The garage floors are prone to dust, stains, oil spills, cracks, and wear & tear due to heavy movements of vehicles and maintenance activities.
This not only makes the garage floor dirty and untidy it also depreciates the floor life.
The garage floor coverings and coatings are the two most common options to protect the garage floor from all issues.
Floor tiles are the leading type of garage floor coverings while the epoxy is the most important member of the floor coatings family.
Although both garage floor tiles and epoxies enhance the style, beauty, protection, and durability of the garage floor, there are still some differences between tiles and epoxy.
In order to select the right product between epoxy and tiles, you must have sound knowledge of their respective comparative properties and the requirements of your garage.
Actually, your budget will be the key factor to decide the best suitable garage floor protection.
The below comparative between garage floor tiles and epoxy will help to easily determine the best choice for your garage floor.
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Comparative of Garage Floor Tiles VS Epoxy
Here, I have explained in a tabular form for an easy go through;
| Features | Tiles | Epoxy |
| Installation | The installation of tiles is very easy, It takes a few hours to complete the whole process | The installation of the epoxy is a lengthy process, It may take days to complete the whole installation |
| Design and Customization | Tiles are available in many types, designs, and colors. It offers multiple options to customize your garage floor | Epoxy comes in different colors, it offers color customization only although some flakes can be added to give it a stone looking finish. |
| Look and Finish | Tiles impart a stylish look to the garage floor | Epoxy gives a high gloss finish |
| Echo | Tiles have absorbed vibration and sound, makes no noise | Epoxy floor don’t absorb the echo sound, makes a lot of noise |
| Durability | Hard, rigid, scratch and more durable | Durable But still vulnerable to scratches and abrasion |
| Stains and tire marks | Tiles resist stains and tire marks | An epoxy floor is vulnerable to stains and tire marks |
| Protection | Tiles offer better against heat, load, and chemical spills | Epoxy is vulnerable to cracks and chippings due to daily vehicles movement |
| UV Protection | Tiles offer UV protection | Mostly don’t offer UV protection |
| Slip Resistant | Yes | No |
| Movability | Yes, Tiles can be removed to use somewhere else | No |
| Maintenance | Easy | Easy, but reseal after some time to maintain the high gloss finish |
| Cost | Expensive | Affordable |
Detailed Comparative Analysis of Garage Floor VS Epoxy
Let us dig deeper into the analysis;
Installation
Tiles
The installation of tiles is very safe and secure, it takes only a few hours to install the tiles on the whole floor. Just remove the items from the floor, clean them properly and install the tiles.
The tiles come in three different forms which include interlocking tiles, snap together and peel stick tiles, all these tiles are self-sticking and self-leveling.
However a suitable adhesive can be applied to make the bonding of tiles with the surface stronger.
Epoxy
Epoxy is a mainly water or solvent based resin and hardener which is mixed to apply on the garage floor.
The installation of epoxy is a lengthy process, depending on the type of the epoxy; it may take 2- 7 days to complete the final coat on the garage floor.
The installation of epoxy involves a number of steps to properly apply it on the floor.
These steps are, shifting of the items from the garage floor, cleaning and sweeping of the surface, etching and scrubbing of the floor surface, preparation of the surface for the epoxy coats, preparation of epoxy.
After preparing the floor surface for the epoxy coating, the first coat of epoxy is applied on the floor with a brush or roller, then the coat is allowed to cure for the application of the second coat.
It can take 7- 24 hours to completely cure the first coat. After that second coat of epoxy is applied on the floor which also takes the same time to cure.
Three to four coats are required to give a high gloss finish to the garage floor. You will have to for at least 2- 7 days to allow any movement of vehicles on the coated garage floor.
2. Design and customization
Tiles
Tiles are available in many different types, designs, patterns, and colors, so the tiles offer a huge variety of customization, you can choose checkered, lined, dotted, or any imaging style tiles for your garage floor with color customization option also.
With tiles, you can customize your garage floor with a design or color your liking.
Epoxy
Epoxy offers color customization only, although now epoxies have the option to add different flakes to give a stone like finish to your garage floor.
Flakes provide a variety of granite finishing styles, but still, the epoxy has limited options of customization of the garage floor.
3. Look and Finish
Tiles
Garage floor tiles come in many different designs, like dotted, outlined, and imaged; Tiles also have the option to print logos of the garage on it. So the tiles impart a beautiful and stylish look to the garage floor which makes the garage atmosphere more conducive for working.
Epoxy
Epoxy imparts a high gloss and shiny finish to the garage floor. The high gloss garage floor reflects light on the vehicles which make the garage environment eyes soothing.
4. Echo
Tiles
Tiles are designed to absorb vibration and sound produced in the garage due to the movement of vehicles and maintenance work.
Tiles dampen vibrate and do not make a sound in the garage, thus making an ear friendly environment.
Epoxy
Epoxy floors don’t absorb any echo or vibration produced in the garage, it rather enhances the echo and vibration in the garage.
If a tool falls from the hand of a technician, it produces a heavy echo sound which distracts workers in the garage. Epoxy floors tend to make a lot of noise due to echo and vibration.
5. Durability
Tiles
The tiles are made of high density rubber material and these last longer under normal working conditions. Tiles feature a lot of safety and resistance factors which enhance the overall life of the tiles.
Some tiles are made to resist high temperatures and can withstand high loads. Some tiles expand during the summer while contract during the winter.
