Volunteers hammer away at 'Extreme Makeover' house

Durable Modular Garge Floor Coverings - Plastic floor tiles snap into place transforming a concrete floor into a beautiful, low maintenance flooring surface.

HOLT - Like a colony of ants, hundreds of blue-shirted workers swarmed on what will become the Nickless family's home. It had been only a foundation at 8 a.m. Monday. By mid-afternoon it was a full-fledged house.

"I'm just so thankful there are so many people helping," said Terry Engstrand, whose mother, Arlene Nickless, and brothers Aaron, 11; Noah, 9; and Andrew, 7, will move into the house Friday. "It's going to be a healthy, clean place where we can come spend time with our mom and not have to worry about fixing things."

On Sunday, crews demolished the 1860s house the Nickless family had been living in as part of the ABC TV show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." The house had fallen into disrepair after Arlene Nickless' husband, Tim, became ill with hepatitis C nearly seven years ago, family members said. Tim died in January.

The family's story helped provide fuel for the long hours that began Monday, volunteers said. Crews will work around the clock until the house is finished. The work is being done by volunteers with donated materials.

Mark Hamelink of Grand Ledge started his day at around 7 a.m. building trusses. "I feel like I could go another 10 hours," he said. "You go inside and everybody is working together. You could ask anybody for a tool. On a normal job, it's just not like that."

Organizers said the volunteer workers are the key to getting the project done so quickly. At any given time, there are hundreds swarming the job site doing jobs from building to picking up trash. More than 1,600 are expected throughout the build.

"Instead of three, four, five guys, there are 45 guys," said framer Brad Durrant, 29, of Eagle. "We still bump elbows, but we all know what has to be done." Dale Hosford, owner of Hosford Bros. Concrete of East Lansing, brought a crew of 14 to the job site Monday. They poured the basement and garage floors.

"I don't think I've seen anything like it," Hosford said as the site bustled around him.

Brothers Jason and Jerome Helton spent the day working on furniture for the themed bedroom of Andrew, the youngest Nickless brother. They own a set design and art displays company in the Detroit area and donated their crew for the project.

"We've been gifted from birth," said Jason, who graduated from East Lansing High School. "The best way to be is to give back and teach others to give back."

"What we get in return is to see what happens when the kid first walks into the room," said Jerome. "It's priceless."

What Type of Garage Floor Covering Should You Select?

By David Karlson

So, you have a garage and you want it to last. You want to protect the floor from grease, oil and all other spills and marks that can occur in a busy garage setting. What type of garage floor covering should you consider purchasing?

There are many different types of garage floor covering options for you to consider. You can choose floor tile that is available in many different types of materials. You can even paint your floor with a special type of floor paint.

There are mats available in many different sizes. This form of garage floor covering is quite simple to install as you just throw it on the floor wherever you want it. This is probably the easiest way to cover your garage floor.

If you choose to paint your garage floor, make sure you purchase the right kind of paint for the job. The paint is a special epoxy that is designed to protect the floor from spills and general wear and tear.

A good garage floor covering can save you money in the end because it will be protecting your concrete. It will also act as a safety feature in preventing people from slipping on the wet or slippery concrete.

If you choose tile as your garage floor covering, you will have many choices in patterns and colors to choose. An interlocking floor tile is quite easy to install and does not take a lot of time to install either. It can also be used in a basement or workshop as it is not limited to use in the garage.

A garage floor covering will also allow you to keep the floor much cleaner as a covering is easier to clean than the concrete base. If you happen to spill some gas or oil, it is a whole lot easier to clean off a covering than it is off a concrete floor.

If you have always desired to have your garage floor looking like a showroom floor then that is the way to go. You will be able to impress your friends and relatives with your new garage floor.

In conclusion, if you are not happy looking at your concrete floor or it is starting to look shabby then why not consider installing a garage floor covering. These covers are excellent for protecting a concrete floor and for giving your garage a clean new look.

Your garage floor should be protected and we provide several different methods to protect any concrete floor area whether using a garage floor sealer or any type of garage floor covering.

The Different Sizes For Garage Floor Coverings

Durable Garage Floors - Interlocking Floor Tiles

from All Garage Floor Covering

Garage floor coverings come in different sizes that depend on what kind of covering they are. For example, roll out covers usually have bigger sizes than you need, so you can adjust them exactly the way you need them. If you want to use interlocking garage floor covering, then you will know the sizes for each tile. You will have to calculate exactly how many tiles you need and what size.

Ribbed garage floor covering usually comes in four sizes, that are most likely all you need: 7-1/2?x17', 7-1/2?x20', 9'x20' or 10'x22'. Its thickness is designed to protect your concrete better (usually around 0.055? thick).

Roll out floor covering can have many different sizes. BLT coverings are the best example here. They use the most common types of sizes that anyone could need. First of all, BLT coverings are made in three different thickness grades: 0.055? is the base thickness and it is called standard grade. It is the most common thickness; 0.075? is the medium thickness and its name is commercial grade; the thickest of them all is 0.085? and its name is industrial grade. Enough about the thickness, now it is time to talk about the width and length. The width available for roll out coverings is 7.5', 8', 9', 10'. As for the length you can order a custom length, but the maximum width still is 10'.

The coin patterned garage floor cover from BLT has a 75 mil thickness. You can imagine that as it would be about 18 sheets of copy paper. The size available is 8×22. Other coin patterned garage floor coverings come in sizes as it follows: The standard sizes for them are 7.5×17, 8×22, 9×44, 9×60, 10×24. Except the 9×44 size that comes with 85 mil thickness, all the other ones are 75 mil thick. And here are some other very popular custom sizes that are being used: 7.5×14, 7.5×20, 7.5×22, 9×20, 10×22.

In conclusion, all types of garage floor coverings are designed to be made in all the sizes anyone could need. Coverings can also be made at custom size, but it is usually better and cheaper to buy a standard sized one and cut it to fit perfectly in your garage.