A man cave dilemma, advice needed please

[Ed50]

Vasco said:

Clear advice on all similar related issues is to get rid of the wife.

Now theres something to consider, however I think that might be more painful and more expensive than actually putting up with the ensuing
tongue lashing and cost of the tiler.

But there again is a good Barrister less expensive then the tiler...........a close run thing

[Ed50]

M1AGM said:

Polishing concrete floors is a big job. We have been looking at polished concrete floors as an option in our house renovation project and its more expensive to do than tiling, plus it will depend on what concrete you have as to whether it will work well or not, or require a screed to be poured to then be polished. Then it needs sealing.

How big is the garage? I have a load of 7mm plastic interlocking garage pride grey and antracite floor tiles I could part with for the right money (had them in my previous garage and no home for them presently).

34 square metres according to the tiler but that may include tile wastage.

[AdamV12V]

Ed50 said:

Thanks Adam.

I presume you can get a man in for polishing concrete, well I hope so as I've not got the kit to do the job.

Did you polish your garage ?.

Thanks again.

Yes get somebody in, dont diy it unless you know what your doing, that said the equipment is expensive so even hiring it would probably not make sense. That said I wouldn't suggest tiling diy either unless you really know what you're doing and tiling is less skilled than polishing concrete is.

A few very rough pointers here on typical costs etc....

https://concretefloorpolisher.co.uk/polished-concr...

As Andy said it does however really depend on the quality of the concrete already down in your garage at the moment, but as for costing more than tiling - you can buy tiles for £5 a sq/mtr or you can spend £500 a sq/mtr, so it really does depend on your taste in tiles. That said, done well, polished concrete is going to look like the top end of this price range, and it certainly won't cost anywhere near that.

And sadly no, I haven't polished my garage floor as I live in a city centre and have two parking spaces marked out in the underground car park, so not really an option to have any sort of finish applied. That said polished concrete floors are very much on my shortlist for my next house build project.

[DB9VolanteDriver]

I used a 2-part epoxy paint formulated for concrete garage floors. It has lasted me 20 years and still looking good (when cleaned). It required an acid etch prep using muriatic acid, followed by a clear water rinse. The two thin coats of the epoxy (battleship gray). The paint was very expensive at around $100 per gallon and I needed 10 gallons for my 1000 sqft floor. I would imagine it is a lot more expensive 20 years on

[Jon39]

DB9VolanteDriver said:

I used a 2-part epoxy paint formulated for concrete garage floors. It has lasted me 20 years and still looking good (when cleaned). It required an acid etch prep using muriatic acid, followed by a clear water rinse. The two thin coats of the epoxy (battleship gray). The paint was very expensive at around $100 per gallon and I needed 10 gallons for my 1000 sqft floor. I would imagine it is a lot more expensive 20 years on

Aston Martin Works might have used what you have described.




Ordinary floor paint does tend to chip off after a while, but the original appearance can very cheaply be made longer lasting, by mixing some PVA adhesive and fine Kiln Dried Sand into the paint, before applying. The sand is so fine, that you cannot tell afterwards. It does not have the appearance of sandpaper.

[Quarterly]

Another vote for Porcelain here. I lived with a painted floor for the first couple of years and if I'm honest there was not much wrong with it and if it does get chipped its easy to repair, but Porcelain looks so much more special, especially under an Aston. Mine was done about ten years ago (pic below) and it still looks as good today.

The negotiations to get it was long and torturous and involved battling logic like, 'but., there's nothing wrong it' however, we eventually agreed a settlement which included a two night stay at the Dorchester and a Louis Vuitton handbag (I hope your other half isn't reading this, I don't want to weaken your negotiating hand).

Edited by Quarterly on Monday 6th June 19:03

[GTRene]

nice

[AdamV12V]

Quarterly said:

Another vote for Porcelain here. I lived with a painted floor for the first couple of years and if I'm honest there was not much wrong with it and if it does get chipped its easy to repair, but Porcelain looks so much more special, especially under an Aston. Mine was done about ten years ago (pic below) and it still looks as good today.

The negotiations to get it was long and torturous and involved battling logic like, 'but., there's nothing wrong it' however, we eventually agreed a settlement which included a two night stay at the Dorchester and a Louis Vuitton handbag (I hope your other half isn't reading this, I don't want to weaken your negotiating hand).

Edited by Quarterly on Monday 6th June 19:03

I have to agree that Porcelain is excellent an excellent choice, its much more hardwearing than most natural materials and far more beautiful than most ceramics. It can be far less expensive than you think too!

