Garage Flooring (Makeover Part II)

[CEE DOG]

Garage Flooring#

Hey guys, I wrote this in review style for L2D. #I wouldn't post it here but I love sharing garage stuff with my many friends at AG. #Therefore I removed a few paragraphs and mention of the product name and anything I thought might be disrespectful to AG or against the rules mentioning a product they don't sell. #Just pretend it's RaceDeck flooring I'm discussing. #That shouldn't be difficult as they are virtually the same...

Product Claims: (info removed)
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Details:
1.- Shipping: Free on all orders
2.- Containment: Cardboard boxes (All tiles landed in new condition)
3.- Directions: So easy a Skycave® man could do it (See Image #2)
4.- Size: 12x12x1/2”
5.- Color: See Image #1
6.- (info removed)
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8.- Made in: USA
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Available Colors: (info removed) #-#

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Easy Install
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Introduction:
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Over my Christmas vacation I was in the process of painting my garage. #It had to be made worthy of my amazing banner from Bill and to finally quiet Sky's constant griping about the walls she lived between. #While at Lowes grabbing a couple more gallons of paint my eyes caught the garage floor coatings. #There I stood for at least 30 minutes. #Thinking, reading, thinking..... Hmmmm.... #Ultimately I would decide the risks outweighed the coating option available there. #

Leaving my Sky out for 72 hours during application/cure and the likelihood of the coating peeling up within a couple years was not my idea of a good time so plans for flooring were forsaken. #

Just a week later it was BOGO time in Jims thread and it suddenly dawned on me I would throw a hail marry for bogo racetrack flooring! #Well, of course it was an unreasonable request and I knew garage tile flooring was priced above what I wanted to spend so back to the scrap heap the dream went....

(4 paragraphs deleted for AG copy)

My next attempt at convincing myself not to purchase them was to tell myself they might hold water beneath them but in conversation with the lovely representative and further research I was convinced (or convinced myself) otherwise.

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Polyaspartic Coating:
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At some point during this time my friend Richy shared some info on a coating product that was another option. #In the interest of staying on point I won’t get into it but it’s called Polyaspartic coating and here is a photo of a couple samples I ordered in my brief flirtation. #It looks great but would need to be installed by professionals and I was quoted over 6$ sq/ft. #That would mean I would pay closer to $2,400+/- compared to $750+/-.
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Moving Forward:

Time for excuses was over and after starting a few designs on their online floor designer I went to sleep with visions of a beautiful Skybaby stage dancing in my head!! #After about 32 designs the next day I had it down to 3 basic concepts and 9 variations. #I had a good idea of where I was headed but as you guys know I placed my variations into a thread where I heard some feedback from our Live2Detail community. #After thinking it through I finalized my design and placed my order.
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The Eagle Has Landed:
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It would be nearly two weeks before I would install. #You see, as luck would have it my shipment landed on Monday so it was moved to the garage to await its destiny. #:gidiup:
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The following Sunday I woke up to a beautiful 60F morning and raced to the garage! #After the not so fun part (moving stuff out of the garage) it was time to play.
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I started with the idea I would build a section and then slide it under the lips of the washer and dryer and move forward from that corner. #You see, the plumbing is rather precarious so instead of doing it right and dealing with that I made it more difficult on myself.#
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After putting together a section I thought I would possibly build around the washer and dryer since it slid right under and I wouldn't have to worry about the washer and dryer rattling. #After building a few sq ft I re-measured the distance to the garage door and found that my laziness would punish me. #The floor would have to be cut along the garage door side at that rate. #So, I set about the task of disconnecting and moving the utilities on top and over the floor.#
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After sliding the floor into it's correct starting point I moved the utilities atop it and reconnected everything. #I hadn’t eaten yet so after the pause in progress it was time for a breakfast of champions! #(Apologies to my vegan friends )
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[CEE DOG]

With that out of the way and the confidence I had gained from my initial learning experience with the tiles I was very excited to really get hustling.


The Level is in the Details:


It's best practice to start in a corner where you have male ends facing both walls. #This leaves a female end on both expansion sides. #When you come with the next tile you simply line it up with the male just above the female and using your foot you snap it down. (4 snaps per edge)

The tiles come in sections of 4 already snapped together. #This is wonderful for someone who is using all one color or has a pattern that suits this but in my case it meant separating many a tile. #In the beginning I had been fighting the tiles separating them like a zipper until....

It dawned on me they were specifically designed to snap right apart when pressed in the correct direction (bottoms toward each other). #The design of separation is built on a simple concept of leveraging the tiles against themselves, which activates a "snap" at each connection point. #So when forced towards each other the snaps pop open and release each other.

