Guide to Selecting Garage Floor Coverings and Mats

Many households around the world have a garage, and a lot of people would say that the garage is one of the most important sections of their home. In the garage, homeowners will be able to park their vehicles safely, and they will also have an area where they can set up a workshop for fixing appliances, gadgets, and other items at home.

However, if not properly cleaned or cared for, the garage can also be one of the most dangerous areas in your home, as the wet or greasy floor can cause slipping, which can then lead to injuries. Fortunately, there is a way to prevent the garage from having a very slippery floor, and this is through placing floor coverings and mats. If you check online, there are so many floor coverings and mats to choose from, and to help you make a better decision on what to buy, here is a guide to selecting the best garage floor covering and mats.

What are Floor Coverings and Mats?

Before we get started in choosing floor coverings and mats, let us first discuss what exactly they are. The garage floor covering is a layer made of different materials that are usually placed on top of the original garage floor. Most floor coverings are slip-resistant, which means that slipping on them would be nearly impossible because of how it reduces the slipperiness of water, grease, or oil that may spill on the floor.

Types of Garage Floor Coverings

There are different types of floor coverings that vary in terms of materials used and their price points. Here are a few types that you should know about when choosing garage floor coverings.

Floor Carpet

If you want to have a great floor covering option for your garage in terms of aesthetics, then the floor carpet, also known as the floor mat, is suitable for you. Garage floor carpets come in different colors and designs, and they are also quite affordable. However, because floor carpets are made of textiles, they can stain and get dirty easily and can be very difficult to clean. These are three floor carpets that we recommend for your garage:

Shield Family Floor Protector – this highly-rated garage floor mat features an impermeable membrane that prevents different types of liquid from leaking through the mat. In addition, it is also very easy to install, although you need to make sure that the floor is clean before installation.
WELKIN Containment Mat – the WELKIN Containment Mat is very different from most garage floor carpets, as it has a silky surface that is much easier to clean. Despite having a relatively smooth surface, this floor carpet surprisingly has an anti-slip feature that prevents vehicles from moving even if their wheels are covered in snow, mud, or rainwater.
LINLA Premium Absorbent Oil Mat – this slip-resistant garage mat has a slip-resistant rubber backing so that it stays in place no matter how dry or wet the garage floor is. The material of the mat is also very easy to cut, so you can customize the size of the mat you are going to place on the garage floor.

Interlocking Floor Tiles

The cheapest floor coverings for garages are interlocking floor tiles, which are usually made of soft rubber and have ridges at the top to prevent slippage. While they are inexpensive, these interlocking floor tiles lack durability since they can easily get damaged by almost anything, from vehicle tires to garage tools. Here are three sets of interlocking floor tiles you can check out:

GarageTrac Diamond – this is one of the most popular sets of interlocking floor tiles online, and its popularity is attributed to how good its non-slip feature is. The slip-resistant diamond double tread pattern is effective in adding more traction to the floor, while its snap-on locking feature enables quick and easy installation.
VERSATEX Interlocking Tiles – a more affordable option is this set of interlocking tiles by VERSATEX. It features a circle pattern on the surface that has anti-slip qualities, while its locking mechanism enables it to not disconnect easily and stay on the floor firmly.
VEVOR Garage Tiles – another easy-to-install set of garage tiles that have a snap-on locking feature for faster installation. It has a diamond tread pattern that adds more traction and grip to the floor.

Vinyl Covering

This cut-to-fit floor covering is typically thinner compared to the first two types mentioned, so they wouldn’t add extra height to the floor of your garage. The vinyl covering is very affordable and easy to install, and they also come in different designs and colors. [1] However, because of how thin it is, it wouldn’t really last long, much like interlocking floor tiles. Here is a vinyl covering product you can try for your garage:

Happybuy Garage Vinyl Covering – this vinyl covering has a slip-proof design that has a diamond texture for increased traction. Installation of this covering is also relatively easy, as you can just roll it out on the floor, and it’s already good to go.

