The Why: Your pride and joy would appreciate a more comfortable and attractive place to park its precious tires.
The How: Epoxy paint or snap-together plastic tiles are marvelous floor finishes for high-end garages but installing either is expensive and time consuming. G-Floor comes in a roll that you can deploy on any flat surface in nothing flat.
The Goods: Covers all manner of sins such as spalled, cracked, or stained concrete. Also provides a guard-all shield over a pristine epoxy-painted floor. Attractive, comfortable to walk on, impervious to common liquids such as antifreeze and oil drippings. Serves as an effective vapor barrier and noise absorber. Stays neatly in place without adhesives, can be moved outside for heavy cleaning or transferred to a new location when your home is foreclosed. Readily cleaned by vacuuming, sweeping, blowing, and mopping.
Available: In three thicknesses, four surface patterns, and eight colors. Width ranges from 7.5 to 10.0-feet, lengths from 14 to 60 feet.
Sold by: A wide variety of retail stores and internet vendors. Check www.bltllc.com for listings. Some shops will deliver and install this floor material for the criminally lazy.
Cost: From less than $1 per square foot at Sam's Club to more than $4 per square foot for the 0.085-inch-thick industrial grade G-Floor.
Suggestions: BLT recommends the standard grade for normal in/out traffic surfaces and the commercial grade material for workshop areas. Metal chips from drilling or machining operations can become imbedded when stepped on.
Things we learned by trying G-Floor in Don Sherman's garage: Lighter colors are less likely to show water marks. The ribbed pattern is not dust-pan friendly; debris must be vacuumed or swept off the edge. The Levant pattern, which has a low-profile grained appearance, should be the easiest to sweep. Trimming is a snap with a box knife or scissors.
Final word: G-Floor is a convenient way to spiff up your man cave without breaking a sweat.