Editor’s note: We originally published this article in 2014. It has since been updated to reflect new information, sizing, and pricing.
There are many factors that help to determine the best garage floor mat for you and your garage. It needs to be durable, stain resistant, easy to clean, and not slippery when it gets wet. Most importantly, it needs to look great. Based on these criteria, we believe that the small coin mat by G-Floor is the best garage floor mat that you can purchase for your garage.
It’s not often that a new product comes out and catches our attention. Well, this is one of those times. With the introduction of the G-Floor Small Coin mat by Better Life Technology, we strongly feel that this is one of the best all-around mats that you can install in your garage today.
Why? A common question that we get is who makes the best garage floor mat or what garage floor mat can you recommend? Most often the answer is – it depends. The choices can be many as there are several variables to consider. One needs to factor in appearance, cost, function, quality, and resistance to stains and chemicals, as an example.
Based on these factors, the new G-Floor Small Coin Mat fulfills many of these variables and has just made our recommended list of garage floor mats much shorter.
WhY this Garage floor Mat is best
Besides the fact that it will transform the looks of your garage, the G-Floor small coin mat has many benefits over the competition, much of which is a result of the small coin design.
To better illustrate, let’s take a look at the features and benefits of this garage floor mat as well as the specifications.
Function
What does this mean to you? With the smaller raised coin design, there is much more surface area to come in contact with compared to standard coined mats. In addition, with the added benefit of a textured surface, this mat has better anti-slip grip than most any other garage floor mat available.
The small coin design also allows for a reduced gap between coins. As an example, the standard G-Floor coined mat has a gap of approximately 5/16” between coins, while the gap in the small coin mat is only 1/16”.
This reduced gap allows for the best rolling surface compared to other garage floor mats. Wheels from creepers, rolling chairs, carts, and tool boxes roll much easier compared to the standard coin design.
A larger gap makes it more difficult for such wheels since they do not span the gap as well. This creates a bumpier rolling experience that may require more effort since the wheels tend to roll up and down much more between the raised coins.
Available in Slate Gray and Midnight black, the G-Floor Small Coin garage floor mat is available in a variety of sizes from 5’x10’ all the way up to 10’x24’. In addition, 100’ rolls are available for special order.
Durability
G-Floor has since changed the way they measure mat thickness in order to reflect more accurately how the competition measures it. They used to measure by the thickness of the base only and did not account for the overall thickness when including the raised tread design.
With a 60 Mil thick base, the G-Floor Small Coin garage floor mat has a total mat thickness of 95 Mils. As thick as this is, with exception to G-Floor’s Levant design, it is slightly thinner than the other mats in their lineup.
However, don’t let the slightly thinner thickness of this design over other G-Floor mats fool you. This includes any competitor mats as well.
The reason why is that other than the Levant mats (no raised tread design), the small coin G-Floor mat allows for much more surface area than any other mat on the market. This translates to higher durability and wear.
As a result of this increase in surface area, we feel that the small coined mat will provide the same amount of wear and durability as the thicker and more expensive commercial grade mats.
High Resistance to stains and chemicals
This is what high quality garage floor mats are known for. Made of 100% polyvinyl, this mat is just as resistant to stains, chemicals, dirt, road salts, and additional debris as any of the best American made garage floor mats available today.
Gasoline spills, anti-freeze, brake fluid, solvents, and oil can be wiped right up. Less expensive garage floor mats that are made overseas are known to stain or break down from exposure to some of these chemicals.
One thing to be aware of is that the Achilles heel for all garage floor mats are car tires. Certain tires can leave black marks where they sit due to the chemicals that leach from them when they are warm. Tire marks are much less noticeable on darker colored mats.
Appearance
What can we say? For a garage floor mat there is something about this new small coin design that just looks good when laid out on a garage floor. It looks like it was meant to be in a garage – as it should.
An added advantage to the small coins is that it makes it more difficult to see where the seams butt up against each other and hides slight misalignment really well. Of course, you can opt for the center strips to cover where the mats join if you wish.
They are also easier to align when butting edges together. Compared to the larger coined mat and diamond tread mats, alignment has to be close to perfect when matching them up or you will see the difference due to the larger coins and bigger gap between them. This includes the diamond patterns as well.
Quality
Better Life Technology manufactures the G-Floor line of garage floor mats in Emporia, Kansas. They are made with 100% polyvinyl throughout the entire mat. You can’t find better made mats.
Many of the garage floor mats made overseas and even some in the U.S. incorporate fillers in the material or they are made with a laminate construction that lays only a thin strip of polyvinyl on the surface.
These types of mats are known to delaminate after a few years and sometimes sooner if they are exposed to chemical spills.
In additions, G-Floor mats have a strong reputation as being the best quality garage floor mats that you can purchase for your home and they come with a limited lifetime manufacturer’s warranty.
Best value garage floor mat
Due to the small coin design being slightly thinner than G-Floor’s commercial grade mats, the price point is better. In fact, it’s often cheaper than some of the overseas knock-offs of this design that is currently being sold today.
