A non car question. Got bored a few weekends ago and the weather in NJ was in the 60's. So i attacked the garage and ended the weekend with a nice newly painted and renovated garage. I am shopping for a floor tile and looking at RaceDeck and Swiss Trax. Both seem very good with a few higher points to ST for the locking system.
Have any 6speeders used either of these brands and what was the general opinion of which was best. I know there are many others but i am liking these 2 as final choices Also one of them mentioned using the open flow through (ribtrax or free flow) design as it was quieter and easier maintenance as dirt and debris fall through the opening and can easily be vacuumed. I was looking at the diamond design but am now considering the open version. Any real experience really appreciated.
JS

 

A buddy of mine has the Race Deck in his garage.
It's been down for 3-4 years and still looks great....he says no problems.

GPA

 

6speed has a garage subforum that may be of interest to you

 

I installed Race Deck years ago in a garage for my 996 Carrera track car:


It looked great at first and installation was very easy, but there are a few issues with it.

1) Don't get white tiles! It never gets clean, oil and tires are black etc etc.

2) Water/liquids suck (rain, washed car, oil spill etc). The first issue is the diamond pattern, it makes it hard to clean anything up(paper towels just shred) and even makes it hard to sweep. The second issue are the seams between the tiles. What you don't wipe up disappears under there. So over time the concrete can get damaged and you won't even know it.

3) You can NEVER use jack stands without a board under them and same goes for the jack itself. With a lowered car this becomes a whole other issue of having to get the car up on ramps first just to be able to jack it up. I ruined several tiles by putting jack stands on them without a board under them. Then you've got to tear up half the floor just to get to the one tile to replace it.

If you live someplace like New England(rain, sand, salt, snow) and the car you have in there is daily driven AVOID at all costs! If it's a nice weather only car(like a track car) or you live in AZ or Cali then just consider the 3 items above. If you must have tile, then go with real tile(large 1x1 or 2x2 tiles) and the only issue you will have is dealing with the grout.

After having using Race Deck in that garage I went with a 2 part epoxy floor in my 3 car garage that I absolutely LOVE.
http://www.epoxy-coat.com/

This is the real deal. Not the crap they sell at Home Depot. I will put this in every garage I own in the future no matter where I live. I can wash my cars inside my garage in the winter and just push the water out with a large squeegee. Here are some before and after shots:



As you can see here there are some dirty tire marks left from wet/dirty tires:


I could just hose down the floor and the clean the whole garage floor in a few minutes or I could just spot clean it with some simple green and a paper towel.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions about either type of floor.

 

Jenner ... I agree with your Race Deck comments. Had something very similar and NEVER looked clean.

Regarding the epoxy floor. Did you do it yourself, or have it done professionally? Relative cost?

It looks terrific! But, wonder if it is slick when wet?

 

Hey Bagger. I did it myself. One weekend to prep the floor(clean and open up pores with provided mild acid solution), rolled out the epoxy the following Saturday(took a morning for simple 3 car bay without poles etc) and then went on vacation for a week in one car and left the other 2 cars at relatives rather than outside. Needs about 3 days to cure but I figured the longer the better!

Here is a video and step by step instructions of the application:
http://www.epoxy-coat.com/epoxy_floo...structions.php

Cost for my sq ft was 2 kits which were around $500 to my door but I did not get the optional clear coat kit. Looks like prices migh have gone up a little since then. You need a power drill and you'll want a stick to attach the squeegee that spreads the epoxy since they don't provide that. Get a cheap throw away one from a home improvement store since anything the epoxy gets on is stained forever.

Also there is no harm in putting on a thicker coat of epoxy. I was a little thin in some areas and had to purchase a touch up kit for $50 to fix them later. In hindsight I should have gotten 2.5 kits for my size floor.

As for slippery when wet, that's what the paint chips are for. You can customize the base color and pick 3 different chip colors. I went with tan base and black/white/dark tan chips and love it. I've seen others black base with red/white chips and grey base with white/silver/blue chips. Most of the "dirt" colors were tan/brown based so that's why I went with tan, looks clean even when it's not.

If you HAVE to make it non-skid they sell bags of aluminum oxide chips, but if you use those it will not allow you to squeegee it out or use a paper towel to wipe it clean as the chips are sharp.

 

Jenner .... thanx for the info.

I'm not all tha clever when it comes to certain things, but maybe I could handle this myself. I need to redo the garage anyway. Always one of those things that get put off.

 

Just edited my post with the instructions and the aluminum oxide if you need non-skid vs non slip.

Hey Tony

 

I actually do this for a living & the epoxies look good but will always start to chip & fail even when professionally installed especially in the hot spots under the tires. If you still want the diamond plate look of race deck you can use sheet vinyl without out any of the above mentioned problems thats what i used in my garage at home.For a bullet proof finish go with polished concrete this is what i did at my shop where i keep the muscle cars no sealers or wax to wear out. just polished with big grinders ,check out the reflection you get

 

Wow that polished concrete looks amazing!

 

@ twturbo

Can you still wash your car in the garage with the sheet vinyl and clean it in a matter of minutes? Sounds like a winner then, if you want the diamond print....

 

Yes i use a squeegee to get the water out ,it's glued directly to the concrete & comes in rolls 6 ft wide,i've had it for about 5 yrs now with no problems.Go into any Footlocker shoe store & you will probably see it ,i've installed it in many & had enough left over for my garage.

 

Yeah it's def the way to go ,the process is done to your existing concrete ,the rocks you see is the aggregate in that's in all concrete just below the surface.The floor shown in my building i did 10 years ago & still looks perfect.

 

I would contact http://premiergarage.com/ they have some of the best floors that will not to peel, lift or fade.

 

I just had these guys redo our garage. They installed custom cabinets, shelves, slat walls with accessories - all sizes and colors were customized for our garage space. They are fantastic!