The tiles also have protection against the UV sun rays. The high density tiles don’t get stains easily, also the maintenance and cleaning of tiles is very easy and simple. All these factors increase the overall life of the tiles and hence the durability.
Epoxy
Epoxy floors are also hard and tough against but these are still vulnerable to scratches and damages due to high vehicle traffic.
Some high quality epoxy offers scratch and chemical resistance but still, the epoxy floor gets tire marks on it, which are not very easy to clean.
The tire marks reduce the shine of the garage floor and thus the durability of the epoxy floors.
6. Protection
Tiles
Tiles don’t stick to the garage floor, these are basically put on the floor, and therefore the tiles better protect the garage floor against any routine wear and tear due to the regular movement of vehicles.
The tiles are made of high quality rubber material which can stand high loads of vehicles, the tiles are chemical and heat resistant and these are made to resist high temperature.
Epoxy
Although the epoxy floors are hard, still these floors are vulnerable to scratches, chipping, and damages due to high traffic in the garage.
The epoxy floors require resealing every couple of years; otherwise, these floors will be damaged. So the epoxy floors have comparatively less protection than the garage floor.
7. Tire Marks and Stains
Tiles
Tile floors offer resistance against tire marks and stains due to oil and chemical spillage, the stains and tire marks can be easily removed from the tile floor.
Epoxy
Epoxy floors easily get tire marks stains due to oil and chemical spillage, although the stains and tire marks can be cleaned from the epoxy floor, still, the stains cannot be removed permanently.
8. UV Resistance
Tiles
The tiles made of the high density rubber materials and color pigments offer high resistance against UV rays.
If you are working in an open door garage which is directly exposed to the sun, the UV sun rays will directly hit your floor and can affect the color of the garage floor.
The tiles effectively resist UV rays and don’t fade away.
Epoxy
Epoxy floors are not suitable to open doors as these floors don’t effectively resist the UV sun rays.
Although some high quality epoxy offers UV resistance but are still vulnerable to UV rays. If the epoxy floor is exposed to the UV sun rays, its color can fade.
The epoxy floor color will become yellow if it is continuously exposed to UV sun rays.
9. Slip Resistance
Tiles
Tiles are included with a self-draining feature that keeps the garage floor clean and dry most of the time.
Besides the self-draining system, the tiles also have built-in anti-slip features that keep the garage floor slip resistant even if it is wet.
So the working is relatively easy on the tile floor offering anti-slip resistance.
Epoxy
Normally the epoxy floors are very slippery; these are not provided with built-in anti-slip features.
So you will need to be very careful while working on the epoxy floor, particularly if the floor is wet due to water, oil, or chemical leakage. So the wet epoxy surface can be hazardous to safe working in the garage.
10. Movability
Tiles
The tile floor has the additional advantage of taking it with you.
If you are planning to shift your garage somewhere else, you can simply remove the floor tiles easily and transfer them to your new location. The removed tiles can also be stored to be used later.
It will save a lot of money to be spent on the flooring at the new site.
Epoxy
Epoxy flooring can’t be removed, if epoxy has been coated it can’t be reused, it is done and dusted. In the first place, the epoxy coating takes a lot of time and money and secondly, it is not portable.
11. Maintenance
Tiles
The maintenance and cleaning of tiles floor are very easy and simple. Most of the tiles are resistant to stains, chemicals, and UV rays, so the tiles floor don’t get dirty frequently, the tiles floor can be easily cleaned with a power wash.
Epoxy
The epoxy floors are vulnerable to stains, cracks, and damages due to the high traffic in the garage.
So the epoxy floors need regular maintenance and cleaning that include, wiping all the stains on the epoxy floor with a suitable cleaner, mopping the floor regularly.
The epoxy floors are vulnerable to UV rays, so the garage must be closed to avoid direct exposure to sunlight.
12. Cost
Tiles
The initial cost of the tiles flooring is very high as the tiles are expensive, but there is no extra cost associated with the tiles flooring.
Epoxy
The Epoxy is affordable and much cheaper in comparison to the tiles, but the associated costs with epoxy flooring can be very high. First of all the floor needs to be prepared for the epoxy coating which involves cost.
Concrete cracks repairing also incur costs. The epoxy floors also require maintenance due to cracks, scratches, stains, and damages due to the movement of traffic.
The damaged floor needs resealing after every two years which may involve a heavy cost. So the overall cost of the epoxy coating can be much higher in the long run compared to tile floors.
The Final Word
The garage floor needs coating or covering to protect the garage floor surface stains and damages due to the heavy traffic movement and maintenance in the garage. Both tiles and epoxy offer protection to the floor.
The tiles are stylish, durable, resistant to chemicals and stains, and easy to install and maintain. The tiles also come in a variety of designs, colors, and types giving huge opportunities for garage customization. The tiles are expensive initially but there are no maintenance costs associated with the tiles floor. The tile floors are comparatively more durable and require less maintenance.
The epoxy is cheap and affordable, it also imparts a high gloss finish to the garage floor but the installation of the epoxy is a lengthy process and also involves a lot of steps. It is also vulnerable to stains, damages, and cracks due to the high traffic movement, the epoxy floor requires resealing after every two to three years to keep it tidy and clean.
You can choose the right flooring according to the size of the floor and your requirement keeping in mind the durability and cost of the flooring.
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