Hello: I am wondering if anyone has experience with products like Better Life Technologies (http://www.bltllc.com/) roll-out garage flooring. I like the way that products like racedeck look but am concerned about fluids like rain water, snow melt, etc... getting under the flooring. So, I am now considering something like these coin-pattern large roll mats. My garage is 28x32 so I would need a few rolls and don't want to spend the money if people report having poor performance.

I saw a demo video on Ron Hazelton's House Calls site (http://www.ronhazelton.com/) and it looks like good stuff but he installed it in his workshop over wood flooring.

Thanks in advance!

 

Interested in the same information. Live in Florida and not so worried about things getting under the flooring, but trapping moisture that comes up through the slab.

 

You can check roll-out floor at Costco. They have it in the automotive section. I though it was $100-200 for a one car. I think it would work well. I'm more inclined to do a professional expoxy coating though.

 

You'll want to seal the concrete no matter what you put down on the floor. If you don't, you'll eventually get moisture and mold. Use a silicate deep sealant on the concrete, it's not expensive or hard to put down and will save you a lot of trouble later.

 

i used that coin pattern product in my last home. it is not bad depending on how big your garage is. any seams will allow water and dirt underneath if your planning on wall to wall coverage. it got pretty nasty underneath.

i used a big piece for each vehicle. rolled it up to clean out the garage and underneath.

i plan on getting my garage floor done with epoxy professionally.

 

Thanks for the tip on the sealant. I hadn't heard about this before although I know that it's recommended under carpet in a basement (for example). So, you're saying that there's a need to seal the floor even under a product like racedeck tiles or a full wall-to-wall coverage with the mats? Do I need to use an etching/cleaning agent like muriatic acid wash first?

As for the mats, with a 28'x32' floor, it looks like I would use 3 pieces that either would have a slight overlap or 'seam-sealed' as shown in the Ron Hazelton video I referenced. It looks like the mats would cost around 1/2 the price of racedecking my garage (~$1300 versus ~$2700). I plan on installing these mats in a way that would make it pretty inconvenient to pull them up. So, I don't mind the larger money outlay for the racedeck if the overall performance value is really that much higher. I just can't see it (yet)....

 

It's the same idea as a basement floor, anytime you're putting a vapor barrier above the concrete you're creating an ideal situation for mold. The problem varies depending on where you live and the ground under the concrete. For under $100 you can seal the concrete and prevent it. It's not that you have to seal it, it's just a really good idea and a well spent $100.
You can find a sealer locally, we sell one too --
http://www.carguygarage.com/concretesealer.html
Before you put down anything, test your concrete by putting a rubber mat on the floor or tape down a 3 by 3 ft sheet of plastic. Wait overnight. If water collects between it and the floor there is a moisture problem and any floor coating will probably not cure or dry properly.

The only time you etch the floor is if you're going to put down an epoxy. Etching is just acid eating away at the top layer of the concrete to make a rough surface so that the epoxy has something to hold onto and won't peal or bubble up later. There are instructions on epoxy floor coating here --
http://www.carguygarage.com/epgafl.html

The tile floors allow you to make a pattern; a checker board is the most popular pattern, and it does look great. You can play around with patterns here:
http://www.swisstrax.com/floordesigner
Mats are nice because you can pull them out of the garage and hose them off in the spring. Both mats and tiles are an easy solution if the concrete is cracked, but if the concrete is good and if you're never going to pull the mats up, you may want to check out epoxy.

 

i was qouted $2400 to epoxy my floor from HD. it would easily costs $1,000+ to use the roll up material. i'd rather spend the extra to get it done right.