# Plywood garage floor



## lemans63

Could someone recommend the best product to seal and protect a new plywood garage floor. I have a customer who wants a tough coating to protect it from oil, gasoline etc. Anything decent out there?? Thanks so much


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## TooledUp

Why the heck would anybody put plywood on a garage floor...?!


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## bikerboy

They couldn't afford concrete?


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## Workaholic

Welcome to the site. Another great place to post is here to Introduce Yourself so we can all get to know you better.

Hello Lemans63, Strange choice for the garage. i have seen old time shops where they used to be an old building that kept the original wood floors. Were they looking for a paint like material, or a clear solution to enhance the wood? You can use a lot of two part epoxy's on wood as well so that might be an option. Any pics?
How much tire traffic will the floor get? My concern with coating the wood floor would be long term adhesion.


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## TooledUp

bikerboy said:


> They couldn't afford concrete?


Hardboard is cheaper. Maybe they didn't know that.


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## ewingpainting.net

TooledUp said:


> Hardboard is cheaper. Maybe they didn't know that.


How bout the dirt on the ground? Just throw a blanket or at least some news papers.


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## TooledUp

ewingpainting.net said:


> How bout the dirt on the ground? Just throw a blanket or at least some news papers.


I did wonder if grass would've been better but it might not grow too good indoors. What about artificial turf?


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## Workaholic

I missed the plywood, I was thinking planks. 
Combustion is something to consider with a wood floor suprised they could get permits for it, unless it is older.

This thread is looking like a future train wreck.


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## ewingpainting.net

TooledUp said:


> I did wonder if grass would've been better but it might not grow too good indoors. What about artificial turf?


Naw, that stuff is more than concrete, what about wood chips? Oh, nooo! I got it. HAY!


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## TooledUp

ewingpainting.net said:


> I got it. HAY!


Now we're getting somewhere! Does it come in different colors? What's the going rate for a gallon?


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## Workaholic

Come on guys I would like to see if anyone has a realistic option to the OP before it ends up being closed.


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## ewingpainting.net

TooledUp said:


> Now we're getting somewhere! Does it come in different colors? What's the going rate for a gallon?


Silly Tool! They come in bales









But these guys might be a problem


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## ewingpainting.net

Workaholic said:


> Come on guys I would like to see if anyone has a realistic option to the OP before it ends up being closed.


Sorry Sean, Let me brain storm it.


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## ewingpainting.net

One thing come to mind is clear Breakthrough.


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## Workaholic

ewingpainting.net said:


> One thing come to mind is clear Breakthrough.


You talking about this stuff?
http://www.topsecretcoatings.com/auto-ts-100_1-part_epoxy-clear.htm


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## TooledUp

ewingpainting.net said:


> Silly Tool! They come in bales


They might be a bit bumpy to drive over.



> But these guys might be a problem


Yeah if one of those made a nest in your exhaust it could make a nasty mess when you fired up the engine!

Sorry Sean, I couldn't really think of a serious answer to this one - Apart from the fact, like you already stated, it's a hazard. 

I wouldn't recommend painting ply on a garage floor even if it weren't a fire hazard. I would've thought a painter might have realized that all the joints on the board would likely fail very quickly no matter what you put on so assumed it was probably a DIYer question.


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## ewingpainting.net

Workaholic said:


> You talking about this stuff?
> http://www.topsecretcoatings.com/auto-ts-100_1-part_epoxy-clear.htm


Naw, never seen that. I just threw it out there. Now that I'm thinking of it, i wouldn't paint it myself eather, unless they just wanted to put a wood sealer on it.
PAECE!


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## ewingpainting.net

Also Monochem makes a flexable floor coating. I forget the name. The bad thing about that stuff, is it gets dirty easy.


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## tsunamicontract

Another obvious problem with painting a plywood floor such as that is that the coating can only be as hard as the plywood underneath. A car weights way to much to be driving on plywood without compressing it some and ruining the coating. I just can't feel like this is a serious question. The serious question would be how much to charge to paint a plywood garage floor.


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## Workaholic

There you go. The pros have spoken "Don't do it".


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## tsunamicontract

Workaholic said:


> There you go. The pros have spoken "Don't do it".


Where was that? I must have missed it!


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## Workaholic

tsunamicontract said:


> Where was that? I must have missed it!


Just generalizing, a lot more negatives to the task than positives. I have seen plank garage floors but never plywood. You made a very good point about the flex weakening the bond of the material. 
Honestly I figured this thread was more a DIY thing and was hoping the OP would come back to add some insight.


