I admit it. I am frugal. And you know what? I'm okay with that. I like to have nice stuff, but I like to get it as cheap as I can. This means I use coupons, I scan the newspaper every day for sales, I talk to friends about sales going on, I talk to people at the stores I'm buying from to see if they have any inside information on where the cheapest products are (and if they can give me any discount). I do anything to find the best deal.
I don't think I've really put it into perspective the extraordinary lengths I'll go to for a deal, so I've got an example for you. Although this site is about my dealings with garage floor tiles, where to find garage floor tile products, and where to find the cheapest garage floor tiles, I'm going to talk for a second about bamboo flooring. And don't worry, this will all wrap back around by the time I'm done.
About six months ago I decided I wanted to put new flooring in the downstairs of my house. The area I'm talking about is probably about one thousand square feet, when it's all said and done. It includes and entry, a kitchen, a living room, and a sitting room. I knew immediately that I wanted bamboo flooring to go in. Why did on bamboo flooring? Well, much like garage floor tiles, it has all the qualities I'm looking for in great flooring - durable, reasonably priced, great look, and easy installation. Plus, it's really pretty fun to say, and people are pretty impressed by it. Just give it a shot. Bamboo flooring. Bamboo flooring. Sounding more exotic every second.
So, before I bought my flooring I had to figure out how to get the best deal. So I went to the number one place there is for this kind of information - the internet. I Googled bamboo flooring cost and immediately was inundated with a tremendous amount of information. And not only on the different types of bamboo floors out there, but, what I was looking for, cost. One problem existed, however. Almost all of the prices included installation of the floor. I am a pretty handy person, having been involved in numerous home improvement projects, and I enjoy seeing a project take shape, and I already knew how to install bamboo flooring, so I wanted a price that did not include installation.
So I started looking all over the place, talking to people, calling manufacturers to see if I could buy what I wanted directly from them, and generally made a pest out of myself. I went to Lowe's, Home Depot, True Value Hardware, Wal-Mart, and all of the other stores I could think of that might have the flooring I was looking for (these guys already know me really well, as I've hounded Home Depot and Lowe's personnel for months about where to find cheap garage floor tiles - I think they almost hate me over there!) Eventually I had all of the information I thought I was going to be able to get, made a list, and then picked. But, I didn't pick the cheapest one. I want value too. And sometimes value means paying just a little bit more for a much more superior product. So I picked.
This same process should be used when you are looking for garage floor tiles. There are a bunch of different models out there, and with the economy the way it is, there are a lot of sales (both advertised and unadvertised) out there waiting for you. All you need is a little determination, a little elbow grease, and in no time you'll be enjoying your new garage floor tiles!
3/30/09
Garage Floor Tiles | Manufacturers | Pricing
Today I thought I'd just show you a bunch of different types of garage floor tiles that are out there so you can determine which is the best fit for you. And remember, installing garage floor tiles is much much easier than epoxy garage flooring or any other garage floor covering or garage floor paint. It can be installed in as little as a couple of hours and can really transform your floor, making it look brand new.
Now, I've got to tell you that I don't personally endorse any of these products. While I am sure they are all built well, some may be better than others (I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest the product that is by far cheaper than all of the others will not last the longest). Please purchase any of these products at your own risk and speak to the manufacturers or the Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace Hardware, Wal-Mart, or other store representative while you are there purchasing.
The image below shows the different brands of Swisstrax brand floor tiles. They must be decent, because Jay Leno was on the website endorsing them!
RaceDeck garage floor tiles get the award for the best photograph depicting their product (this picture comes from their website). I think they are trying to imply that if you put in the garage floor you'll get the car.
Sam's Club didn't really have a respectable picture (again, you are getting what you paid for) but I wanted to mention that they did have garage floor tiles for sale at their store. They look pretty tepid compared to the floor option shown above. But if you are looking for lower price versus better performance, it wouldn't be a bad place to look.
Next, and finally, we have DinoTile, which appears to be a higher end product like the first two. As you can see from the picture (also borrowed from the DinoTile website) DinoTile products have made an appearance on at least one of the shows on HGTV. I don't know if manufacturers can pay for product placement on HGTV's shows, so it's hard to know if they picked the DinoTile because it was the best product or because it was a paid for product placement. In any event, the website looks nice, and the product is probably pretty good too.
