What Kind Of Garage Floor Should You Have Installed Over Your Concrete?

When garages are built, they are generally constructed with plain, concrete floors. This serves most basic purposes if you only plan to use your garage to store cars and the like. But if you plan on using your garage more like extra living space, then you may want an upgrade. Here are three popular types of garage flooring you might want to have installed over the concrete.

Paint

If you do not mind the hardness of the concrete floor but simply want something more easily cleanable, then simply painting the floor is a viable option. It's inexpensive, you can do it yourself in an afternoon, and it's easy to change the color simply be repainting the floor later on. You will want to look for a paint made specifically for use over concrete. Generally, you will put down a layer of primer, let it dry, and then follow up with two layers of paint. You'll need to keep everything out of the garage for two or three days to give the paint time to dry.

Indoor-Outdoor Carpeting

The idea of carpeting your garage may sound a little strange, but actually, indoor-outdoor carpeting is pretty well-suited to this task. Made from a plasticky material called olefin, it does not absorb moisture like ordinary carpet. The fibers are really short and tough, so you can scrub at stains and clean them up easily. Indoor-outdoor carpeting will need to be professionally installed and cut to fit your garage, but the installers can handle a job within a couple of hours, so this is a good option if you're in a hurry.

Interlocking Padded Floor Tiles

If you want a softer surface but are not ready to commit to carpet, look for padded, interlocking floor tiles. They hook together like puzzle pieces, simply floating on top of your concrete floor. You can have a professional install them the first time since some may need to be cut to fit, but if a piece is ever damaged, you should be able to pretty easily remove it and replace it with a new one. These tiles can be a little pricey, but they're really comfortable and a good choice if you have kids who might make a mess of the floor.

Paint, indoor-outdoor carpet, and padded interlocking tiles all have their pros and cons. Bear them in mind as you choose the flooring best-suited for your garage. For more information, contact home garage floor installation companies.