Garage flooring

[yellownev 1,984]

Slightly related to servicing as I'd like a decent clean (warmish) garage floor to work from when fettling my bikes. At the moment it's a smooth concrete slab in my single garage. Just wondering if anyone has recommendations for a covering you have used and works moving bikes around on the dollys as well as taking the point load of centre and side stands ? 

 

TIA

 

Nev 

 

PS - apologies to those who do not have access to a garage to keep their P&J in I feel your pain (or cold) 

[Trev 18,573]

I have old carpet in my garage (which I must replace due to mucho Enfield oil staining!), comfy and light colour so easy to see any dropped nuts & bolts, etc and okay for paddock stand use but I don't think it would be very easy to move a dolly on.

In my lockup I have recycled vinyl floor tiles that I got from a company called Big Dug, not cheap but great for bikes, easy to cut and fit (I used a circular saw as had a big area but you can just about cut them with a stanley knife or similar) and yellow trim and 'ramp' sections are a nice touch. I went for grey and black for a pretty pattern 

 

https://www.bigdug.co.uk/mats-flooring-c402/garage-flooring-c20293/interlocking-floor-tiles-c20294/heavy-industrial-interlocking-vinyl-floor-tiles-p16971

 

[Mr Toad 9,022]

There are several options you can consider. 

 

Instead of covering the floor you could invest in a bike lift. This will make almost every job on the bike easier and more comfortable. Then there's the 'mechanics' stool on castors, of course the cheap option is the bit of old carpet you move around as needed, always popular. 

[Johnnie Mototrans 2,742]

Dont laugh but I used white emulsion on a garage floor when skint.

It sealed the concrete and made finding dropped washers more likely.

It lasted a lot longer than expected and cost a fraction of my current 'proper' floor paint.

[listener 11,158]

3 hours ago, Trev said:

I went for grey and black for a pretty pattern 

 

Hmmm! Checkmate?! 

[yellownev 1,984]

4 hours ago, Trev said:

I have old carpet in my garage (which I must replace due to mucho Enfield oil staining!), comfy and light colour so easy to see any dropped nuts & bolts, etc and okay for paddock stand use but I don't think it would be very easy to move a dolly on.

In my lockup I have recycled vinyl floor tiles that I got from a company called Big Dug, not cheap but great for bikes, easy to cut and fit (I used a circular saw as had a big area but you can just about cut them with a stanley knife or similar) and yellow trim and 'ramp' sections are a nice touch. I went for grey and black for a pretty pattern 

 

https://www.bigdug.co.uk/mats-flooring-c402/garage-flooring-c20293/interlocking-floor-tiles-c20294/heavy-industrial-interlocking-vinyl-floor-tiles-p16971

 

  I like that look, do the tiles take any damage from centre stands and side stands  ? 

 

[PoppetM 16,831]

+1 for carpet and my stands have not damaged it

[Trev 18,573]

1 hour ago, yellownev said:

  I like that look, do the tiles take any damage from centre stands and side stands  ? 

 

 

It does dent a little but not really scuff and the 'dents' left by sands seem to come out after being left for a while, depends how long you leave the stand in one place. I've made little stand protectors' from off cuts. If you PM your address I'll post you an offcut so you can see how hard it is.

 

I use the lockup as a workshop for a few bikes and it seems pretty impervious to petrol, oil and brake fluid, cleans up easily and isn't too hard to kneel or lie on. My little mechanics stool on wheels moves around very easily on it.

[DCTPaul 629]

Used to have the old bedroom caroet down in the garage...

For the money, cant go wrong with the Rolson Matts from Halfords...

https://www.halfords.com/tools/garage-equipment/garage-essentials/halfords-6pc-black-floor-mat-set---120cm-x-180cm-336870.html

They squasy and mark up a bit, but can always use something on top for stands etc...

Edited January 31, 2021 by DCTPaul

[wjvh 999]

Old carpet 

[Hickky 3,131]

Nev, just use paint. In your case may I suggest Yellow!

[MrAndyW 89]

Carpet tiles are ideal. Hard wearing and you can replace them individually if they get damaged or stained.  Loads on e-bay and the like. Can be posh and go new or there's loads of old office ones at less than 50p each.

[Stan 38]

I put vinyl down in mine, straight onto concrete (Rhino brand), I can move the bike by sliding it which is handy and oil just wipes up

[yellownev 1,984]

Many thanks for all of your helpful replies. As I have a need to move my bikes on 'movers' to get them in at the back so i can get the car in when I need to I need the ability to have a smoothish floor so carpet is out as it'll pull up with the weight. Trev has kindly offered to send me a sample of his Big Doug tiles and  I have a sample coming from another tile supplier. I'll let you know how I get on with some pictures hopefully  !

