Using Aluminum Chequer Plate As A Garage Floor

[KTMsm]

I had a new build double garage

I followed all the instructions and epoxy coated the floor

It never adhered properly and hot tyres would pull it up and now after 8 years it's flaking in a few places

I have no intention of grinding it back and recoating which leaves me with the options of covering it with rubber etc

For parking cars and motorcycles, is there an issue with using aluminum checker plate?

The floor is pretty flat and smooth so I guess the best option would be to lay it in 8x4 sheets on beads of silicone ?

[Rough101]

You’ll end up with water under it and it will stink.

[KTMsm]

Will I ?

The bikes and car are only used on nice days and I could easily seal between the sheets with polyurethane

[RicksAlfas]

Won't it be slippery when wet?

[normalbloke]

Proper floor tiles.

[InitialDave]

It'll be cold, slippery when wet, and noisy.

If it's just parking stuff in then and not using jacks etc, maybe get some cheap carpet tiles from an office refit or similar.

[KTMsm]

It's checker plate, it's used for anti-slip walkways and it won't be getting wet very often, if ever

I have thought about porcelain floor tiles but I don't think they would stick to the epoxy nor to the flaky bits whilst an 8 ft x 4 ft sheet would have enough coverage that they would

Can't see how aluminum is any colder than concrete and I'm not working in there I suppose it might suffer from condensation at certain times

Certainly didn't want carpet tiles and the vinyl tiles are expensive and look cheap

The other option I considered was 5m x 2m sheets of rubber matting

[Rough101]

If the cars won’t come in wet and you won’t he hosing then it will be OK.

Dont use polythene, it will just end up sweating,

[Mogsmex]

chequer plate will be expensive, cold and slippy I would think ?
I agree tried paint a few times and even expensive 2 pack stuff peeled

the answer -

https://www.garagefloortilecompany.com/?srsltid=Af...

used this company twice, done my old garage and I had a big box delivered last week to do my new one

[RicksAlfas]

If that paint has lasted eight years it's done well.

Do the cars always come in and out the same way? Could you wire brush the worse bits and repaint it and then chequer plate just the tyre tracks? (If that makes sense).

[KTMsm]

Mogsmex said:

chequer plate will be expensive, cold and slippy I would think ?
I agree tried paint a few times and even expensive 2 pack stuff peeled

the answer -

https://www.garagefloortilecompany.com/?srsltid=Af...

used this company twice, done my old garage and I had a big box delivered last week to do my new one

I can get 2.5mm chequer plate for £31 a square meter

I suspect it will take a similar time to lay as those tiles

Personally it looks a better finish to me

[mikey_b]

Rough101 said:

You’ll end up with water under it and it will stink.

I have PVC tiles on the floor in my garage, why don't they get water under them and stink? I don't use it for a car, but it has a wet motorcycle ridden in and parked regularly, which then drips filthy water over the patch it lives on. Also there's always a little damp under the door at the front if it's windy and raining. But no stinking...

I've been really pleased with them actually - quiet, non-slip, fairly cheap, easy to fit and easy to keep clean. They're also a lot warmer to sit on when doing maintenance on the bike! A huge improvement over the dusty bare concrete I had before.

[ChocolateFrog]

My take would be there's usually a reason people don't do stuff and that's one I've not heard before.

Got porcelain down in mine and it's been great, cheaper than the plastic/rubber floor tiles too.

[Freakuk]

Previous garage I bought some heavy duty slate grey floor tiles, and covered all of the floor area. As one or two wore or became dirty I swapped them out with spares, that was more me being picky etc. Never had any grip/damp/smell issues.

New garage I've laid 5mm rubber flooring, bonded down. It's colder, but easier to clean. It is slippier when it's wet when I wheel a bike in for example, or the garage door is open and it's raining.

[GAjon]

Them knobbly bits will stick in your knee every time you kneel down to do anything!

Just like that small sharp stone or 6mm nut or wood screw that’s always on the floor when you kneel down to do anything that leaves you hopping around the garage like an Apache Indian doing a rain dance.

Just re paint it every couple of years.

[KTMsm]

ChocolateFrog said:

My take would be there's usually a reason people don't do stuff and that's one I've not heard before.

Got porcelain down in mine and it's been great, cheaper than the plastic/rubber floor tiles too.

Hence the post

It's cheaper to buy porcelain

It's just expensive / time consuming to lay them

[KTMsm]

Freakuk said:

New garage I've laid 5mm rubber flooring, bonded down. It's colder, but easier to clean. It is slippier when it's wet when I wheel a bike in for example, or the garage door is open and it's raining.

5mm rubber - do you have a link ?

I was looking at 3mm rolls, either chequer or coin style

[KTMsm]

GAjon said:

Just re paint it every couple of years.

I thought about repainting it but everyone said new paint won't stick to it and I have to rough it up etc

Have you been repainting over epoxy ?

[Freakuk]

KTMsm said:

Freakuk said:

New garage I've laid 5mm rubber flooring, bonded down. It's colder, but easier to clean. It is slippier when it's wet when I wheel a bike in for example, or the garage door is open and it's raining.

5mm rubber - do you have a link ?

I was looking at 3mm rolls, either chequer or coin style

I'll see if I can find anything, but it was 5 years ago now... still looks good BTW. The only drawback was it comes on a roll that is 2m wide, garage was 4m wide so had to have a join in the middle.

I had it delivered to the old house just before we moved so I could get straight on it before I fill the garage with bikes & crap..... It got delivered on a forklift on a pallet, needless to say it was a 2 man job lifting it into the back of the car and out at the other end.

Edit - I found the place, my mistake looks like 4mm not 5mm, but they do 3mm also

https://expressmatting.co.uk/collections/anti-slip...

Edited by Freakuk on Thursday 10th October 17:21

[Steve H]

I’ve had epoxy down for about 12 years, the last four I have been working full time on it. It had a few coats on a well prepared surface but it hasn’t moved at all.

But if you don’t want to try paint again I would tend to agree with the general consensus, chequer plate sounds like an awkward thing to work on and there’s better alternatives that are well proven.