5 Features of the Best Auto Shop Floors

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Save yourself time, money and headaches down the road by installing a shop floor with high durability and low maintenance. Discover the 5 most important factors to consider when choosing a floor.

Building and outfitting an auto repair shop is a major endeavor. The right auto shop flooring can make a big impact on safety, efficiency and the bottom line.

Slip Resistance

An auto shop floor can be a slip-and-fall accident waiting to happen. The floor undergoes daily exposure to oil, grease and fluids. In car wash bays and service drives, puddles of water create an additional hazard. It is vital that the shop floor have a slip-resistant surface to keep customers and employees safe.

Chemical Resistance

Besides being slippery, the fluids that drip from vehicles can wreak havoc on a shop floor. Many automotive fluids will corrode porous materials like concrete. Surface coatings can reduce the risk of damage, but you must be vigilant about watching for signs of wear and reapplying when needed. Inert flooring materials like vitrified tiles are inherently chemical resistant and will not break down under chemical exposure.

Durability

The right flooring for your workshop can improve your bottom line by saving on repairs and protecting the concrete slab. Don&#;t be tempted to go with the least expensive flooring option; the long-term cost of repairs and frequent maintenance will soon erase any short-term savings. Look for shop flooring hard enough to stand up to the stress of your business day in and day out. The best floor will last as long as your shop.

Your shop floor provides the base for tire racks, toolboxes, lifts and other equipment, so look for flooring that can handle heavy loads, including small point loads. Obviously, it must stand up to rolling traffic without cracking or wearing down, so check for abrasion resistance. You also want a floor that can handle sharp impacts like dropped tools &#; a super-hard floor will fit the bill.

Appearance

An auto shop is a functional space. However, your shop&#;s appearance makes a big impact on customers. A floor that looks clean, new and attractive leaves a more professional impression than one that is worn, cracked or permanently stained.

To keep your floor looking new, choose workshop flooring that is crack resistant, stain resistant and durable. The additional expense up front will be worth it a few years down the road, when you would have to repair or replace a cheaper, softer floor.

Ease of Cleaning

A floor that is stain resistant will be easier to clean than one that is more absorbent. Be careful if you are relying on a sealant for stain resistance; some sealants react with hot tires to cause tire marks.

While some surface texture is necessary to make the floor slip resistant, don&#;t go with more texture than you need; the rougher the surface, the more it will hold on to dirt and grime. Tile relies on a bumpy, orange-peel texture for slip resistance instead of harder-to-clean grit. Argelith tiles feature a baked-on finish that further enhances cleanability without sacrificing slip resistance.

See why so many top automakers specify Argelith tile in the service shops of their dealerships.

You&#;ve finally noticed it&#;you enter the garage and look down, spotting cracks, stains, or chips in the floor that drastically impact the look and safety of your garage.

It&#;s time for new garage flooring, but there are a few factors you should consider before making the purchase. For example, how do you pick a floor style that fits your garage? How easy is it to keep clean?

Here are the top considerations you need to think about before you choose a new garage floor coating.

1. Color and Texture

You don&#;t have to go with a plain gray floor in the garage anymore. There are a variety of colors and styles designed to suit any garage type. You can get different looks from metallic to chip and stone or choose colors like green, red, or blue.

You have a lot of options when it comes to the various colors and textures, but you also want to make sure that it&#;s a color that complements the rest of your garage. If you have a garage organization system, for instance, you&#;ll want to make sure that the colors and materials match.

If you plan on getting the garage floor coating first and redoing your garage later with cabinets and storage solutions, choose a neutral color that goes with anything such as black, grey, or white. 

For more information, please visit automotive shop flooring.

2. Durability

Whether you use your garage to store your vehicles, as a workshop, a home gym, or as a spare living area, you&#;ll need a floor that can withstand pressure, impacts, and stains.

When choosing garage flooring, make sure you pick a coating type that is able to stand up to whatever you throw at it.

One of the biggest benefits of our polyurea floor coatings is that it&#;s resistant to stains and chemicals. Polyurea is more durable and resistant than other options on the market, meaning it&#;ll last you for years. No matter how you use your garage, you can&#;t go wrong with a durable option like polyurea.

3. Maintenance

Accidents happen in the garage, whether it&#;s spilling a can of paint, an oil stain, or dropping something heavy onto the floor. That&#;s why you need a garage floor coating that&#;s easy to keep clean, no matter what happens.

Our garage floors are resistant to all common chemicals, such as gasoline, grease, and oil. Although our polyurea coatings are stronger than other options like epoxy and resistant to chemicals, you still need to use the right tools. Avoid abrasive cleaners, clean up messes as soon as you spot them, and polish your floors if necessary.

Keep your floors in good shape by performing light maintenance, and they&#;ll look new for years to come.

4. Installation Time

Installation time should play a part in your decision-making process. After all, you want your garage ready to go as soon as possible, right?

Epoxy garage floors can take between three to four days to install. You&#;ll also have to wait before you can drive a vehicle on your epoxy floor&#;sometimes up to five days! That&#;s a long time to go without your garage.

Our garage floors cure quickly, and installation only takes 24 hours or less.

5. Volatile Organic Compounds

VOCs (volatile organic compounds) have high vapor pressure and low water solubility. VOCs are chemicals used in paints, building materials, and more. Exposure to VOCs can cause health effects such as allergic reactions, dizziness, and even damage to the central nervous system, kidneys, and liver.

When choosing the best coating for your garage floor, you&#;ll want to choose products that are low-VOC or even VOC-free. These products are safer to install and use.

6. Safety

The last thing you need is to install a new garage floor only to suffer a slip and fall due to an unsafe surface. Slips and falls can be especially dangerous for older adults. According to the CDC, falls are the number one cause of injuries and death among seniors.

Even if you&#;re not an older adult, slip-resistant flooring should be one of the top factors you consider when redoing your garage. Slip resistance is often an optional add-on you can have installed for additional peace of mind.

7. Application Time

Something many people don&#;t consider when getting a new garage floor is the time of year they plan to have it installed. Weather can play a part in when you can get a floor coating installed. Not only do the weather conditions affect installation itself, but they can affect how long it takes the product to cure.

Epoxy floors take longer to install, and installing in winter can take even longer. Humidity can also impact the installation time, as it slows the curing process. As such, the ideal temperature for installing garage floors is around 75°F.

However, our garage floor coatings can be applied any time of year. In fact, we can install your new floor coating in conditions ranging from -30 degrees to 140 degrees Fahrenheit!

8. Warranty Options

Warranties can provide people with that extra peace of mind when making bigger investments. When you choose a garage floor, you should consider your warranty options.

Does your garage floor come with a strong and worthwhile warranty? Do you believe that the company will stand behind its product and rectify any issues that arise?

You want to choose a company that has a satisfaction guarantee and happy customers to back this claim up.

9. Financing Options

Financing your garage floor can alleviate some of the financial pressures. You might want to consider a garage floor company that offers financing options and applying for those. Spreading out your payments makes it easier than ever to redo your garage.

Garage Flooring You Can Rely On

If you want to make an informed decision and turn your garage into a room you&#;ll love to use again, consider these top tips.

At Garage Force, we promise you&#;ll love our garage flooring. Take a look at our options online and find a location to book an appointment today!

Want more information on metal flooring? Feel free to contact us.