Garage mats

I've been reading the old threads on garage floors - epoxy, paint, polish, etc.

Wouldn't a mat like this be a lot easier and look better?

maybe, but it looks like it would be a lot tougher to clean/mop things that you dont want to spray out to the gutter and into the storm drain (coolant, oil, other various nastiness. also, Id imagine a cushioned floor mat would be tough to use a jack and stands and/or a creeper on. And forget rolling an engine stand around on it. If it was just a workshop floor, then maybe, but not my garage floor.

I never understood why the regular sealed concrete was a problem. I have spilled diff oil, grease, coolant, brake fluid and whatever else. It gets brake dust and metal filings ground in to it... and in the spring I kick over a 5g pail of Super Purple, scrub it with a push broom for a few minutes and pressure wash it out the door. It looks brand new again until the next time I start playing with tools.

Otto_Maddox wrote: I've been reading the old threads on garage floors - epoxy, paint, polish, etc. Wouldn't a mat like this be a lot easier and look better?

Because those pictures are deceiving. The mat is ribbed to contain/direct snow/water/mud/etc. so it can be easily swept out the door. They are not designed to handle sharp, static loads like jack stands or even floor jacks, which will cause them to bunch up. Hurts like hell to kneel on. Basically - designed to be parked on and little else.

Griot's sells a coin-top version that might be easier to roll stuff across and work on, but stll won't be any more durable.

I guess I should have mentioned that this would be part of me making my wife's garage bay nice. Nothing other than parking will happen there. The floor has some large cracks and a few places where it looks like glue or something has been spilled. Beyond that, basically the concrete just looks ratty. This is fine on my side. I like plain old concrete floor. But my wife wants it pretty on her side. And since my side of the garage is three times as big as hers, I try to keep her happy.

In that case, yes - these mats work perfectly.