Floor Tiles
Before we moved ANYTHING into our new house, the first thing I did in our new three-car garage was to apply an epoxy coating to the floor. I wanted to protect the concrete slab as much as possible from any damage or staining which would likely occur over the coming years. This was all well and good and the floor looked fine (well, for a DIY job).
After a few months of working in the garage, and standing around for long periods of time, I was really starting to feel it in my back and knees. I needed something that could help reduce the amount of stress I was feeling in my joints, but was also durable and could withstand a heavy load from tools and possibly a vehicle.
Tiles...They’re Everywhere!!!
I looked around for quite a while online and finally landed on what I thought would be a perfect solution. They were Coin Flex Tiles by Rubber Flooring Inc. These tiles would offer a bit of shock absorption for my body, but would also provide a strong and durable non-slip surface to roll my heavy power tools (or even my truck) around the shop. They were easy to lay down and could easily be trimmed to fit around corners or other objects, if needed. The most important thing was that there would be no harmful VOCs with these tiles. I sent away for a sample of a few colors (white, dark gray and light gray) I ultimately chose the dark gray as it was a happy medium between the other two.
Here is a sample of one of the tiles that is currently in use.
I didn’t want to cover the entire garage floor with these tiles. They were really only needed on the two-car side where my workshop would reside. I took the dimensions of the tiles and used them to make a quick layout in Sketchup so I could more easily see how many tiles I would need. The tiles were 20-1/2” square. Knowing this, I made quick work of calculating the area of my workshop and the number of tiles needed. All in all I would need about 143 tiles to cover my floor. I wouldn’t actually need this many, as my layout would necessitate cutting some of the tiles. I would rather figure on getting more tiles than I would actually need. This would guarantee not needing to buy more after the fact and risk the color not matching (this was mentioned on the company’s website).
With the tiles being eight to a box, I would need 18 boxes of tiles. I added one extra box just to have some extras in case tiles got damaged in the future. I also bought some of the corner pieces and side edges for use at the front of the garage. These tiles are not light. They weigh in at 4 lbs. each. Multiply that by 8 for each box and then times 19 boxes, and my order was going to come to over 600 lbs. Needless to say, this was going to be a freight order.
Floor tile with side edge piece attached.
More Knee & Back Pain, But in a Good Way
After receiving my order, I started to move things to one side in the garage so that it would be easier to lay down the tiles. I read the installation instructions and there were a couple of things I needed to do first. I needed to sweep the floor to remove any debris which would not allow the tiles to lay flat on the floor. I also needed to spread the tiles out on the floor to acclimate to the space.
I started my installation from the front of the garage. It was important to leave 1/4” of space between the tiles and the wall to allow for any expansion. Interlocking the tiles was easy with a rubber mallet. The side edges were added to the first row to allow things with wheels to more easily enter the garage and not get caught on the tiles. I plodded along, row by row, and got about half of the floor done. I was working by myself and all of the kneeling and constant up and down to grab the tiles was very tiring. I switched to stooping over after a while to give my knees a bit of a break, but this didn’t last long either. Not to mention that hitting that rubber mallet on the floor took its toll too. I called it a day at that point.
The next day I began where I left off. Things were going well and I was coming up to the wall at the back of the garage. I needed to cut every tile to fit the rest of the space. It was pretty easy with just a straight edge and a sharp utility knife. I made the final cuts and got everything set in place. I obviously left a space around the water heater because I couldn’t exactly lift that up.
Now that my new tile floor was in place, it came time to move everything back. When rolling things over these tiles things tend to vibrate a lot because of the “coins” on the surface of the tiles. It can be a little tricky, sometimes, to get things to sit flat on the floor if a foot or wheel isn’t sitting on a coin. I got everything in place and I was happy with the end results. I had one full box of tiles left over, which is what I had planned. I kept some of the cutoffs in case they could be used as repair pieces in the future.
Fast forward to June 2018 and I was planning my big miter saw station project. When I first started placing the cabinets on the floor in their final positions, I was having problems getting things level because of the coins on the tiles. I decided to just remove the tiles from where the miter saw station would sit to alleviate the problem. This turned out to be a good choice in the end.
***UPDATE: August 2020***
I’ve had the tiles in use for about 2-1/2 years now. Over time, I’ve noticed that when heavy objects sit in one place for a long period of time, especially when they are sitting on wheels or feet, small depressions develop in the tiles. If the object is moved, the depressions eventually rebound and are not noticeable anymore.
One drawback I have noticed with the tiles is when I’m moving my SawStop table saw around on the industrial mobile base. When it is rolling over some of the tiles and rotated in place in one area, the tiles will start to raise and develop a wave to them. This occurred, again, when I was moving my truck into the garage during garage Tetris.
I’ve not noticed any issues when moving my assembly table over the tiles. The SawStop weighs around 450 lbs., while the assembly table is well over 600 lbs. I think it might have something to do with the weight distribution of the table saw. It is more concentrated over a smaller space. This would also be true when moving my truck tires over the floor and turning the wheels in place. I’m not sure what I could do to fix this issue, other than maybe trying to secure the tiles to the floor with double-sided tape. I don’t see the rubber flooring expanding and contracting a whole lot anymore, especially since the garage is a pretty steady temperature all of the time. If I decide to add the tape, I’ll provide an update.
