Best Flooring Options for Concrete Garage Floor?

[JonRaven]

Ok, so I am about to build a studio space in my 1 car garage, 22' x 14'.

It has the standard concrete slab floor and empty currently.

I want to put down some sort of laminate wood or hardwood floor.

I have read on many a posting here that floating the floor in this situation is not such a good idea and may in fact hinder the space instead of help it.

Therefore, What is the best way to do wood floors on concrete garage floor to protect it from the weather and such but still be good for a studio?

I intend in the future to build a wall half way down the room to create a control room and a booth, but for now I am thinking about just a 1 room setup.

Is it ok to add a wall down the road on top of a pre-existing hardwood floor? Or will it be a big issue for sound vibration? Maybe if the floor isn't floated this is not an issue? But I need it to be safe from the environment as well as a workable recordign space for my needs.

Please help.

Thanks.

[Drlove]

I just did this. Same deal. Unfinished garage spot.

Put up some walls. Chose a Pergo solution for the flooring. Easy to install. About the same price a carpet. Looks great and sounds great. I did find it a little bright so I've put a rug and some curtains.

Overall, I'm very happy. It wasn't too expensive or too difficult (like floating the floor). I've run cables through the walls while building them. Everything works/sounds as it should, VERY GOOD.

[Jules]

I am no design expert so....

I put a layer of some sort of shredded car tire underlay under my studio area floorboards.. Worked out OK.

[JonRaven]

Thanks so much for replying to my post.

Excited to hear that this is as easy as I was hoping.

Question though... did you put any sort of sub floor down first or did you mount your flooring right on top of the concrete?

[Glenn Kuras]

Have you looked at staining the floors? My girlfriend just did this in her design studio and it looks TOP NOTCH!!!
Here is a picture with the stained floor.


Glenn

[JonRaven]

oooh that is the acid wash technique or something. I have heard about that. It does look amazing. I am just worried about the winter and how cold they might get plus the rest of the house is hardwoods so I thought it would be good resale if I continued that throughout the music space.

But hmmm....
sure does look posh and nice. You say your girlfriend did that? Was it costly?

Jon

[+++]

It would be best, imo, if you could put the laminate directly on top of the concrete. Sometimes the problem with garage floors is that they're sloped. Mine was about 4" from top to bottom. Since the slope wasn't done evenly I had to build a subfloor. Since I'm not worried about isolation so much I didn't fill it with anything but common insulation. The room was properly treated for sound and works well for a control room.

[Glenn Kuras]

Originally Posted by JonRaven

oooh that is the acid wash technique or something. I have heard about that. It does look amazing. I am just worried about the winter and how cold they might get plus the rest of the house is hardwoods so I thought it would be good resale if I continued that throughout the music space.

But hmmm....
sure does look posh and nice. You say your girlfriend did that? Was it costly?

Jon

I can't remember how much it was but I don't think it cost all that much and WAY less then putting down flooring.

Glenn

[JonRaven]

I did see another garage build not too long ago on here where the guy acid stained the floor and it looked amazing. I found a great photo on another site that would be pretty representative of what my floor would look like.

check it out.

I am going to go look into costs.

I am still a little nervous about it being a garage and weather and such... snow melting and so and so....?

[JonRaven]

Ok so I submitted for some professional pricing quotes for a professional to do the acid staining approach just so that I could see the costs ratio of acid stain compared to laminate flooring.


Quote #1: Seal, Stain and Clear Coat Seal for my 22' x 14' space = $1000 approx. They said approx. $3/sf

I will keep you posted on my other quotes as they come in as well as some laminate flooring quotes I have asked for.

Also, I am going to be adding the quotes for DIY for both Acid Staining a concrete floor this size and laminate as well. I will then break it down per s/f so you all can use the numbers as a ball park for your spaces as well.

Cheers.

[JonRaven]

Hello again,

Hope you all not bored with this posting yet.

Either way I told you I would add more info as I collected it.

I have seen laminate flooring priced anywhere from $1.99/sf to $5/sf. But then you also have to buy the underlay and that costs like $1/sf so it adds up. Real hardwoods minimums seem to be relatively close to the upper of the laminates to give you an idea.

I have even seen on craigslist a few postings where installers will supposedly come out and install it with underlay and everything for prices starting at $1.99/sf

I am sure it would be cheaper to install it myself if I can find the color and quality that I want, but the installers might have access to cheaper pricing I don't know.

I have also discovered there is a cork backed version of laminate that is not as susceptible to moisture and can add some nice cushioning not offered by standard underlay. Might be a good option for a garage floor. Have yet to find pricing for this kind though.

Supposed to hear back from the 2nd acid stain guy tomorrow so we will see if his pricing is similar to the first guy's. Both of them have good reputations here in nashville for being very professional so I am sure they charge more then lesser known installers.

Hope that helps.

[jdg]

dont get cork!
i did my old garage with cork. (almost exact same size too, (standard garage size?!))

nothing but trouble.
wears like sh* (spots chipping up (about 3yrs old))
got flooded in here (a few times).. the cork got water damage badly. (even tho it wasn't that much water)

in short. i hate it. and it was about 3k for material.

[JonRaven]

Soo sorry you have had such a hard time with your floor....

The stuff I was referring to is a laminate hardwood with a cork type of underlay attached to it for cushion.... but I totally appreciate your comment and warning and will stay away from that product because of your warning. Thanks for your feedback. I will look at alternative flooring types.

I am on a large hill so I doubt flooding will be an issue... but I do worry about moisture with it being a garage,.... maybe I need to look into proper ways to seal that big door before I look into flooring.

For resale value of the home I don't want to remove the big door. Instead I have been planning on putting some blinds on the inside and shutting them... and then building a double wall system over the entire wall with the door and insulating it like crazy to cut down any sound leaking in or out. This is something I learned from another post on here so that from the outside everything looks normal but you can't see in because of the blinds but then on the inside... there is no sign of a door. But I need to seal that puppy up real good to remove any possibility of moisture getting in in the winter.

Thanks.

[Glenn Kuras]

Quote #1: Seal, Stain and Clear Coat Seal for my 22' x 14' space = $1000 approx. They said approx. $3/sf

I am surprised it is that much.

Glenn

[JonRaven]

Well that quote was from the biggest pro in Nashville at acid staining and creative concrete work. So I wasn't all that surprised on that one. But, I think DIY may be the best option. Did your girlfriend do the staining herself or have someone do it for her?

[Glenn Kuras]

Originally Posted by JonRaven

Did your girlfriend do the staining herself or have someone do it for her?

She hired someone to do it. I will see if I can go back and find out how much it was. I would think doing yourself would be pretty easy, but then again everything looks easy until you start into it.

Glenn