Mancave Flooring

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Ole...oor-Coating-Kit-203006/100014550#.UkGoBawtYrw

 

Nice! I have a friend who did his the floor of this garage in black and white tiles- checker style. it looks sweet! He uses the garage as a work/wood shop, to store his motorcycle and hang out. The floor seems to hold up well, but I don't really know anything about cleaning up resin drips ect... but it is durable!

 

Sand.

You'll never have to sweep... rake maybe. Keep the cats out too.

 

The best long-term choice would be porcelain floor tile. Find one of the those surplus/outlet-type building supply yards and you'll find loads of tile for about $1 per sq-ft. Worst case, Lowes and HD have floor tile for $2-$3 per sq-ft. You should seal the concrete first to keep moisture out. Tile over a concrete base is insanely durable and it's always chemical / stain resistant if you seal the grout well.

A really nice short term solution would be a two-part epoxy floor paint. Deep-clean the concrete first with diluted muriatic acid, then paint a couple coats. Lastly, cover it with a good clear coat. It will look nice and be very durable.

If you plan to have a home theater, studio, etc. in there keep acoustics in mind. Unless you have a drop-ceiling a hard floor, like concrete or tile, will make for crazy loud echoes and reverb. Also, there are some easy things you can do to soundproof between the garage and the adjacent living spaces. If you're considering any of this, do it now instead of going back to it later on...way easier to do it now.

 

Your whole house should be your "man cave."

If you, and all y'all, need a private escape chamber then maybe you shouldn't forge relationships with others. It works for me. The ocean and television is all you really need........and pizza.

See, I don't play the who gender game BS. I'm such an equalist(is that a friggin word, Erock?) that I don't play the whole Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus thang. People are people and most are morons. Though, of course, I don't really care for Puerto Ricans or Russians. But other than that.........

I don't play that PMS/period excuse bullsh!t either, and I don't think men are superior beings.

It's so funny: Women act like they are sisters united against prejudice on one level, and then they get all b!tchy and catty with each other on another level. Nooooo, it's not your "cycle" or hormones.......you're a b!tch. That's all.

Men are just el burro mas macho f-tards who think they always got to prove something. Men always got to be macho and act tough, except when they speak soft and romatically to their pick-up trucks. I HATE men who base their identities on their jobs and/or cars. What dorks. How can someone think they are cool because of a car?? How? Who f'ing cares?

Jeez, I swear we'll see a Ford or Chevy truck commercial where the dude actually humps his truck after taking it on a romantic dinner and walk.

I don't know what men are supposed to do in a man cave........scratch themselves, say "uggggg" and sh!t?

I'd make my "man cave" a "drug cave," but that's just me.........a place where all the neighborhood losers could come together and smoke, snort and drink in peace...... Real men get high.

You'll have a dog for this man cave, right? You need a good one. Might I suggest a Newfioundland? I'm totally Gold-for-life, but I've been digging Newfies lately. Now that's a man cave mascot.

Hey, could I come over some day? Well, actually, me and Seldom Seen, he'd have to drive..........We'll bring the hookers.......yankee hookers.

 

My man cave is outside - the "Bud Light Party Deck." I don't drink Bud Light, but I did install a really sweet indoor/outdoor turf as my flooring. It's not that cheap green stuff either. I'm talking 1" blades, which feels great between the toes. It's rain/beer resistant and can be easily vacuumed if needed. Not sure how it would look inside, but it might be worth a consideration.

 

Having been a GC in a "previous life," I would recommend you use something that moisture will not affect. Garages generally ARE NOT POURED OVER A VAPOR BARRIER, so you will constantly have moisture leaching from the ground up.

-Epoxy Floor--like the stuff Rustoleum makes. Probably your cheapest option.
-Old School Linoleum that comes in 2' x 4' sheets (you can do sick designs).
-Tile (use a very high quality crack isolating mortar so you can drive your car in there if need be and not worry about cracking tiles)
-Cork floated over a good vapor barrier.... I love cork floors!

Don't use: Vinyl, laminate, pre-finished wood.

