A notice to all of
you Central
Floridians
Look for my column
"Function First", in
the Orlando
Sentinel. It will be
appearing monthly in
the Saturday Home
Fix-Up section, usually on the 4th Saturday of the month.
Garage Flooring
When selecting floor coverings for your home, don’t forget the garage. It’s much easier to finish the
garage floor before you move in. Some garage floor coatings produce toxic fumes, require multiple
applications, and take several days to dry. It’s no fun to have your garage contents sitting out in
the driveway during this process, and Mother Nature doesn’t always cooperate.
There are many types of garage flooring on the market. When considering your options, there are several things
to investigate. Oil and dirt will accumulate on the floor. Will the flooring absorb oil? Is it resistance to
chemicals? Will it support the weight of vehicles? How easy is it to clean? Does it resist bacteria, mold and
mildew? Is it skid-resistant and/or non-slip? If you choose an applied, tile-type flooring, can it be hosed
off without water being trapped underneath, or does it have an open grid design that can trap dirt?
-
Epoxy:
Using epoxy to finish a garage floor is very common in some parts of the country.
Paint is very slippery when it gets wet, however, so if you choose to go this route,
talk with the painter about adding a grit coating—a granular, sand-like substance
applied over wet paint.
 Another epoxy garage covering, offered by home improvement stores such as Home Depot, includes
an attractive decorative fleck like the one pictured to the right. This type of product, also
applied over wet paint, does a better job of reducing the slippery quality of epoxy paint
than the grit-coating option.
-
Garage Tile:
 Garage tiles are another way to go. These
tiles cover all the flaws in the concrete slab and are usually an easy do-it-yourself
project. The Swisstrax® tiles pictured here are representative of a large selection
of designs and colors. The installation process requires no adhesives and the product
is 100 percent recyclable.
According to Swisstrax, their product can support heavy vehicles and is oil-resistant
and impervious to gasoline, automotive chemicals, bacteria, mold, and mildew. Swisstrax
garage floor tiles are designed to be non-slip and skid resistant. For more information,
visit www.swisstrax.com.
-
Going Green?
 According
to Green Building Supply, their concrete sealing product is both non-toxic and odorless,
which is a big improvement over epoxy. It’s available in 36 colors (as well as clear),
can be used in all climates, and costs about $62 per gallon ($295 for a 5 gallon container).
Per the manufacturer, each gallon covers 200 square feet.
Visit www.greenbuildingsupply.com
for more information, including a small photo gallery and comments from consumers
about the installation process.
Is there a subject
you’d like me to
cover? Let me know
by sending an email
to
tracy@tracystips.net.
All past issues of
this ezine are in
the Ezine Archives
on our web site.
Click here for Ezine
Archives !
Copyright © 2008
Tracy DeCarlo - All
Right Reserved
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