My current task on the ‘never ending job list’, is to tidy up the man cave.

Most of the storage has been sorted out, the only problem being that I am the I untidiest person imaginable, so a state of order doesn’t last very long. I digress.

While I’ve got it tidy, should I paint the concrete floor. It is about 35m2, and it is capable if producing more dust than the Sahara. Will painting it solve that?

Cheers
Dave

paint it. so pleased with how mine came out

you could try just a concrete sealant first – like a varnish for concrete that stops the dust forming.

paint it

not now

in the summer

floors too cold just now

I’m glad I painted mine. Was as dusty as hell and now it stays really clean.

The paint I used rollered onto the floor nicely so it hardly took anytime at all.

I have no useful contribution to make.

Just wanted to ask how the neck’s doing, alfabus… you back up and running yet?

@camo16: Neck is not 100% and riding aggravates it – rode to the pub last night to test it out; I didn’t die, but it hurt.

Due to a gap in contracts I’m currently a man of leisure, so it’s not a great time to be off the bike!

Doing DIY is perhaps not the most sensible option, but there is only so much time i can spend on the Internet before I’ll go blind 😉

Dave

Would the temperature of the floor be that much of a problem? It’s not that cold down here… I’ve got the garage door open while I sit here on the man cave sofa contemplating paint.

Dave

If it’s just concrete dust, you could paint it with PVA glue. I did that to my kitchen floor in the two year gap between fitting the new kitchen and fitting the kitchen floor.

alfabus, if it’s seriously muscular it’ll probably take a few weeks to get 100%

In the meantime, if you are going to paint your garage floor, don’t stay in the same position too long!

Hope you’re back in business soon. 😉

if the floors too cold the paint doesnt take and it lifts/peels quickly.

ground takes a bit of time to get heat in and cools down significantly when the temp drops at night.

mines needs painting , im not doing it till the temps pick up and the block gets a bit of heat in it

Ok, maybe I’ll leave it for now.

Other things on the mancave list:
Sink
More tyre storage
Insulation
Wood burner (that is more of a wish)

If the place is empty(ish) then you should be ok painting it now, it isn’t ideal but a decent paint should see you right, drying time will be slowed by the cooler slab temperature though so don’t assume you can get all your gear back in on the same day.

I bought some offcut carpet on the cheap for my garage and it’s ace.

Means i can wander around barefoot without freezing feet and soaks up any spills etc no problem. When i had the lounge re-carpeted i put the old underlay down and then the old carpet and then the lounge one on top so 3 layers in there now so very comfy and warmer 🙂

It’s obviously very stained now (you get over this after the first few marks) but an added bonus is that you can just vacuum it after you’ve cleaned all the dried crap off your bikes so no sweeping up and no dust everywhere. Happy days.

Paint it a light grey colour and it will look much nicer – and yes it will stop the dust.

My garage floor has been painted but is flaking off. I guess sanding the flaking bits and then a new coat should suffice? Should I give the whole lot a light sand to give it a key but concentrate on the flaky bits?

The walls have already been done in sky blue, so I can paint straight on to that, but will regular (cheap) emulsion be ok?

Paint it, but use a proper resin floor paint, its a lot tougher than normal floor paint.

you should really seal the floor prior to painting for best results to prevent peeling etc, especially if its dusty.
something like this will do…
http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/214270

Anyone regretted tiling their garage floor? Any good sources for ‘seconds’ i.e. tiles that are off-colour etc?

I carpeted mine – was chucking out some carpet when I put a wood floor down. Carpet went to the garage and now its warmer and soaks up oil grime etc…… additional benefit of vacuumable and saves going to the tip….. off cuts are also cheaper than sealing/painting!

to seal the floor just get it vacuumed clean and dry and then whack down a pva glue:water mixture with a floor mop or brush

1 glue:4 water should be dilute enough

The walls have already been done in sky blue, so I can paint straight on to that, but will regular (cheap) emulsion be ok

Personally I’d use a bathroom / kitchen paint which will be a lot more damp resistant. Cheap emulsion is fine if it’s always dry, but flake off really quickly if they get damp.

It will flake off

I got a job lot of ceramic floor tiles for mine and it now looks like a car showroom, easy to sweep up too.

I did mine with red garage floor paint (I guess from B&Q or Wickes) about 15 years ago and has lasted well. The dust before was crazy, now it’s mostly just leaves and mud/dirt from my bikes that needs to be swept occasionally.

Seal it then paint it – it looks ace 🙂 As well as reducing the dust, it makes it so much easier to find things that you’ve dropped on the floor.