Asphalt Garage Floor Alternatives
A garage can receive a lot of wear and tear from leaking cars, muddy feet and water. Over time, pieces of your asphalt-paved garage may begin to chip and flake away, making for a messy, uneven surface. The simple solution is to install a flooring system that protects the asphalt from the elements and gives your garage floor a long-lasting, high-quality look.
Plastic Snap-in Tile
Snap-in tile systems are a great way to quickly and easily cover an asphalt garage floor. You don't need to wait for materials to dry, the way you do with epoxy or paint, and the tiles can be literally snapped in place in a few hours. The pieces interlock, are resistant to most harsh chemicals and even come in different colors and patterns such as racing checkerboards or diamond plate. In addition, you can choose to cover the entire garage floor or just the high-traffic areas if you want to save some money.
PVC Matting
PVC mats come in several sizes and are simply laid over a section of your asphalt garage floor. They are nonporous, so they resist absorption of oil, liquids, and salt --- common contaminants that wreak havoc on asphalt over time. If you're just looking to protect the section of garage floor where you park the car or that gets heavy traffic, a mat is the simplest solution.
Epoxy Paint
Although it's most commonly applied to concrete, epoxy paint is a good liquid-applied surface sealer for asphalt as well. This surface application is widely used in mechanic shops, where strong resistance to chemical spills is required. The primary downsides to epoxy paint are that it requires specialized knowledge to install, can bubble or soften at temperatures above 140 degrees Fahrenheit, may lose its coloring over time and needs to be reapplied every three to five years. Nevertheless, it's widely used and highly effective as a floor covering alternative.
Polyurethane
Polyurethane is a paint applied over an epoxy surface. It resists chemicals better than epoxy or latex paints, resists fading better than epoxy under direct sunlight and can be finished to a high gloss --- a popular effect for showrooms. Because this substance needs to be applied over an epoxy or latex paint, the cost to install it is substantially higher than the other floor covering alternatives. Also, the installation time may be doubled or tripled compared to snap-in tiles or mats. However, if cost is not an issue and you want the most durable high-quality covering for your asphalt garage, polyurethane may be the ideal solution.
Writer Bio
Kelvin Hayes has been writing professionally since 2009 as a freelance copywriter. He runs his own online business, writing ebooks, reports and information products. Completely self-taught, Hayes prides himself on creatively completing writing projects by pulling from his wide range of life experiences.
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