How Garage Floor Tiles Transformed Our Space


[Disclaimer: This post is brought to you by Montezuma. Thanks for supporting the brands that support this blog.]

We lived in a two-bedroom condo for almost four years, so we’re used to living pretty small. At our old place, we had a tiny closet-sized storage unit in the basement for our tools and we parked our car in a shared garage. We really had little to no storage. Now, we have a garage! Like a really big and nice one that holds so.much.stuff. Finn is especially obsessed with it because he has a place to store all of his new lawn tools. Lawn equipment, a yard, and a garage…who are we?!

But just because we have more space in our new house, doesn’t mean we’re about to accumulate tons of junk. We’re both still such great purgers and crave minimal and organized spaces. So our entire goal with our new garage is to make it clean, organized, and a nice spot for our DIY projects.

Our Messy GarageOur messy garage before

The only problem? Our renovation left our garage a complete mess. Our contractor kept all of his tools in here, along with the demolition garbage. When we started working on the garage, he still needed to come to pick all of his stuff up (and haul away a load of trash), so it’s a pretty scary sight in these photos. Our messy garage

But it wasn’t all his fault. We randomly unpacked tools and supplies to one side of the garage and it became a dumping ground for items we just didn’t know what to do with. Huge box of recycled materials

Oh, and how about all of these boxes? Yikes. They’re from our move and our many purchases since moving in. Yep, clearly we had some work to do on this garage to create the space of our dreams. Our messy garage before

Our Garage Goals

Anything was going to be an improvement over this space filled with garbage and leftover renovation supplies. But we wanted to take our garage to the next level, starting from the ground up. A few years ago, Bridget and I put epoxy on her garage floor and it was quite the project. We shared all of the steps here, but it did end up taking a few days and lots of backbreaking work. So, instead of doing epoxy, I looked for an alternative to getting the clean floor we so desired.

Finding Garage Floor TilesGarage floor tiles from Montezuma Storage

That’s when I found garage floor tiles from Montezuma. They’re about 16 inches by 16 inches and they snap together easily to create a level and cushy garage floor. They’re non-slip, self-draining, and we realized that adding these would keep our garage much cleaner. No more dusty concrete!

Black and gray garage floor tiles

You can even snap them together in various patterns to create your own floor design (right now, they come in black, gray, and blue). Finn and I mapped out our garage and decided to go with a gray center with two rows of black tiles on the entire border of the garage. That way, we could place our tools and shelves on the black part, and leave the gray center for our car.

We did some math (okay, let’s be serious…Finn did the math) and placed our order, making sure to buy about 10% extra for any screw-ups and cuts on the sides.

Prepping Our Garage

Stacks of garage floor tiles

Our garage floor tiles came and we set aside a day to get this project done. First up? Cleaning out the entire garage. Clearing out the garage

It’s funny because we did this project one week after moving in and we then proceeded to put tons of garbage (like legit garbage) onto our lawn to get it out of the garage. I’m pretty sure our new neighbors were thinking we were cuckoo! We kept saying it looked like we were having the “World’s Worst Garage Sale”. Ha!Empty garage

Next, it was time to get this bad boy cleaned, because, even though it was empty, it was still full of dust, dirt, and lots of spiderwebs.Dirty garage floor

We swept large items, used the shop vac to get stuff off the walls, and then power washed it clean. You can read more about my love for power washing in this post (along with the model we have and use regularly). After an hour of hard work, we were finally ready to lay our garage floor tiles!

Installing Garage Floor Tiles, Step-by-Step

Edge of the garageThe first thing we did was figure out our pattern and how many tiles would make it all the way across the width of the garage. You’ll want to hide cuts in the corners (and preferably just cut one side and the back). We ended up with a few inches of empty space on one side of the garage and were able to get lots of full-size pieces all the way across.Use a mallet

With our plan of attack, we started connecting each row of tile. You can easily pound the garage floor tiles into place with your hand, but after a while, we decided to use a rubber mallet. It made things a lot easier (and our fists felt better). Garage floor tiles

With two of us working, we flew through the garage. I’d say it took us about 30 minutes to get 95% of our garage done. Seriously, it was so fast. Garage floor tiles

In the front of the garage (where the door goes down), you can use these edge pieces. That way, it has a nice finished look and dirt and debris can’t get in there easily.

Front of the garage
Laying garage floor tiles in a home

With a majority of our garage floor tiles down, we just had to focus on the back and side edge of the garage. That’s where we had to make some cuts.

Finn cutting on the circular saw

Because the tiles are too wide for the miter saw, we ended up using our circular saw. Finn clamped the tiles down to our work table and then sliced off edges of the tile so they would fit those gaps on the sides. If you hate the idea of cutting, you don’t have to put tiles alllll the way to the edges. You could just buy some more edge pieces and have it stop short on one side. using a circular saw to cut garage floor tiles

But if you have a circular saw (or table saw or jigsaw) and know how to use it, then this should be a breeze for you. Garage floor tiles from Montezuma

As with any tiling project, those small cuts take the longest. Finn was exhausted by the time he was done making them all. But, it was a  job well done!

Our New Garage FloorOur new garage floor

Can you believe it?! Look at our awesome garage floor. It’s the prettiest garage I’ve ever seen, that’s for sure. Doing snow angels on the garage floor tiles

Because dust and dirt go through the drains, the top stays super clean. You can actually walk in your garage barefoot and not get your feet dirty (or do snow angels as Finn did!). Our new garage floor

I love the pattern we chose with the black border. But you could do a fun checkerboard or get super creative with your design!

Keeping It CleanOur new garage floor tiles

When I shared the entire installation on Insta Stories (you can view it all here, btw), the number one question I received was, “how do you keep it clean?” Montezuma Storage actually has an entire video that explains the process. But, essentially, you can use a blower to blow out the big stuff (leaves, rocks, etc.), and then hose out any dirt that falls through the cracks. You can even mop the top of it to keep it looking really sparkly. Our plan will be to give it a good cleaning after the winter season, so we’ll keep you guys updated on how that goes.

How to install garage floor tiles

Another common question, “Can you drive on it?”. YES! We plan to park our car in here (there’s no way in hell I’m scraping snow and ice off my car this winter. Haha!). These are actually used in a lot of car showrooms, so they’re specifically designed to be driven on.

We actually ended up with quite a few extra tiles, so we placed them in the two storage units of our basement. I can’t even tell you how much better it is down there (it’s usually a scary and spider-filled place I don’t like to visit). Now, it’s not half-bad.

Before & AfterBefore empty garageHow to install montezuma storage garage floor tilesBefore garage cleaningOur new garage floor

before garageafter installing garage floor tilesWhat’s Next?

I owe you guys some pictures of this space all organized with our items. A few days after we installed the flooring, our contractor came and collected all of his tools and supplies (and he hauled away a load of trash!). The garage looks 100x better and Finn has created an amazing organization system for our tools. I’ll have to report back with another post showing you how it’s looking with stuff in here!Enjoying our new clean garage

Casey


The Year of Casey

Hey there!

Iโ€™m Casey Finn, the voice behind The DIY Playbook. I’m a Chicago gal teaching you how to design, DIY, and maintain your home…by yourself! Learn more about me right here.