Porcelanosa have a 40% sale on right now too... Top quality Spanish Porcelain - I have half my home tiled in their product.

https://www.porcelanosa.com/uk/

[maccavvy]

I wonder how something like a contract quality LVT would hold up. Floor would need screeding 1st. Then glue and stick , i think a trolley jack may damage it but driving a car on it should be fine .it's compressed to many tons in its construction. Dependant on what you choose £1500-2000 should cover the whole job

[Coxey]

Another vote for Dotti tiles mine have been down 2 years now

[cardigankid]

Before you launch into any solution, you need to consider what condition your existing floor is in. It is probably structurally sound enough, maybe I misunderstood what you meant at the start, when you suggested that it was going into your house. I thought it was maybe sliding off down the street. However, is it insulated? If it is not, you are going to get condensation, which is not only dangerous but is not going to do your cars a lot of good.

The interlocking rubber tile solution would address that issue to some extent.

The epoxy floor paint per AM Works requires the slab to be pretty damn good before you start, or it will not turn out well. Tiling is less sensitive to the condition of the existing floor but it still matters, and it has to be 100% right in every respect if you are going to be pushing cars around on it. The larger the tile the more prone it is to delaminating and cracking. The Porsche Museum in Stuttgart is an extreme but good example.

One 'off the wall' but cheap and quick solution might be to get a couple of rolls of inexpensive carpet from one of the carpet discounters. Tangerine shag pile, 100% man made, that kind of thing. That will give you a little insulation, better acoustically and every time you get in your car your shoes will be clean. If you are working at low level, it is a lot more comfortable to kneel or lie down.

[Ed50]

Hi Guys

Just to sign off the wife has now stamped my card allowing me to get the man cave floor tiled.

I've finally found a local tiler who is talking sensibly price wise to do the job, he has no interest in super yachts or helicopters it
would seem .

I have decided to go with the Dotti tiles which i've ordered this morning so thanks for all the help and advice which has been much
appreciated.

I say I've ordered the tiles this morning, well it had to be done as her indoors is out this morning at some meeting of the local coven
so while the cats away and all that the deed had to be done .

I'll break it to her later from a safe distance after I present her with a nice but extremely large Pink Gin...........

And now onward in the quest for the Big Screen TV, Giant American Fridge Freezer and additional flash cabinetry.

Just the simple things every man needs and should be allowed to have in his garage.

I'll slip that idea into her after the second even larger Pinky later and I'll let you know how that goes after I get out of A and E.....

All the best Ed

[hashluck]

Nice one Ed!

[Ed50]

Hi John

Hoping all is well with you both and that you have settled into your new abode nicely.

As you've probably read I've settle into our new hutch nicely and have now got time on my hands to do blokes stuff.

Keep up the dancing and lets hope I get to see you again real soon.....

[hashluck]

Ed50 said:

Hi John

Hoping all is well with you both and that you have settled into your new abode nicely.

As you've probably read I've settle into our new hutch nicely and have now got time on my hands to do blokes stuff.

Keep up the dancing and lets hope I get to see you again real soon.....

Cheers and look forward to it.

[Phil74891]

Ed,

Just fyi - I got my flash cabinetry from www.garagepride.co.uk

The Sealey range. Bolted it together and to the wall and it’s perfect.

[alabbasi]

Polish or acid stain. Tiles will break

[Ed50]

Phil74891 said:

Ed,

Just fyi - I got my flash cabinetry from www.garagepride.co.uk

The Sealey range. Bolted it together and to the wall and it’s perfect.

Hi Phil,

Yep, already gone with the Sealey stuff as I know it well from my days in the trade.

I've initially fitted a 3 metre run of the American Pro range very similar to yours and plan to add another couple of metres when I complete the wall boarding
along the final wall.

I've ordered all the materials for the wall cladding so I'll need to get my finger out to get that tricky little job sorted prior to the tiler starting.

I've left this wall until last as its the wall with all the pipe work on that will need cloaking and trust me I'm no chippy....

The Sealey kit does look very smart when fitted I must admit and I would recommend it to anyone thinking of sorting out their cave..

Take care Ed.

[kipv12]

AdamV12V said:

I have to agree that Porcelain is excellent an excellent choice, its much more hardwearing than most natural materials and far more beautiful than most ceramics. It can be far less expensive than you think too!

Porcelanosa have a 40% sale on right now too... Top quality Spanish Porcelain - I have half my home tiled in their product.

https://www.porcelanosa.com/uk/

[kipv12]

AdamV12V said:

I have to agree that Porcelain is excellent an excellent choice, its much more hardwearing than most natural materials and far more beautiful than most ceramics. It can be far less expensive than you think too!

Porcelanosa have a 40% sale on right now too... Top quality Spanish Porcelain - I have half my home tiled in their product.

https://www.porcelanosa.com/uk/

Porcelenosa always have 40% off, problem is they are 60% dearer to start with