Garage Floor Snow Mats vs. Webfoot Coatings [infographic & Pdf Guide]
During the winter, snow and ice from the driveway or parking lot can enter garages in various ways. This moisture can cause several problems for homeowners, including mold growth, slippery floors, and damage to car paint.
Fortunately, there are two simple solutions to keep moisture off your garage and fully protect the floor: Snow mats or a Webfoot polyurea coating. But which solution is right for you? Let's find out.
What Are Garage Floor Mats?
Garage floor mats are a simple but effective way to protect your concrete garage floors from mud, sand, moisture, road salt, and other potentially damaging elements. They are built like regular mats but are thicker and more durable to withstand extreme garage conditions, especially in the winter. Some mats are large enough to cover the entire length of a vehicle.
There are different types of snow mats for the garage— oil-absorbing mats, parking mats, roll-out mats, and winter protection mats. You can decipher each mat's functions and features based on the names, making it easier to choose depending on your preferences and needs.
The good news is that you don't have to break the bank to purchase garage floor mats. Units of standard thickness may cost about $1.25 per square foot, while thicker ones can cost $2.50 and above per square foot. Compared to the alternatives, that's still cheap.
Garage floor mats seem ideal for any garage owner, but are they the best? Let's check out their pros and cons.
Pros & Cons of Garage Floor Snow Mats
Pros
- Easy Installation: Garage floor snow mats are easy to install. All you must do is roll them out; no surface preparation is required.
- Chemical Resistance: These mats are highly resistant to chemicals that could otherwise destroy your garage floor, making them protective for your floor.
- Anti-slip Surface: With a floor mat in your garage, you don't have to worry about slipping, even when wet. They effectively absorb water without developing a slippery surface.
- Easy-to-clean: Their dust-repellent material makes floor mats easy to clean. Most of the time, all you need to clean is a damp cloth.
- Aesthetics: Many garage floor mats come with different patterns that can improve the overall aesthetics of a garage. This also makes them ideal for concealing blemishes on your floor.
- Adjustable Design: Garage floor snow mats are sometimes more extensive than necessary, but that is fine since they can be cut to size.
Cons
- Low Strength: Garage mats are only some of the durable options for garage floors. Despite their heavy-duty nature, many start to fade, curl at the edges, and cut within a short period.
- Extra Costs: Because garage mats wear out quickly, they must be replaced frequently, which can prove more expensive than other options over time.
- Heavy Nature: Carrying or adjusting a garage floor mat can be very strenuous due to weight. This makes it very difficult to lay or clean these mats.
- Lousy Odor: Garage mats can absorb water and prevent moisture from entering garage floors. However, owners may notice moisture on the garage floors after the mats are adjusted or removed. In addition, the accumulation of water, dirt, and road salt in the garage mats can cause a strong odor, requiring you to clean the spot.
- Surface Irregularities: Garage mats do not entirely cover all blemishes. They can conceal floor stains and scratches but not contours and bulges.
Snow Mats vs. Coatings
Now that you know about garage snow mats, compare them with floor coatings.
Benefits of Coatings
- Year-Round Installation & Protection: Unlike other options for protecting garage floors, Webfoot's polyurea coating can be applied at any time of year because it is temperature-tolerant. Thanks to this property, it is also suitable for floor protection in any weather.
- Non-slip Design: Our polyurea floor coatings adhere firmly to the floor, so they can not slip and cause a fall. Their surfaces also provide a perfect grip for feet and shoes due to the chip texture and additional non-slip additive.
- Space Optimization: If you are looking for an easy way to turn your garage with rough floors into a livable area, polyurea coatings are your best bet. They are smooth and come in great colors that make anywhere feel like home.
- Ease of Professional Installation: Due to their fast cure time, a professionally qualified team of Webfooters can install your floor in a day. Considering the alternatives, it only takes 24 hours for these protective films to be fully operational, which is pretty impressive.
- Durability: Our polyurea floor coatings are formulated to form a strong chemical bond with concrete, effectively bonding them together and making it virtually impossible for your concrete coating to chip, peel, or crack.
- Great Aesthetics: Polyurea coatings come in numerous color combinations and customizable options, allowing you to create your choice designs.
- Salt & Water Resistance: Polyurea coatings protect against road salt and moisture thanks to their impenetrable surface. This makes them the perfect option for protecting your garage in winter.
- Eco-friendliness: Many coating options emit hazardous gasses during and after installation, resulting in unpleasant odors. On the other hand, polyurea coatings leave no foul odor, which is a testament to their environmental friendliness.
Invest in a Lifetime of Concrete Protection - Choose a CoatingSnow mats and Webfoot coatings are viable options for protecting your garage floors in the winter. However, Webfoot coatings are superior and undoubtedly the best choice for protecting your garage floor in any season.