When you are out looking for the garage flooring that best fits your style, remember that although price is a big factor, craftsmanship and durability are almost equally important. What's the point of buying the cheap stuff if you are going to have to replace it in a year, right?
Now, I've got to tell you that I don't personally endorse any of these products. While I am sure they are all built well, some may be better than others (I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest the product that is by far cheaper than all of the others will not last the longest). Please purchase any of these products at your own risk and speak to the manufacturers or the Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace Hardware, Wal-Mart, or other store representative while you are there purchasing.
The image below shows the different brands of Swisstrax brand floor tiles. They must be decent, because Jay Leno was on the website endorsing them!
RaceDeck garage floor tiles get the award for the best photograph depicting their product (this picture comes from their website). I think they are trying to imply that if you put in the garage floor you'll get the car.
Sam's Club didn't really have a respectable picture (again, you are getting what you paid for) but I wanted to mention that they did have garage floor tiles for sale at their store. They look pretty tepid compared to the floor option shown above. But if you are looking for lower price versus better performance, it wouldn't be a bad place to look.
Next, and finally, we have DinoTile, which appears to be a higher end product like the first two. As you can see from the picture (also borrowed from the DinoTile website) DinoTile products have made an appearance on at least one of the shows on HGTV. I don't know if manufacturers can pay for product placement on HGTV's shows, so it's hard to know if they picked the DinoTile because it was the best product or because it was a paid for product placement. In any event, the website looks nice, and the product is probably pretty good too.
When you are out looking for the garage flooring that best fits your style, remember that although price is a big factor, craftsmanship and durability are almost equally important. What's the point of buying the cheap stuff if you are going to have to replace it in a year, right?
3/12/09
Garage Floor Tiles
I love garage floor tiles. I have experimented with every kind of flooring you can imagine to put into my garage. I've tried just plain concrete for my garage floor. I've tried just dirt for my garage floor. I've tried epoxy paint for my garage floor. I've even laid down a wood floor in my garage. The reason I've tried so many things is that I need a lot of performance out of my garage. It is my primary hang out place when I'm at home (I love my wife, so don't take that last statement the wrong way).
What do I do in my garage that requires such a high performance garage floor? Many things. I do all of my own automotive work in the garage, so I need a garage floor that can easily be cleaned and won't absorb the oil, grease, and other chemicals that invariably end up on the garage floor. Garage floor tiles are great for this, as they are usually a non-stick, non-stain material that makes clean up a breeze. I can either soak it up with a towel or hose it out and it looks brand new. Without these garage floor tiles, I'd be walking around in grease and grime all the time, tracking it into the house, and tracking it into my vehicles. I am not for that.
Another thing my garage does for me is serve as a workshop. I am an avid woodworker, and need a high performance garage floor to provide a nonslip, easy to clean surface. It's also nice to be able to place my wood creations on my tiled garage floor and not have to worry about any dents or scratches. With the rubber floor tiles, the ground is not soft, but is definitely less harsh and less scratch resistant than your traditional concrete garage floor. With these tiles, my workspace floor remains clean, safe, and soft enough to meet all of my needs.
As with many guys, I'm sure, my garage also serves as a bit of a "man cave." I have a weekly poker night with drinking, cigar smoking, watching sports, scratching ourselves, telling dirty jokes, and all the other stuff you would expect from a group of guys getting away from their wives and not having any rules of manners to follow. I have a 42 inch flat screen television hooked up in my garage, a keg-orator, and a fold up poker table that sits 8. Because of our actions, hanging out in the house is just not feasible. However, just like walking into your home and seeing a dirty scuffed up floor, having the garage floor tiles in the garage makes the space a lot more inviting and makes it just look a lot cooler. Garage floor tiles warm the space and make it seem less like a garage and more like a home away from home.
And installation of the garage floor tiles is so easy it is ridiculous, particularly when compared to other flooring options. I don't know if you've ever tried to install an epoxy garage floor, but it is a much more tedious process, involving chemical bonding, paint flakes, and general trouble. With these epoxy garage floor tiles all you have to do is set them down in a row side by side. If you get to a garage wall all you do is cut the garage floor tile to fit, lay it down, and move on to the next. Clearly, installing the tiles is much much easier than any epoxy garage floor product.