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## tsunamicontract

No, Sean, I mean where did you see the Pro's speaking? That is what I missed.


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## tsunamicontract

Ok, seriously though, here is the right answer. http://www.diamondlifegear.com/flooring.htm


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## Workaholic

tsunamicontract said:


> No, Sean, I mean where did you see the Pro's speaking? That is what I missed.


LOL 
Gotcha now.
Sorry I accidently edited your post.



tsunamicontract said:


> Ok, seriously though, here is the right answer. [URL="http://www.diamondlifegear.com/flooring.htm"]http://www.diamondlifegear.com/flooring.htm[/URL]


I thought about that too. Makes a cool looking floor.


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## BESMAN

plywood floor in the garage? thats messed up....


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## lemans63

*plywood garage floor*

Thanks for all the humorous responses. This is a garage all ready pre built and delivered to customer by truck. Garage is 100% complete and they all have plywood floors to the best of my knowledge. This garage is primarily used to keep their fancy sports car. It was built to be used as a car garage and not simply a workshop. Surprisingly, the garage is very well built, plywood floor and all.


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## ewingpainting.net

Why dont you call your paint rep out?


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## TooledUp

ewingpainting.net said:


> Why dont you call your paint rep out?


...or recommend they go for floor tiles.


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## tsunamicontract

lemans63 said:


> Thanks for all the humorous responses. This is a garage all ready pre built and delivered to customer by truck. Garage is 100% complete and they all have plywood floors to the best of my knowledge. This garage is primarily used to keep their fancy sports car. It was built to be used as a car garage and not simply a workshop. Surprisingly, the garage is very well built, plywood floor and all.


hahahahah I am having a hard time seeing someone with a fancy sports car having a pre built garage delivered via truck with a plywood floor. Anyone else see the flaws in this?


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## Workaholic

tsunamicontract said:


> hahahahah I am having a hard time seeing someone with a fancy sports car having a pre built garage delivered via truck with a plywood floor. Anyone else see the flaws in this?


Yep it was my first, middle and final thought as well. The thread could only go so far.


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## nEighter

the plywood floor is probably just there to keep the thing square.. like a packing crate. You are actually (more than likely) supposed to have a contractor come out and pour a slab and afix this premade garage to it. Taking the plywood off first... would be my guess.. unless that plywood is treated.. it won't last against the ground anyway.


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## tsunamicontract

nEighter said:


> the plywood floor is probably just there to keep the thing square.. like a packing crate. You are actually (more than likely) supposed to have a contractor come out and pour a slab and afix this premade garage to it. Taking the plywood off first... would be my guess.. unless that plywood is treated.. it won't last against the ground anyway.


Nate, this was exactly my 2nd thought! you know what they say about great minds . . .


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## nEighter

:thumbsup: yep sure do!


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## Workaholic

nEighter said:


> the plywood floor is probably just there to keep the thing square.. like a packing crate. You are actually (more than likely) supposed to have a contractor come out and pour a slab and afix this premade garage to it. Taking the plywood off first... would be my guess.. unless that plywood is treated.. it won't last against the ground anyway.


The problem with this idea is that prefab structures usually come in a few pieces and are professionally installed. If they are not installed by a qualified person warraties are voided. If set up by a HO or a GC there would still be instructions to remove floor and pour concrete. 


This place says they use plywood floor or you can upgrade to pressure treated.
http://www.horizonstructures.com/double-wide-garages.asp


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## nEighter

oh wow. Huh. I was wondering how they would have framed that. Jeeze... Why not offer with PT anyway? as in default? What are you looking at price wise for that?? can you imagine paying for what it cost to buy new to fix the floor 3 yrs from now?


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## nEighter

got it. Elastomeric. Like they coat roofs with.


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## Workaholic

nEighter said:


> oh wow. Huh. I was wondering how they would have framed that. Jeeze... Why not offer with PT anyway? as in default? What are you looking at price wise for that?? can you imagine paying for what it cost to buy new to fix the floor 3 yrs from now?


I don't know. It said to add a 1.00 sqft for the floor upgrade at that site. You would think that it would have to be a decent price savings otherwise why not just have it done local by a GC with a slab floor. 

I would probably explain to the customer my concerns with applying anything to the floor and if he wanted to proceed I would let him know that I could not offer a warranty. 
Easiest thing would be to pass on the job unless you were hurting.