 

I plan to build a work space in my basement in the near future and the "Epoxy Floor--like the stuff Rustoleum makes" is a candidate for that space, because of its durability and low cost. If I need to deaden sound I may throw down an area rug, and use some strategically placed foam, etc.

I have used the vinyl planks (i.e, "Traffic Master" ) in an entry way that is subjected to moisture being "dragged in" as well as my dog's water bowl (love'r, but she is real sloppy) and it has held up well, looks decent, relatively cheap, and easy to install. So they are a good possibility. They have lots of patterns/colors, and may even have a "diamond plate", if you wanted a truck/jeep theme .

 

Hookers? I'm in.

 

Way to generalize about the Puerto Ricans. Have you ever met a real Puerto Rican from the island. I happen to be married to a great woman from PR and all her friends are true PR, awesome people. If you took the time to actually learn about a culture you wouldn't be so quick to badmouth someone. Grow up kid.

 

AHAHHAHAhahaaha

You sound like a Russian.

 

I'm an AV design engineer, and have been involved in creating a few dozen "high end" man caves for clients. The best solution for an active, multi-use space on slab in my opinion would be a rubberized flooring material. The kind used in a lot of gyms and sporting facilities. One of my favorite projects was on the Gulf in Florida where the guy had his space decked out with pool table, fitness equipment, gaming center, projector/ 110" screen and a full blown bike and watersports gear area leading out to his deck. He had a company come in to do a custom designed pattern with about 8 colors. Looked amazing.
Benefits I saw: it was impervious to moisture (biggie as Erock stated), never felt cold and always felt comfortable and forgiving under foot, cleaned up super easy, didn't matter what was dropped on it cause nothing left a mark on it. That stuff will look new forever. $$ is the only limiting design factor. Hands down I would say the best option for a converted garage on slab.
I have a link to the product the guy used: http://www.johnsonite.com/

 

I'd go epoxy floor, then add a cool carpet to help with the sound. Plus you could put Fatheads all over it.

 

I second or third or whatever the epoxy coating then a large area rug. I have a friend with that exact setup in a former garage and it's great. Looks decent too.

 

This... Cork floors are sick

 

really? no one's going to mention astroturf? classy!

 

Dude- shag rug is the way to go... Trust me....

 

This thread is the balls. Love me some man projects. I've done some fairly significant reno projects in commercial spaces I've had as well as man caves.

My first question, and this is since I'm partial to home theater and the accompanying sick sound system to go along with your 100+ inch fixed-wall projector screen, is if you value the quality of acoustics in this cave. The more resilient surfaces (floor, walls, and otherwise) in the room, the greater the echo and tinny sound you'll have. The more fabric and sound-absorbent surfaces, the better the room will hold all sounds. Carpeted floor is optimal for prioritization of acoustics, and if this room's gonna take a beating you could go with a good commercial carpet or even walk-off mat material. If you do go with resilient flooring, I strongly suggest area rugs as well as fabric-covered insulation (Owens Corning) to make a huge difference in the acoustics.

It would blow your mind to see what you can find on Craigslist for high-quality stock in new condition. I'm a master of cutting costs on higher end renos.

Erock has some great points and others do as well. Not a crazy question, given that there are plenty of houses out there with crap workmanship in one form or another, but is this concrete floor level? If not, you'll have a hell of a time laying tile and even backer board to go under it. Self-leveling compound will help a lot with that.

For the turf guy, where did you find 1" pile that is synthetic grass and not astroturf? Is there any silica sand or ground rubber fill in there? That's about half that length of all synthetics I've seen and I've seen a schitt ton. Sick idea.

The black and white checkered floor is sick and I've done that for part of a man cave before. The ex hated it but it wasn't her damn cave. Gives a simple elegance to the room and smacks of the roaring 20's. Reds and maroons go very well with that flooring.

Have you considered sealing the floor with several coats of stain? Isn't a ton of dough and looks amazing if done right. Gives it the museum look, especially if you add some scoring to the floor which you don't want to screw up on.

This thread is sick. Did I mention that?

BTW...flooring is by no means the only consideration. You may want to frame out 2x's off the wall and then panel over it. Will make your electrical SO much easier as well as hiding your wiring for speakers and HT components etc.