap, it covers the entire concrete garage floor, and it’s nearly impenetrable.  The more expensive versions will even cushion your step.  The biggest downsides involve failed installs.

2. Garage Floor Tiles – If tools get dropped, they bounce.  Laying on good garage floor tiles is like laying on a bed in comparison to concrete.  The biggest downsides are cost, and the fact that you likely won’t end up covering your entire concrete garage floor.

3. Garage Floor Mats – Similar advantages to tiles, with the notable exception that they typically cover far less concrete.  Also, be careful that, if you’re going for function, you don’t purchase simple parking mats.  Those are not for working, but rather for trapping the dirt and debris that vehicles drag in.

4. Garage Floor Stain – Useless for anything but aesthetics.  Most stains do state that you should use some sort of sealant, though, which might provide some protection.

Pretty Garage Floors:

1. Garage Floor Tiles – Tiles can be had in a variety of colors, can include things like team logos, and some of them just look downright cool.  Even if they’re not any more functional than a good epoxy paint job, they can certainly look like they are.

2. Garage Floor Stain – Stained concrete can look downright elegant.  Some stains actually make concrete look like some sort of stone.  It’s also the cheapest option, and probably the most unique.

3. Epoxy Garage Floor Paint – Paint can be as colorful as tiles, though it sometimes takes some searching.  One can also add color flakes for extra flare.  Many garage floor paint kits can be ordered with different color flakes, too, so that you can actually make yours look unique.

4. Garage Floor Mat – It’s a mat.  It’s really not that interesting to look at, unless you just really like rubber.

Too Much Moisture For An Epoxy Garage Floor Coating

Sometimes, in some areas, epoxy just won’t work.  No matter what the homeowner tries, the garage floor paint just peels, or comes apart when touched by hot automobile tires.  In these cases, you may consider garage floor stain, but beware.  Stain offers zero protection to your concrete garage floor.

Some People Only Park Cars In Their Garage

Another excellent reason to consider garage floor stain.  If you don’t even do anything in your garage that would warrant protecting the concrete garage floor, then considering garage floor stain suddenly makes a whole lot of sense.  Always consider, however, that anything concrete still needs a seal, so be sure to apply whatever garage floor seal your stain recommends.

Garage Floor Stain Is Different

Everyone wants to be different, don’t they?  Well, since many people don’t even realize that you can stain concrete (in a good way, anyway), garage floor stain remains at least a little unique.  Will it stay that way?  Time will tell.

Sometimes It All Comes Down To The Money…

Staining garage flooring is pretty darn cheap.  The only thing cheaper is epoxy garage floor paint, and I suspect that’s because of the thick competition in that department.  Comparing a garage floor staining kit to an epoxy paint kit will return prices that are nearly identical, but always consider that you also have to apply a sealant after garage floor stain.  The sealant generally does not come with the stain, although the manufacturer of the stain will certainly recommend it somewhere on the product.  All things considered, you can usually get away with spending less than $200 if you do it yourself, which is less than a set of garage floor tiles.

Epoxy Garage Floor Paint

As opposed to some other applications that also carry the name “paint”, the goal is not just to change the color of the garage flooring.  An epoxy garage floor coating will also provide some of the best protection for the concrete underneath.  It’s often the cheapest, too, as long as you can afford to install it yourself.  It will likely be the most difficult of any finish to install.  Epoxy garage floor coatings have a very long life span, and can often be installed over other paint jobs, depending on the kit.

Garage Floor Tile

Tiles are probably the next best thing when it comes to the most comprehensive solution.  Garage floors with tiles are protected almost as well as those with epoxy, but the install is not nearly as finicky, though it can be just as time consuming depending on the type of garage floor tiles used.  Unfortunately, tiles can also easily be the most expensive of all garage flooring.  Interlocking garage floor tiles will give you the flexibility and leak resistance of a mat, but they can be costly.  Peel and stick garage floor tiles are just as finicky as paint when it comes to the cleanliness of the concrete, and they depend on the human hand and eye to create a seal by getting them close enough together.

Garage Floor Stain

This option is not for those who want to protect their garage flooring, but more for those who want an interesting looking floor where they park.  The object is not to add any type of garage floor coating, but just to change the color of the existing concrete garage floor.  Concrete staining is really seen less in garages than interiors, so this would probably be the most unique choice.

Garage Floor Mat

There are two main different types of garage floor mats: parking mats, and compartment mats.  Both can be referred to as garage floor coverings, so be sure to check the sizes of what you are buying to be certain that you get what you’re looking for.  A parking mat may take up your entire garage, and be referred to as a whole garage floor mat.  Alternatively, it could only take up as much space as the vehicles that park there, since the purpose is to protect your garage flooring from their leavings.  Compartment, or containment mats generally have raised edges or some other method of controlling the flow of any dropped liquids, and are used primarily for working on vehicles.  They are not intended to be a full time garage floor covering, being only a temporary, used-as-needed tool.

So, that’s all of the various garage floor finishes in one post.  Check out some of the other posts for more information about each individual option.

That’s a question that a lot of people ask, especially as winter hits, when there will be tons of nasty stuff being dragged into their garage with the snow.  Mud, sand, twigs…dog poop…you name it, will all be mixed in with the snow, so having a good, solid garage covering of some sort is very important.  However, no matter how important it is, it doesn’t mean people suddenly have a ton of money to spend on something like garage flooring.  With Christmas just around the corner, everyone has less money, and most can’t justify spending a ton on their garage floors.