Painted Floor

If you don’t want to measure coverings and cut them precisely, you can just get an anti-slip paint in a hardware store or online shop. All you have to do to apply the paint is to dip a paint roller in the bucket of paint and then roll it on the floor. But keep in mind that you may need to recoat the floor at least once or twice a year so that the anti-slip capabilities of the paint would be retained. Below is a concrete floor paint that could be suitable for garages with rougher floors:

RUST-OLEUM Epoxy Shield Concrete Floor Paint – this floor paint has a smooth finish to reduce the roughness of the garage floor. In addition, the paint can easily be cleaned once it is dry, and it is also resistant to heat and chemicals.

Epoxy Covering

A more durable coating for garage floors is the epoxy covering, which is a sealed coating that is abrasion-resistant and waterproof. Because of its waterproof qualities, water spills and grease stains will be much easier to clean compared to other types of coverings. The downside to the epoxy covering is that it would take up to seven days for it to dry, so you won’t be able to use the garage or place anything on it for a few days. [1] Here are two products that you can use so that your garage floor will have an epoxy covering:

Epoxy-Coat Floor Coating Kit – this floor coating has a dark gray color with gray blend flakes for aesthetics. It has everything you need to cover your garage floor with epoxy, so you don’t need to buy items or products separately.
RUST-OLEUM Epoxy Shield Garage Floor Coating – this coating features a durable two-part epoxy formula that works best on concrete surfaces, particularly the ones found in garages, basements, and workshops.

Polyaspartic Floor Coating

A lot of experts would say this covering is the best among all types of floor coverings for garages. Not only is it durable and resistant to wear, stains, and chemicals, but it is also long-lasting and could usually last longer than the other types of coverings. However, you would need a professional to install this coating on the garage floor, so it can be quite expensive to apply. [1]

Things to Consider When Buying Garage Floor Coverings and Mats

Because there are so many products in the market that can serve as coverings or mats for garage floors, it can be very difficult for a lot of people to choose which one is the best for their garage. Fortunately, there are some things about floor coverings and mats that people should know so that they will have an easier time deciding what to buy. Here are the things to consider when buying garage floor coverings and mats.

Features

The first thing you should know about floor coverings and mats for garages are their features, as some brands would often add unique technologies and qualities to their products to make them stand out above the rest. As evident in some of the products we mentioned earlier, there will be some of them that will feature unique features like a two-part formula that makes the covering more durable and a snap-on locking mechanism that makes installation easier.

Price

The next thing to consider is the price of the coverings or mats you will be buying. It is important to set a budget first for renovating or improving your garage so that you won’t overspend. If you only have a small budget, you should to the more affordable options like interlocking floor tiles and floor carpets, but if you are willing to spend a lot of money on your garage, then we recommend that you already go for the expensive but more durable options like epoxy covering and polyaspartic floor coating.

Convenience

Of course, you would want to buy a product that is more convenient to use compared to the others. So if you want to have a much easier and more convenient time installing floor coverings or mats, you should find products that have an easy install feature that just snaps or rolls out in place on the garage floor.

But it is important to keep in mind that coverings and mats that are easy to install can usually be easy to take off. If you want a covering or mat that will stay longer on the garage floor, epoxy and polyaspartic coverings may be the best options for you, but keep in mind that they can typically be difficult to install.

Reviews and Feedback

In order to know which products are considered the best by many customers, you should check reviews and feedback on different floor coverings and mats online. Through these reviews, you will know not only the pros and cons of each product but their unique features that may be beneficial for your garage.

What’s also great about reviews is that they would only take you a few minutes to read, so you will have a much faster decision on what you will purchase because of reviews. Checking out every product in physical hardware stores can be time-consuming, so if you don’t have a lot of time, reviews can help you make purchases faster.

And there you have it, a simple guide to selecting floor coverings and mats for your garage. Take the time to read reviews online so that you will learn more about the most popular and newest garage floor coverings and mats and subsequently choose which product is the best for your garage.

References

[1] LINE-X Australia Blog. Find the Most Effective Garage Floor Covering Option. LINE-X Australia Blog. Retrieved November 21, 2022, from https://www.linexaus.com.au/blog/find-garage-floor-covering-options/