After years of thinking about it, I finally pulled the trigger and put Racedeck flooring down last month. Just brought my Z16 out of winter storage last week. Pretty happy with the outcome.

 

I went with Swisstrax. It certainly makes the floor look great!

 

Floor looks great. Doing Winter storage living in Alabama? That meets the definition of a garage queen.

 

Congrats. Floor looks great. I went with their Freeflow tiles and the floor still looks great 11 years later!

 

Wellll now it is North Alabama so we get some ice/snow so there's that. Actually a capacity problem, too many toys so some are stored over winter and then cycled into the summer rotation.

 

I would like to put that in but with the work we do I think we would destroy it.

 

I don't know what kind of work you are doing on it, but the Racedeck is very substantial. Mine has been down for seven years and looks like the day it was installed with basically no maintenance. If you did damage a small section somehow, it is very easy to replace small parts of it.

 

General work like welding, torching, engine pulling etc. I would hate to spill gas on it and not be able to wipe it up or put material to absorb it. It is more a shop vs garage.

If all we did here was detailing I could see it working well. It would work well in my other garage but it is for just daily drivers.

Even epoxy on the floor I am hesitant about as I have yet to see one that has not worn off or come up. Clear sealer has been the best to do but it can get slippery.

 

I understand. I owned/operated multiple dealerships and have seen or used a large number of floor coverings. I would trust it more than any epoxy I have ever used. I don't see oil or gas doing any damage but you might want to speak with them. Seems to be a very reputable company.

 

It is not what it would do to the floor but these floorings have holes and seams. You spill gas and how to you clean it up with out pulling up the floor.

If you have a gas heater the fumes would be a concern. There are garages used where this is fine but for general mechanical work there may issues that you may have to deal with. Mine is part man cave with Big Screen TV and other things like that but I also a not beyond tearing down a car, truck or tractor.

Right now I can wipe up spills but with the flooring it gets under it and then what? Gas is the main concern.

 

I have had both types of flooring. My current Racedeck Freeflow has been great for 10+ years and due to the grid design, I can vacuum or hose out any dirt or fluids. A few years ago while performing an oil change, I accidentally kicked the oil pan and was able to clean up the mess by removing a few of the tiles and mopping it up. Sort of a PITA process but still doable.



In Chicago I had an epoxy floor with a drain that was better for my rebuild projects as I had an older Camaro that I was constantly working on jacked up in the corner of the garage. Plus it was easier to clean out the nasty winter slush that often got pulled into the garage. The key to a good and durable floor epoxy is the prep of the cement floor as it needs to being diamond cut in order the epoxy to adhere and permanently stick to the floor followed by a bonding clear coat. Most of the painted floor epoxy that many new home builders use to help sell houses here in Florida are not professional grade as the epoxy in our home garage lifted within the first few weeks after closing due to the hot and rain wet tires.

Although I've seen Racedeck and Swisstrax floor tiles used in commercial applications, I think they are better suited for residential applications or light mechanical use, I wouldn't want tiles if I was still performing major mechanical work such as engine builds, transmission swaps, or other projects that required heavy tools, jacks, tool cabinets etc. These days I would rather drive the cars than work on them. My wife even paid a rare compliment saying that the garage no longer looks like a garage, rather another room in the house.

 

That is what I was thinking. You are not going to vacuum Gas and pulling up tiles is a paint

The painted floors in the end peel. I think I will just stick with water protected plain.

These other floors are fine if you have a garage mostly just for storage or light work. I will leave the bling for the walls and ceiling.