Back to the original question.  There are really two answers, and I’ll explain that.

Generally, when someone mentions a garage floor covering, I immediately think of mats, or maybe tiles.  Garage floor tiles either use traction like mats, or stick to the concrete, and a garage floor mat just lays on top of it as well.  I usually consider epoxy garage floor paint more of a garage floor covering.  However, if you lump them all together under the even more generic “cover” term, I would have to conclude that garage floor paint is definitely going to be the cheapest, with a few caveats.

For one thing, it has to be installed.  If you plan to do it yourself, that means getting on your hands and knees to apply it, waiting for the various coats to dry, and so on.  There are also temperature (in general, the temperature needs to be between 55 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit) and moisture limitations that apply even if you have someone else do it, so think long and hard before you decide to take this route.  Depending on your area, this may not even be an option until March or April.

Now, if paint isn’t an option, or you just don’t want to mess with it, then you’ll be looking at tiles or mats.  Both will be much easier to handle here in the winter months, especially a garage floor mat, which you can just lay out on the floor and be done with.  Tiles do take some installing, especially the peel and stick variety.  The garage floor tiles that stick to each other can be installed no matter the temperature, but the peel and stick ones generally have some sort of temperature requirement.

In the complete opposite end of the spectrum would be interlocking garage floor tiles. They’re usually among the most expensive, so be sure not to confuse them with the peel and stick type. They will also give you unmatched flexibility, though.

Garage floor paint will provide you with an excellent garage floor coating, and will also give you some nice color as well.  This paint is designed to keep your garage floors nice looking, in addition to protecting it from chemical stains and other damage.  There are quite a few brand names and types of garage floor paint out there, so we’ll quickly take a look at a few of them.

Rust-Oleum EPOXYShield Epoxy Garage Floor Coating

Rust-Oleum’s EPOXYShield garage floor coating is available mostly in browns and other tans.  To some, this may be a deterrent, since many people purchase paint because they want to add some colors to their garage floors.  However, if brown is okay, or you simply do not care what color your garage floor is, than this Rust-Oleum might be good for you.  It comes available in a kit that is designed for a one car garage, and even includes an instructional DVD for installation.  It is, like most garage floor coating, waterproof and stain resistant as well.  The reviews on this particular product are great, which really speaks for the ease of install.

Weatherbeater Epoxy Garage Floor Coating

Generally available for a little less than Rust-Oleum’s product, the Weatherbeater Epoxy Garage Floor Coating offers most of the same promises, minus the instructional DVD.  It’s not rated as well, but does come with decorative chips to accent your garage floor.  Without the instructional DVD, it’s very likely that the poor reviews are coming from people’s inexperience at installing garage flooring, so you may want to take those reviews with a grain of salt.  Speaking of salt, Weatherbeater claims that their garage floor paint is resistant to salt, as well as other chemicals such as gasoline and oil.

Quikrete Epoxy Garage Floor Coating

Quikrete is probably the most popular garage flooring paint, and is available in over 40 colors.  They also include color flakes, like the Weatherbeater, if you would like to add such accents to your garage floor.    Their formula is twice as strong as concrete, and they claim that it is the toughest garage floor finish available.  It is a bit more expensive than the other two, however, and reviews are hard to come by.  Sometimes no news is good news, though, and you can bet if this hadn’t worked on many garage floors for whatever reason, there would be plenty of negative reviews.

Although probably the hardest to install, especially correctly, garage floor paint is definitely the cheapest option of all.  If you are willing to do the work yourself, you can easily coat an entire single car garage for under $75.  Considering the money you’ll be saving on repairing concrete in the future, that’s a heck of a deal.  There’s no doubt that there are many other reasons to choose an epoxy garage floor coating.  Just make sure you check out all your options first, before deciding, since it would be rather difficult to undo.

Including preparation, many garage floor epoxy coating kits can take as little as three hours to apply. This is comparable to other garage floor solutions, like tile or mats, yet is quite a bit more permanent as garage floor paints are epoxy based. Also, this estimate is for a normal garage. If your garage is quite large, then expect the process to take longer, of course.

Before laying your garage floor paint, the concrete must be prepared for the epoxy solution as per the paint manufacturers direction. This applies even if your garage floor is brand new and has never had so much as a bicycle parked on it. The cement still has to be prepared if the garage floor paint is going to adhere to it as it should and provide you with a long life and beautiful finish.

If the concrete is brand new, as in has just been laid down and still has that darker color that indicates it’s not completely dry, even if you can’t carve your initials in it, then you’ll have to wait a bit before you can begin preparing the garage floor for painting. Most paint manufacturers recommend waiting at least thirty days, but be sure to check with the instructions before starting, as different kits will have different instructions. If you’re not sure when the cement for your garage floor was laid, you may want to get with the contractor and find out. Either that, or you could always wait thirty days from move in to apply the garage floor paint. Since the garage floor will have to be prepped, regardless of condition, there’s no harm in using the garage until the thirty days has passed. That being said, it probably wouldn’t be wise to pile half your belongings in the garage, as that would surely deter you from applying the garage floor paint when the time comes.

Choosing to use an epoxy garage floor coating will be a decision that you will be glad you made later on down the road.  Not only will it look nicer, but your garage floor will also last far longer, with maintenance becoming a non-issue for many years to come.