If you’re like me, then you probably don’t like seeing cracks on any floor in your house. A smooth clean attractive floor brings a lot of joy.
The same thing goes with your garage floor, concrete retains a lot of grease and oil stains, making it look rough.
Come with me through this article and let’s see if asphalt is a good material for flooring your garage. If not, let’s know what other methods are available.
Here’s If You Can Use Asphalt For A Garage Floor:
Yes, you can use asphalt for flooring your garage. Many advantages come from flooring your garage with asphalt. It gets dried easier, is cheaper, and doesn’t retain stains and moisture.
However, asphalt is very brittle, gets cracked easily, and does not last long.
Can You Use Asphalt For Flooring?
Asphalt is a combination of materials that are used to build and repair roadways, car parks, railroad tracks, harbors, airline landings, bike paths, walkways, and recreational fields.
It is a mixture of stones, gravel, and pitch. It can also be bitumen.
You must have seen workers using it to construct and repair roads while going to work. But do you know it can be used for so much more
Yes, asphalt can be used as the floor of a garage. Although it doesn’t have many advantages over concrete, it is sometimes used as the floor of garages that don’t serve as workshops. Stepping on the asphalt for long periods can cause it to wear and tear.
Asphalt surfaces are dust-free and give the floor of your garage a nice attractive look. It is also damp proof so you do have to worry about your floor getting wet and soggy.
Is An Asphalt Garage Floor Any Good?
Asphalt is not mostly used for garage floors because there is no code backing its usage but it can be used. Asphalt is far softer than concrete and might have heavy objects like jacks and engine hoists creating impressions in it.
However, it is much cheaper to construct than concrete and can be an option.
Asides from asphalt, other materials like concrete, rubber tiles, epoxy, and vinyl, can be used to floor your garage. It all depends on the level of quality, the durability you desire, and how much time you intend on spending in your garage.
Asphalt has little to no advantage over the above-mentioned materials. It is soft, not as durable, and might not be safe for your health if you intend to spend long hours working in your garage.
However, it is worthy to note that asphalt is far cheaper than other materials and might help you save a lot of costs if you decide to use it.
Is It Safe To Use Asphalt For The Garage Floor?
It is safe to use asphalt for your garage floor as it is a good material for making parking lots. It exerts little to no friction on the tires of your cars.
Also, it is dustproof, dampproof, and doesn’t show grease and oil stains as much as other materials like concrete.
However, asphalt is brittle and doesn’t last long. If you intend to stay in your present house for a very long time, asphalt would not be the best option for your garage as it would wear and tear easily with age.
Heavy objects like nails and engines will easily make marks on them; these marks will expand and lead to cracks. Asphalt is good for driveways but not so ok for garages.
Asphalt is dangerous to health if inhaled for long periods. Breathing it for too long can cause nose, throat, and lung irritation leading to nausea, wheezing, and headache.
It can also cause dermatitis and acne lesions.
Asphalt In Garage Problems:
When you use asphalt in your garage there’s a high probability that you will encounter the following problems.
Some of these problems include:
- Lack of durability, easy wear, and tear.
- Lack of levelness because it is soft.
- It can result in lung and breathing issues.
- Asphalt needs to be maintained and repaired often.
- Asphalt is flammable and can cause fire hazards.
- It can cause health issues because it is in an enclosure.
These problems above are the issues that can arise when you use asphalt as your garage floor. It is now up to you to decide if you can put up with them.
If you’re only staying for a short while in your present home, you can settle for an asphalt floor, otherwise, you might need an alternative.
If you still need more information and want to find out if regulations are guiding the use of asphalt in your state, ask a professional to know more.
Can You Put Asphalt Over Concrete Garage Floor?
Most definitely, you can put asphalt over concrete when paving your garage floor. Concrete is a great base material because it provides a firm grip and stability for the asphalt that is above.
This helps to solve the stability issue of asphalt however its other disadvantages remain. This means that the asphalt is still flammable, can cause health hazards, and result in fire outbreaks due to its flammability.
When you use asphalt over concrete, you get some advantages. These include:
- Increased durability
- Levelness as the asphalt is stabilized from below.
- Increased longevity and reduced probability of cracks occurring.
How can you apply asphalt in your garage?
What Can I Use Instead Of Concrete For Garage Floor?
Concrete is the most used material for garage floors. However, if you’re searching for a suitable alternative, it is readily available.
Probably you want to increase the strength, durability, and appearance of your garage, you can try out the following:
- Interlocking tiles:
These tiles snap together to create stability and help to hide cracks in the floor. They come in various sizes, colors, and shapes.
- A carpet:
A carpet can help provide a beautiful look for your garage, even though it sounds weird, there are special carpets designed for garages. They can be removed, cleaned, and dried so petroleum and grease stains can be removed.
- Peel and stick tiles:
These are the best for an entirely smooth and flat garage floor, they come in different shapes, sizes, and colors. They can be easily installed and replaced when destroyed.
- Roll-out Vinyl Flooring:
This is a type of flooring that is rolled out on the floor of the garage and excesses cut off. It is very easy to apply, but not easy to customize or repair.
- Rubber tile flooring:
These are flexible, attractive tiles that you can apply yourself. They provide stability and can withstand various adverse weather conditions.
- Stone flooring:
Stone flooring made from graphite, gravel, etc is very beautiful, but also expensive. They are resilient and extremely hard.
Summary
There are many methods you can use for flooring your garage, the most common is concrete.
Asphalt can also be used to floor your garage. It has its advantages and disadvantages. Other methods like the use of tiles, carpet, vinyl, and various kinds of stones can also be used.
References:
https://eapa.org/what-is-asphalt/
hotrodders.com/threads/asphalt-for-garage-floor.133082/
bobvila.com/slideshow/8-easy-and-affordable-garage-floor-options-46893
expressflooring.com/blog/articles/Garage-Flooring-Options-Top-5-Recommended-Options