This is one of the key reasons we recommend this mat. When comparing the above features of the small coin mat to the competition or other G-Floor products for that matter, the overall value of the small coin garage floor mat is the best you will find anywhere.
We have found that the best place to purchase the G-Floor Small Coin garage floor mat is from Garage Flooring LLC. They have a 110% price match guarantee which includes free shipping. In addition, they have excellent customer service.
Price G-Floor Small Coin Mats Here
If you are an Amazon shopper you can find this mat in limited sizing there as well. You can CLICK HERE for Amazon pricing.
Final thoughts
The Small Coin G-Floor garage floor mat has been out for approximately 5 years now and has obtained high praise and reviews since its introduction. It has truly earned the reputation of the best garage floor mat.
No product is ever perfect though and one small issue we have with this mat is that it requires a bit more attention to how it should be cleaned. The smaller areas between the raised coins are not quite as easy to reach as it is with other mats.
We recommend using a soft bristle broom and/or a shop vac with the wide mouth or bristle floor attachment for most cleaning duties. A soft bristle broom reaches in easier and the shop vac is best for sucking up the collected debris.
For heavier duty cleaning, mopping with a mixture of 1-gallon warm water to ½ cup of ammonia will do the trick in most cases. In addition, Garage Flooring LLC recommends an occasional application of Hillway Direct Plus floor finish and cleaner maintainer to clean and maintain the shine of G-Floor mats.
The small coin design is not the best choice if looking to contain larger than normal amounts of liquid or snow from winter weather either. If that is your primary goal, then we recommend a containment mat for those purposes instead.
Those two small issues aside, if you are considering a floor covering for your garage then this mat is highly recommended. We feel that the G-Floor Small Coin mat is one of the best all-around garage floor mats you can purchase in terms of value, function, and durability.
how does g-floors mat hold up to moving/dragging things across them? will it scratch, tear, or gouge the mat?
Hi Jeff and good question. These mats are extremely tough. You would have to drag a heavy and sharp piece of metal across the mat to gouge it. These do not mar or gouge easily.
Would it be okay to use a thin or thick, rubber or cork underlayment?
Hi Jay. If you plan on driving on the mat an underlayment is not recommended. This goes for all garage floor mats. The reason is that it will cause the mat to squirm under load. This can cause the mat to travel or bunch up after repeated use.
A website that sales this product suggested using an acrylic floor finish. Do you also suggest this and is there a particular brand that I should look for?
Hi Bob. The acrylic coating does a good job at protecting the lighter colored mats from the stains that car tires can produce. They can also produce a glossier finish if you like or you can stay with a satin/matte finish. It will also make general cleanup even easier. What you have to be aware of however are some automotive fluids and cleaners. Gas, brake fluid, and carb cleaners for example can break down and eat through the acrylic finish fairly fast. If this could be an issue for you then we recommend not using an acrylic sealer since these chemicals have little effect on the mat itself.
If you want to apply an acrylic finish, Hilway Direct makes a good product that does well on garage floor mats.
What about using jack stands, rolling floor jacks or wheeled car tire dollies on the g-mat?
Hello Brad. Floor jacks and small wheels from heavy carts and tool boxes are not an issue. They roll over the mat real well. Jacking cars up is not a problem as well. Jack stands are no problem if they have a flat platform bottom. If they have the 3-point thin metal legs, then you will want to use a small piece of plywood or something similar to place under the jack stand to avoid imprints or possible puncture of the mat. There are few flooring options that will stand up to all that weight on such an extremely small surface area that those thin metal legs create.
I’m just looking for an anti-slip mat for my garage. The flooring in my garage gets so slippery, and everytime I carry my 6 month old across the floor, I get so worried we will fall. Would this be a good solution?
Hi Ashley. Yes, this mat will turn your slippery garage floor into a nice anti-slip surface. It’s a great solution to those like you looking for a nice stable surface to feel confident walking on.
My garage has a half step area at the north side. I think this step avoids any possible water seepage from garage into the house. Would the garage mat be able to roll over this half step?
Hello John. The mat is too thick to conform to the half step. You would need to cut-to-fit at the step. You can always lay a separate piece at the top of the step and secure it with double sided carpet tape.
I read that these mat floors are basicly a floating floor. It’s recommended to leave small space all the way around. That said if indeed it’s true what keeps the seams together and nice looking when driving on or moving heavy objects across it ?
Hello Jon. You ask a great question. These mats are much heavier than you think and don’t like to move around much. The small gap you leave at the edges are for expansion and contraction of the mat. The trick with seams is to use tape on the underside where the seams meet up. This does a great job of holding the seams together.
Can I put a containment mat in winter on top of this mat?
You sure can Bill.
I read somewhere else that the floor mats can become discolored from car tires. Is there any way to prevent this occurrence? Is that what the Hilway Direct acrylic product is used for? – Thanks in advance.