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## nEighter

they have a price estimator there. Was like 6700.00 to my place for one of the standard 10'X garages. Without PT or anything. Meh. A local guy would be better.


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## lemans63

*plywood garage floor*



nEighter said:


> the plywood floor is probably just there to keep the thing square.. like a packing crate. You are actually (more than likely) supposed to have a contractor come out and pour a slab and afix this premade garage to it. Taking the plywood off first... would be my guess.. unless that plywood is treated.. it won't last against the ground anyway.


It sounds like these garages do not exist where you guys live. They are very common in the Northeast. You can poor a concrete slab but most people do not. The treated plywood is atop lengths of 4'x4' and is placed on a bed of stones. This is very common around these parts and you can't hire a builder to built one for anything close to the price of a pre-built. And like I said, the quality is excellent and no it does not come in sections. The complete garage is delivered by truck and dropped on your prepared bed of stones. One of the largest dealers in this area is Kloter Farms. You can Google this, view the site, and come to your own conclusions. Meanwhile, my original question remains. Any durable paint suitable for a pressure treated plywood garage floor. It seems like the answer is no. How about a quality marine paint. It's nice to see that everyone is having some fun with this.


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## tsunamicontract

lemans63 said:


> It sounds like these garages do not exist where you guys live. They are very common in the Northeast. You can poor a concrete slab but most people do not. The treated plywood is atop lengths of 4'x4' and is placed on a bed of stones. This is very common around these parts and you can't hire a builder to built one for anything close to the price of a pre-built. And like I said, the quality is excellent and no it does not come in sections. The complete garage is delivered by truck and dropped on your prepared bed of stones. One of the largest dealers in this area is Kloter Farms. You can Google this, view the site, and come to your own conclusions. Meanwhile, my original question remains. Any durable paint suitable for a pressure treated plywood garage floor. It seems like the answer is no. How about a quality marine paint. It's nice to see that everyone is having some fun with this.


Thanks for coming back and clearing things up a little for us. The problem with painting a garage floor is that you need a hard, chemical and abrasive resistant coating for the garage environment. For the fact that the substrate is wood, you need a coating that can flex with the wood. There is not a coating that does both. Ask wolverine if he has concocted anything that might work, but I do not know of any. I like SW All surface enamel for thresholds and "saddles" of doorways and have it on the floor of my trailer. SW also has a product called tredplex that might work but i would plan on re-coating every 3 years. I would go with tiles for a long term solution.


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## TooledUp

lemans63 said:


> How about a quality marine paint.


I haven't seen or heard of any paint that will hold up to the weight of a car driving over it for very long on top of plywood. The joints will move, the boards will bend where there isn't any support (between the joists) and the paint will fail. It's just too much punishment for paint on ply to take.

If it has to be treated, I would just advise the customer to have 3 coats of a thin preservative oil stain and put up with any spillage marks that might happen (or just tile or vinyl floor covering).


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## nEighter

that is why I suggested elastomeric. OR I guess you could coat it in C.I.M. Bout the nastiest, toughest coating around, and it is pliable.


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## TooledUp

nEighter said:


> that is why I suggested elastomeric. OR I guess you could coat it in C.I.M. Bout the nastiest, toughest coating around, and it is pliable.


Do you think it would take a ton or so of car rolling over it on a daily basis?


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## nEighter

no. but it would stretch when needed. it is PT also, so what is gunna stay on that?


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## tsunamicontract

Ok, I got it! Brush used motor oil on it! it will give it a nice, rich, stained look and when you spill more it will just blend in!


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## lemans63

*plywood garage floor*



nEighter said:


> that is why I suggested elastomeric. OR I guess you could coat it in C.I.M. Bout the nastiest, toughest coating around, and it is pliable.


Thanks for all the possibilities. I will discuss these options with the customer.


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## CApainter

http://www.horizonstructures.com/singlecargarage.asp 

The attached link describes what the Poster may be talking about. 

I'd be concerned about heat from the tires lifting the coating. 

A water borne floor coating, like Rustoleum's epoxy garage floor coating, may be an option.


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## CApainter

Addendum to previous post: Epoxies, whether water borne or solvent, tend to resist oil, and chemical deterioration better then single component coatings.


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## tsunamicontract

CApainter said:


> Addendum to previous post: Epoxies, whether water borne or solvent, tend to resist oil, and chemical deterioration better then single component coatings.


yes they do but they are too hard for a plywood floor. My money is on epoxy failing on plywood.


