Garage Floor Protection
Garage floor mats and tiles are beautiful products that will enhance any garage. Typically, you are investing several hundred if not thousands of dollars to create a high end garage with a floor that will be the envy of your neighbors! But what is happening under that floor is a subject that has been neglected for a decade. For $150, you can protect your concrete in the average 2 car garage — and have both piece of mind and a beautiful floor!
Look under most garage floor mats or garage floor tiles after a rainstorm, and you will find moisture under the tile. This moisture, especially in cold weather climates can play havoc with your concrete. The garage floor mat or tile did not cause the issue. It just hid it from your sight.
How to prepare my floor for garage floor tiles or garage floor mats?
First, sweep the floor clean and make sure there are no bumps in the floor that you are worried about telegraphing through to the final surface. For rigid tiles, I would highly suggest a landscape fabric. Other than that, I would take some B4 garage floor mat and garage floor tile preparation solution and apply it to the floor. B4 will help protect the floor from moisture and stains.
So, What is TrueLock B4 Mat & Tile Solution and What does it Do?
We worked with the people that manufacturers densifiers and concrete sealers to develop an all-in-one solution. TrueLock B4 is specifically formulated to provide waterproofing to your garage floor and protect it from the damaging effects of freeze-thaw. BUT, it goes a step further! Using a combination of lithium and other active ingredients, B4 penetrates deep into the concrete and causes a permanent chemical reaction that hardens your concrete. B4 will even slow down efflorescence and reduce dusting.
B4 will not solve poor installation, drainage issues or fix lousy concrete. What it can do is help to protect the concrete surface below your garage floor tiles and garage floor mats. It will reduce the occurrence of spalling concrete, increase abrasions resistance and fortify your garage floor. The surface will weather better, wear better and absorb less water. Simply put using B4 before you use mats or tiles will provide substantial protection for a minimal amount of money.
Can B4 be used if I am not using garage floor tiles or mats?
However, there are less expensive options and better options. The best option would be TL37 densifier and TL40 concrete conditioner. A garage floor densifier and a concrete conditioner will protect your floor in the same ways as B4, but the conditioner adds an extra layer of stain guard.
But you and everyone else say Garage Floor Tiles and Garage Floor Mats can be installed with no prep?
It is true that there is little to no prep work for the installation of garage floor mats and garage floor tiles. However, over the past decade, we have learned that in addition to creating a beautiful garage floor, there are ways to protect the concrete itself. Simply put, this has nothing to do with preparing your floor for tile or mats; it is about protecting the concrete.