Hello Dr. Teeth. Garage floor mats can acquire tire prints on the surface where you park that are hard to remove. It really can vary depending on the type of tires. One car may leave tire prints while another may not. With darker colored mats it’s less noticeable. The Hilway Direct product does a good job of preventing tire marks as well as making the mats even easier to clean.
Hello Shea,
My garage floor has been coated with Epoxy coat like 9 years back and now start peeling off and looks really bad, my question can I lay down those type of PVC mats on the top of the floor without sanding the floor, in another words do I have to remove the Epoxy coat or its okay to lay the mat on the top.
Also dose those mat do comes in different color to create a different look just to kill the boring one color look.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Regards,
George,
Hello George. You don’t have to do anything with the surface other than sweep before laying down the mats. The old epoxy will not affect them. In terms of color, the mats don’t change color in the same roll. You would have to purchase different color rolls.
My husband and I live in Minnesota and in the winter go snowmobiling and like to bring our sleds into the garage and clean them up once in a while and wondering how the floor would hold up to bringing in our sleds that are on snowmobile dollies?
The G-Floor mats will hold up well to snowmobile dollies Mary. It will be less slippery as well.
What is the maximum temperature this mat can handle? I live in Southern United State and it gets very hot in summer down here. The tire temperature after driving can easily get up to 150 deg F.
Hey Crazy Dan. We know that hot tires are not an issue with these mats, but we contacted Better Life Technologies to get the exact info you requested. The actual melting point of the mats is around 260 degrees. According to them, they have never had an issue with hot tires affecting the their mats or causing any type of break down of the material.
I have tire marks on my G Floor mat. I have tried so many products to remove them. What works in removing the tire marks? My flooring is grey.
Tire marks are extremely hard to remove from garage floor mats once they set in Phil. We have heard that some people have had success with Goof Off.
This flooring is 100% PVC. There is much out there about health concerns with the off-gasing of PVC. Are you aware of this issue, and do you have a view on it? Would some other material, such as rubber, be safer? Thank you.
Hello Harold. Yes, we are aware of some issues that have been raised with PVC flooring for in the home. We actually spoke with a representative from Better Life Technologies about this issue a while back. Their PVC material has been tested and found compliant with a number of different state and federal requirements including California’s Prop 65 that requires all manufacturer’s to list known chemicals and toxins in a product. They had none to list. Dioxins and Phthalates seem to be the main concern for some types of vinyl. Dioxins in most cases are only concern for some PVC if it is burned. Phthalates usually are a concern if ingested.
If we were going to put vinyl flooring in the house it might be of a concern, but for a garage we really don’t think you have any worries. You are the first one to ever bring this topic up for garage flooring to be honest. We do not recommend rubber flooring for a garage. Petroleum products such as oil and gas causes rubber to break down. Also, as rubber ages it becomes more porous and is hard to keep clean.
how many years does it last?
These mats should last an average of 8 to 10 years or more Lily. It really depends on how much traffic they see.
i just rolled out this product and while it is somewhat cold right now. it has dents in it from shipping. Will these go away with time and maybe a bit of heat?
Yes, Dan, the dents will go away as it warms up. Ideally, it’s best to move the mat into the house before it is unrolled and let it warm up to room temp for 24 hours before unpacking it in the garage.
Can these mats be used outdoors on a deck, do they hold up to the sun, cold etc.
Hello David. Yes, you can use them outdoors. However, though they have U.V. inhibitors in the polyvinyl they can begin to fade over time when exposed to direct sunlight. Also, G-floor recommends that the mat be adhered with double sided tape or an adhesive around the edges. If the mats are trimmed close to a structure, expansion and contraction of the mat during large temperature changes could cause the mats to bow up or wrinkle.
We need a small mat to place under our golf cart so water/acid drips from refilling the cart batteries will not damage the concrete. Will this mat stand up to that?
Yes it would, Jay.
How do you put 2 mats together? Can it be seamless or do you need the gapping for expansion and contracting.
It’s a good question Eddie. You can lay them tight up against each other or you can use their G-Floor center trim as shown here.
We are considering garage mats in lieu of epoxy finish for our new garage floor. However, our garage measures 20 x 20…thus 2 8.5′ x 20′ mats would leave approximately 18″ on each side uncovered. Will this cause issues with rolling at the edges, or problems due to debris working their way under the mats? Any recommendations on appropriate coverage for mats in general?
Hello Lisa. G-floor makes a mat that is 10’x24′. Two of those will span your width perfectly. You can see an example here. All you need to do is cut the remaining 4′ at the back wall of your garage. If you would rather go with the narrower mat you can. The mats are heavy and will not roll up at the edges. The advantage of having mats that cover the full floor is that you have very little chance of the mat moving at all.
I have a food service trailer. Would this product work for that application? Would it need to be glued in place?
Hi Mike. G-Floor actually manufactures some of their mats with a fiber backing for gluing down in trailers, RV’s, and etc. The Small Coin is one of them. You can find pricing here from Garage Flooring LLC.