Pittsburgh Garage Flooring

One of the greatest joys of having a house is being able to make it look exactly how you want it to. While a lot of time is spent perfecting our kitchens, bathrooms, and other living areas, all over the country, and yes, also in Pittsburgh, garage flooring is sadly overlooked when it comes time to remodel. In southwestern Pennsylvania this is especially unfortunate, as a garage floor not only has to deal with the wear and tear caused by parking your car, but with the mud, grime, slush, and salt brought in during the winter. If your garage floor is in need of a facelift, there are a few things you can do to turn your plain slab of concrete into a surface you'll want to show off.

Rubber Tiles for Pittsburgh Garage Flooring
One of the easiest and fastest ways to give your garage a new look is to cover the floor with rubber tiles. These tiles are designed to stay in place and provide a slip and stain resistant surface for you to park your car. They are available in a wide variety of colors, so you're sure to find a look that's the perfect fit for you.

Rubber tiles are manufactured so they lock together. Putting them in is simply a matter of taking the measurements of your space, ordering a sufficient amount of tile, and then sticking them together to form a continuous surface. The process won't take long, and you'll be left with a resilient surface that will not only look good, but will reduce noise and cover cracks and blemishes, as well.

Painting Existing Garage Flooring in Pittsburgh
An inexpensive and direct method of brightening up your garage floor is, of course, to paint it. Unfortunately, the abuse it will be subjected to in an environment like that of Pittsburgh will be far too much for most paints to handle for more than a few years (if that). Additionally, paint won't be able to cover existing cracks or chips in the floor. There is, however, an excellent alternative to traditional paint known as epoxy coating.

While epoxy coating might look a bit like paint when it's wet, it is a significantly better material for heavy traffic, and much better suited for garage flooring. Pittsburgh's winter mix will have a much harder time wearing down this very durable substance, and it is designed to deal with normal parking and things like oil leaks. In places where cars are being constantly moved in and out, like a commercial garage, or in a setting where a car needs to look its very best, like a showroom, epoxy is widely used to make clean-up easier and to keep appearances sharp.

There are varying grades of epoxy coating, but most garage floors see enough traffic, dirt, and debris to warrant using the highest quality. There are do-it-yourself epoxy kits available, but for the best results, professional installation is recommended. Epoxy is not just a tricky material to work with, the concrete it is put down over will require some very specific prepping for the coating to look and perform its best.

Pittsburgh Garage Flooring Prices
Those looking to install rubber tiles should expect the purchase price to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $2.50 to $3.50 per square foot. Epoxy coating is a little more expensive when it is professionally installed, but the end result is, for most people, well worth the cost. To coat the floor of a one car garage can run anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000, depending on the amount of prep work needed to get the concrete ready and the style of epoxy you choose.