I’ve spilled wood glue on the tiles, but I haven’t really tried to clean that up. I imagine it wouldn’t take much effort to get the glue off the tiles. I’ve also given the tiles a blood test when I had my accident. After a few days, the blood was easily removed with a green Scotch-Brite pad and there wasn’t any noticeable staining. The overall durability has been quite good.
I’ve been on my feet for long stretches at a time on this floor and I have definitely noticed a difference compared to just a concrete floor (either in this garage or the rental house). Obviously, if I do stand for TOO long I’m going to start feeling it after a while. I’ve thought about arranging the tiles on the floor like Marc Spagnuolo has in his workshop, and by this I mean removing the tiles from around the big stationary power tools and work tables. These are the only things that don’t tend to move at all in the shop so that wouldn’t really cause any problems. However, when it came time to play Tetris again, it could be a pain getting the items back onto the tiles. Plus, I don’t know what that would mean for when my truck tires rolls over and/or turn while straddling a tile and the concrete.
Because of my situation and locality, I’m probably just going to leave the tiles in place throughout the garage. I’m not sure, even if I do install tape under the tiles, that the tape would adhere to the concrete very well. The wavy tiles might just have to be left as they are without a fix. I don’t foresee getting a different overall solution for the floor as it would just prove cost ineffective, given how much I spent on the current tiles.
***UPDATE: September 2021***
At the time of my last update, I was more or less satisfied with the tile’s performance, with only a couple of small gripes (mainly the waves that sometimes occur when moving certain things around).
I’ve since had more time to think about the tiles and work more in the shop and I’ve come to dislike them a little bit more. The waves are still an ever-present issue, mostly with the table saw, although I’m not moving my table saw around at all. I’ve since removed a section of the tiles where I installed my new Rockler Workbench as well.
Another thing that really bothers me with these tiles is the coin pattern on them. It is great for traction, compared to a smooth tile. However, where it is most annoying is when I’m moving my Finishing Station around. The two drawers on this cart are constantly sliding open and it’s really a pain in the ass. The same actually holds true for my Sanding Station cart, although that isn’t moved much either at the moment.
One final item that has sealed the fate with these tiles is that I’m starting to experience fatigue more quickly than I had in the past. I don’t know if this is simply me getting older or perhaps has something to do with my MS. At any rate, these rubber tiles just aren’t going to cut it anymore.
An overriding factor in my disdain for removing these tiles was the simple cost of them in the first place. I’m certainly not going to recoup much from selling them, if I can sell them at all. Additionally, these things are EXTREMELY heavy. The combined weight of all of the tiles and the edge pieces is in the neighborhood of 600 lbs. They were delivered as freight by FedEx 3-1/2 years ago.
What I have decided to replace the entire workshop’s worth of rubber tiles with is a few Rockler Anti-Fatigue mats.
With one of the mats being so large, I should only need one of them in front of the workbench. I only tend to work in one area and side of the workbench most of the time anyway. I’ll likely put another of the longer mats on the other long side of the workbench, but that will mainly be for the area around the miter saw and drill press (not sure on that just yet).
As for the smaller mat, that should be perfect for standing in front of the router table and/or the band saw. I don’t tend to spend a lot of time at the router table, but any support for my knees/back/feet will help me last a little longer in the shop on any given day.
Not that it is really necessary in my workshop, given the amount of light I have from my shop lights, but the removal of the gray tiles has brightened up the shop a bit more as well.
There are some drawbacks to removing the rubber tiles, so I must address those now as well. For one, it is much more difficult to see things on the floor that I might have dropped (at least for me). The lighter and glossier epoxy coating on the garage floor makes seeing things like screws a little more difficult, mostly because of the flakes embedded in the epoxy.
One other thing I noticed was that there is a bit less sound dampening with the tiles gone. The dust collector seems a little bit louder than before (not that it is extremely loud in the first place). I don’t do filming/audio recordings in the shop, so overall this should not be a problem.
Lastly, when (not if) I drop something on the floor, and a mat doesn’t happen to be at the ready, whatever I drop will likely incur some type of damage hitting the hard concrete versus the rubber tiles. This is something I will just have to live with. The biggest concern would be dropping things like chisels or anything else with a sharp edge.
I don’t know if I’m going to regret this decision or not. After more time is spent in the shop with just the anti-fatigue mats, I’ll provide another update.
***UPDATE: February 2023***
***UPDATE: February 2023*** It’s been about 1-1/2 years since I removed the rubber floor tiles and went with the Rockler anti-fatigue mats. I still have only the one larger mat by the workbench, and the smaller one is currently next to the larger one. The smaller one tends to be a roaming mat for whatever tool/task I’m currently working on at the time.
I made an attempt to sell the floor tiles, as I do not foresee going back to them in the garage. However, my efforts at a sale were for naught. I still have all of them stacked up and sitting on a furniture dolly. I’ve had to move them around a few times in the shop (for various reasons), but it hasn’t been to much trouble.
What it looks like I might do now, at this point, is just hang onto them and use them in the shed I will hopefully have in the back yard in the next year or two. Since I no longer have a riding mower to store anymore, I plan on using half of the shed for lawn/garden stuff along with wood storage, and the other half will be a finishing area. The tiles will prove useful in keeping the floor in the shed from getting caked up with various oils and spray finishes.