[Beerbelly 100]

Depending on the dimensions of your space I know Costco do a large single sheet of rubberised flooring that you can just roll out / trim to size, roughly 5.2m by 2.3m, called G-floor. Ive just had a look on their website and it seems they are out of stock at the moment, I know I saw some at Leeds only a couple of weeks ago.

Edited February 2, 2021 by Beerbelly
Spelling

[yellownev 1,984]

2 hours ago, Beerbelly said:

Depending on the dimensions of your space I know Costco do a large single sheet of rubberised flooring that you can just roll out / trim to size, roughly 5.2m by 2.3m, called G-floor. Ive just had a look on their website and it seems they are out of stock at the moment, I know I saw some at Leeds only a couple of weeks ago.

Thanks for the heads up... I think this is the same stuff the Missenden Flyer has in his garage.... shame its out of stock 

[Defender 3,834]

Whatever you do seal the floor somehow, I did my garage it took a while, I gave it several coats until I'd used the floor paint up!

 

I got a roll of some very thick foam from a classic car show years ago, it's much warmer under foot etc and more comfortable too, I just move it around to where I'm working at the time, not ideal but better than nothing.

 

At work we have anti fatigue matting surrounding our machines, it really does make a big difference when you're standing on it for several hours at a time.

[michael 324]

I endorse the lift. My life has changed since i've acquired one.  Second to that is floor paint. Any colour as long as it's not gray/grey.  Ever fastener I've even dropped - which equates to about 500,000 groans and old man noises when standing back up, has disappeared on the concrete floor.

Red.  I like red garage floors.

[bob b 283]

My neighbour brings me some very large cardboard boxes every now and again. I just open them up and store them against the garage wall. They are warm to lay on, keep the floor free from oil stains, and when it gets too dirty I throw it away and put another sheet down.

[iaink 346]

On 01/02/2021 at 12:18, yellownev said:

Many thanks for all of your helpful replies. As I have a need to move my bikes on 'movers' to get them in at the back so i can get the car in when I need to I need the ability to have a smoothish floor so carpet is out as it'll pull up with the weight. Trev has kindly offered to send me a sample of his Big Doug tiles and  I have a sample coming from another tile supplier. I'll let you know how I get on with some pictures hopefully  !

 

Hi Nev,

I was wondering what you ended up using on your garage floor ?

My garage floor is quite rough which makes it difficult to move my bike using a 'mover'.

Do you find it easy to move your bike using the 'mover' on the mats without the wheels digging in ?

Thanks.

[yellownev 1,984]

30 minutes ago, iaink said:

 

Hi Nev,

I was wondering what you ended up using on your garage floor ?

My garage floor is quite rough which makes it difficult to move my bike using a 'mover'.

Do you find it easy to move your bike using the 'mover' on the mats without the wheels digging in ?

Thanks.

Hi Ian,

 

I have not put anything down yet as the products were all saying it needs to be laid in a plus 10c temp. Not 100% sure if I will put anything down as like you I have fears about moving bikes especially the RT on its dolly at well over 250kg. I was getting some moisture into the garage and have put a couple of land drains in to hopefully stop it so the need to cover the floor is not so great. 

 

Nev 

[MatBin 5,080]

I put a post up about Karcher WD5 at reduced price, makes a great garage vacuum, especially as it can suck up fluids as well as dry stuff. Use discount code OUTDOOR20 for an additional £20 off if direct from Karcher plus another years warranty.

[fj_stuart 4,741]

10 hours ago, paulnelson said:

We’ve just moved house and are looking for options on self-levelling products to use for a garage floor.

In a previous life I was a civil engineer that worked on the repair and maintenance of concrete structures (bridges, multi-storey car parks, etc) so here's my thoughts.

 

The products you mention are cementitious screeds. They will give a smooth surface if that is all you want but you still have a material similar to the existing concrete. The issue of dust might still be there. I'm also dubious about thin screeds if you intend to put point loads (like a bike centre stand) on them. They might tend to break up.

 

For your needs look at an epoxy floor paint. You could apply this yourself. Another idea would be concrete polishing - I have no experience of this and expect this to be expensive for a small area like a garage.

 

For a garage used for storage and maintenance of motorcycles my ideal is what I have - an old living room carpet.