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## tsunamicontract

elastomerics would flex but you can't drive on them and they do not resist chemicals or hot tires. I would not think you would need anything more than regular paint flex to meet that need, but epoxies would be too hard. Where is NACE?


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## SWGuy

SW Treadplex will not hold up to Hot tire pickup. There is nothing with will both hold up to the abuse, and flex with the wood. There are just some surfaces that are best left not painted. (that is hard to say for a paint salesman)


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## nccowboy

*plywood floor coating*

My specialty is floors (concrete and plywood. Their are a number of ways to do this floor depending on use and if the joints need to be hidden. If you need to talk a bout this in detail email me at [email protected] and I will give you my phone number. I have completed quite a few of these projects for the idiots that were leaving you threads like the ones above.:thumbup:


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## CApainter

nccowboy said:


> My specialty is floors (concrete and plywood. Their are a number of ways to do this floor depending on use and if the joints need to be hidden. If you need to talk a bout this in detail email me at [email protected] and I will give you my phone number. *I have completed quite a few of these projects for the idiots that were leaving you threads like the ones above.*:thumbup:


Ah..excuse me. You've never painted any plywood floors for me.


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## NACE

tsunamicontract said:


> elastomerics would flex but you can't drive on them and they do not resist chemicals or hot tires. I would not think you would need anything more than regular paint flex to meet that need, but epoxies would be too hard. Where is NACE?


on vacation!


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## miket

How about a Polyurea coating? 

Chemical, abrasion and heat resistance of an epoxy but flexes like an elastomeric. Hard stuff to work with though.

I live in the northeast but i cant say that ive seen one of those garages. Not being attached to the dwelling im sure the fire codes arent nearly as strict with regards to the floor.


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## Wentworth

lemans63 said:


> Could someone recommend the best product to seal and protect a new plywood garage floor. I have a customer who wants a tough coating to protect it from oil, gasoline etc. Anything decent out there?? Thanks so much


Actually this is a very good question and I have the same problem. I built a shed that I will use for storage, with an OSB/strandboard flooring, and it's splintering as we slide file cabinets and other stuff around. So I ALSO need some advice on a good product to seal and protect. Clearly, the rubberized products they advertise as "industrial" floor protection would NOT be a good idea because they would get torn apart even worse than the OSB. What I need is a simple hard EPOXY type floor protector. For storage of file cabinets and unused office furniture, it doesn't have to be fireproof. I hope I get nicer responses than my predecessor. Thank you all.


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## Holland

Wentworth said:


> Actually this is a very good question and I have the same problem. I built a shed that I will use for storage, with an OSB/strandboard flooring, and it's splintering as we slide file cabinets and other stuff around. So I ALSO need some advice on a good product to seal and protect. Clearly, the rubberized products they advertise as "industrial" floor protection would NOT be a good idea because they would get torn apart even worse than the OSB. What I need is a simple hard EPOXY type floor protector. For storage of file cabinets and unused office furniture, it doesn't have to be fireproof. I hope I get nicer responses than my predecessor.  Thank you all.


(You're predecessor was likely a pro. I shouldn't offer suggestions, but here you go...)

I guess you could use an epoxy- why not?

I am familiar with WEST SYSTEM 105 Resin and 207 Special Clear Hardener (this is what they finish natural wood canoes and bar tops with).
I don't see why it wouldn't work. You could buy a less expensive version of something similar, or a 2k epoxy made for wood flooring.


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## stelzerpaintinginc.

Wentworth said:


> Actually this is a very good question and I have the same problem. I built a shed that I will use for storage, with an OSB/strandboard flooring, and it's splintering as we slide file cabinets and other stuff around. So I ALSO need some advice on a good product to seal and protect. Clearly, the rubberized products they advertise as "industrial" floor protection would NOT be a good idea because they would get torn apart even worse than the OSB. What I need is a simple hard EPOXY type floor protector. For storage of file cabinets and unused office furniture, it doesn't have to be fireproof. I hope I get nicer responses than my predecessor. Thank you all.


You'd be better off using marine grade plywood as your floor vs. trying to find a finish to get stranded ply to not act like stranded ply. This site is for professional painters and related fields, so if that's not you, I'd suggest you visit www.DIYChatroom.com. Many of our professional contractors are also members at _DIYChatroom.com_ and are looking forward to assisting you with your needs. Good luck.


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