[Egdik]

Prior to the GTB build, I insulated and plaster boarded the side wall and ceiling; added some thin ply and insulation to the doors and laid down some discarded carpet for warmth and comfort.

Having nearly finished the car, three months ago we treated the garage to a plastic tile floor. This comes from the UK importer of 'Racedeck' in the USofA. A year or three ago CKC magazine had a good article of various flooring options and plastic interlocking tiles seemed first choice. More carpet / porcelain tiles / seal and paint are alternatives.

garage floor 1 sm.jpg

Firstly, check that it is flat and clean the concrete floor, then cover with two coats of sealant to help avoid dust, followed by an acoustic aid of landscape matting - black woven plastic sheeting / weed preventer laid down before the tiles. The aim is stop the clack-clacking when walking across the floor. Moderately successful.

Choose your straight edge to work from - the front entrance in this case - and proceed easily by stepping on the edge of one tile to fit it into the next, or use a leather mallet. Tiles must be cut to fit around the edges, with a saw / jig-saw / angle grinder, but don't over heat it. Trim and tidy the edges with a sharp knife or scalpel and maybe sandpaper or flapper disc.

This is the tricky and time consuming part of the job. Tight is good, but if it is too tight, then trim a bit more off. In one corner, I came back a few days later to ease a couple of tiles to keep it flat. The rear door opening could be left with a cut edge, but the black trim pieces look fine.

No gluing or sealing is required.

garage floor by rear door.jpg

In retrospect I would avoid black tiles because they show the dirt, but do have a line or bit of colour somewhere. It has 'worn' well and does not show many marks; it seems to be tougher than expected. It dries quite quickly, but shows the dirt from the wheels - nothing can get over that though. The rear door exit could be neater if one finishes by cutting the tiles at the front entrance, but . . . Now it is much easier to sweep the garage out . . .