Funny story about when I installed my garage floor tiles. It was the middle of winter, and I'd just gotten tired of staring at my old, dirty, concrete garage floor. I'd gone over to a buddies house earlier that week and he'd had some garage tiles put down on his floor, and it looked awesome. Once I saw it I knew I had to have it. Because it looked so good, I thought it must be super hard to install. But nope, my buddy said, he did it in a weekend by himself, and the garage floor tiles weren't even that expensive. So, without thinking twice, on a cold, winter day when I was bored stiff with nothing to do, I raced down to Home Depot, or was it Lowe's? It could have been Ace Hardware. But wherever it was, they were in stock, so I bought enough to cover my garage, and got to work. I think I started installing my new garage floor around noon, and by 6 that evening it was all done! And it looked awesome. Installing the garage floor tiles really did make a huge difference. And it motivated me enough to tell others about, hence this blog!
I hope if you are thinking about putting something down on your old garage floor you give garage floor tiles a shot. If you don't like them you can always take them up and install an epoxy garage floor or something a little more adventurous. Doing it the other way around (epoxy floor paint and then garage tiles) is much more burdensome). Give it a shot!
What do I do in my garage that requires such a high performance garage floor? Many things. I do all of my own automotive work in the garage, so I need a garage floor that can easily be cleaned and won't absorb the oil, grease, and other chemicals that invariably end up on the garage floor. Garage floor tiles are great for this, as they are usually a non-stick, non-stain material that makes clean up a breeze. I can either soak it up with a towel or hose it out and it looks brand new. Without these garage floor tiles, I'd be walking around in grease and grime all the time, tracking it into the house, and tracking it into my vehicles. I am not for that.
Another thing my garage does for me is serve as a workshop. I am an avid woodworker, and need a high performance garage floor to provide a nonslip, easy to clean surface. It's also nice to be able to place my wood creations on my tiled garage floor and not have to worry about any dents or scratches. With the rubber floor tiles, the ground is not soft, but is definitely less harsh and less scratch resistant than your traditional concrete garage floor. With these tiles, my workspace floor remains clean, safe, and soft enough to meet all of my needs.
As with many guys, I'm sure, my garage also serves as a bit of a "man cave." I have a weekly poker night with drinking, cigar smoking, watching sports, scratching ourselves, telling dirty jokes, and all the other stuff you would expect from a group of guys getting away from their wives and not having any rules of manners to follow. I have a 42 inch flat screen television hooked up in my garage, a keg-orator, and a fold up poker table that sits 8. Because of our actions, hanging out in the house is just not feasible. However, just like walking into your home and seeing a dirty scuffed up floor, having the garage floor tiles in the garage makes the space a lot more inviting and makes it just look a lot cooler. Garage floor tiles warm the space and make it seem less like a garage and more like a home away from home.
And installation of the garage floor tiles is so easy it is ridiculous, particularly when compared to other flooring options. I don't know if you've ever tried to install an epoxy garage floor, but it is a much more tedious process, involving chemical bonding, paint flakes, and general trouble. With these epoxy garage floor tiles all you have to do is set them down in a row side by side. If you get to a garage wall all you do is cut the garage floor tile to fit, lay it down, and move on to the next. Clearly, installing the tiles is much much easier than any epoxy garage floor product.
Funny story about when I installed my garage floor tiles. It was the middle of winter, and I'd just gotten tired of staring at my old, dirty, concrete garage floor. I'd gone over to a buddies house earlier that week and he'd had some garage tiles put down on his floor, and it looked awesome. Once I saw it I knew I had to have it. Because it looked so good, I thought it must be super hard to install. But nope, my buddy said, he did it in a weekend by himself, and the garage floor tiles weren't even that expensive. So, without thinking twice, on a cold, winter day when I was bored stiff with nothing to do, I raced down to Home Depot, or was it Lowe's? It could have been Ace Hardware. But wherever it was, they were in stock, so I bought enough to cover my garage, and got to work. I think I started installing my new garage floor around noon, and by 6 that evening it was all done! And it looked awesome. Installing the garage floor tiles really did make a huge difference. And it motivated me enough to tell others about, hence this blog!
I hope if you are thinking about putting something down on your old garage floor you give garage floor tiles a shot. If you don't like them you can always take them up and install an epoxy garage floor or something a little more adventurous. Doing it the other way around (epoxy floor paint and then garage tiles) is much more burdensome). Give it a shot!
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