Having a patterned design means you need to pay attention and having a blueprint is always a good idea. #At the onset of my install I had pulled up my L2D garage flooring thread on my Ipad with a picture of my plan as my blueprint.
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Once I got started and felt I had the pattern down I started making an error here or there. #I would get on a roll with a color and forget to switch every now and then. #Just as with many things in life thinking you've "got it,” means an error is just around the corner. #Luckily the tiles are fairly simple to remove and back up to the point of error. #Of course nobody likes to go backwards and after this happened a couple times I decided it was time to get seriously systematic. #

My camera battery was in the throws of death so I set it in the charger and emptied my memory card into my pc. #Then I diddled around a bit giving it some time to charge. #I couldn’t wait forever so I completed a couple lines of tile and moved everything that was still on the concrete onto the now completed tile area.
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Video: Installation Part 1 of 3 (Figuring things out)
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[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSBiG6cmva0]GarageTrac Install Part 1.mp4 - YouTube[/video]
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Systematic:

I had measured and chosen where I would have to cut tiles on the far end and I had my pattern set so I decided to lay out the black lanes and blue intersections across the floor without snapping them in. #It would be a full-scale blueprint for me to follow. #From there it was all alloy colored tiles so I would simply fill in the blanks. #I often find in many tasks that turning myself into an assembly line works well for my type. #Rather than switch back and forth between various steps I would do step one 200 times, then step two 200 times, etc. #I find the immediate repetition method is faster and near impossible to make errors.

Time for the video! #Most of the project was recorded on video and I sped up a good portion of it so it will hopefully move fast enough for you. #It’s slowed down here and there when and not muted in those areas.
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Video: Installation Part 2 of 3 (Rock ‘n’ Roll)
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[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jwtoj1hSz3A&hd=1]GarageTrac Install Part 2.mp4 - YouTube[/video]
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As you can see I got the hang of it but also had to order a few extras as I was short 2 blue tiles and 9 black along with some female edging for the door. #It was my own fault as I had pushed the design a row tighter than I originally planned. #The great news is shipping is always free so I simply called the number the following day (Monday), gave them my previous order number and told them what to add.
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[CEE DOG]

Fast-forward 5 days:

After a stressful and late Friday at work I was happy to find two very exciting packages on my doorstep when I got home. #One of them was of course the garage tiles box! #:gidiup:
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I will let the video do the talking this time.
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Tip:
For any tiles that need to be cut to fit with circular saw I found they should be cut with bottom side facing up to leave a clean cut on the visible (top) side.
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Video: Installation Part 3 of 3 (Living on the Edge)
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[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ilr0vMCQ34&hd=1]GarageTrac Install Part 3.mp4 - YouTube[/video]
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[CEE DOG]

Chemical Resistance Testing:
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I applied OPC, TarX, SIP, M105, CG water spot remover, and PB black hole to a couple pieces of scrap. #We will wait a couple days and then rinse them off and see about staining.
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Here are the results after 2 days of letting the products fester and then washing them off. #Only water was used to clean them and all products wiped off easily. #
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On the alloy colored tile I could find no stain or etching whatsoever in any lighting.
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On the black tile at first I thought there was nothing either. #From more than a foot away it looked great! #On very close inspection however I could find some slight etching of some kind. #Surprisingly the CG water spot remover didn’t appear to affect it.
OPC and the polishes appeared to leave a slight outline but nothing you would notice from standing height. #I had to place it in full sun to show it in the photo.
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Pros:

1.- Price
2.- Speed of installation
3.- Ease of installation
4.- Made in the USA
5.-High strength
6.-Stain resistance
7.-High load capacity. 44,000 pounds rolling load.
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1.-Looking forward to testing the draining ability (Sorry Richy, couldn’t get to it today)
2.-Testing point loads (Jack stands)
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Cons:
Noise – A little bit when walking on it with hard soled shoes.
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Final Observations and Summary:

I am absolutely thrilled with my choice in flooring! #It could not be any easier to install and took approximately 5 hours if I take out dealing with the camera, etc.) #(sentence removed)

Now, before you have to pull out your raincoat let me chill out a little and admit I haven’t tested drainage yet which is important to me…. But I love this floor! #
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The bit of noise is not an issue for me but may be for some. #I want to walk in my socks in there anyway now that it looks so great! #Dad tells me the noise does decrease a bit with time. #You could apply landscape fabric beneath to soften the sound but I am glad I did not. #In my opinion any moisture that gets in needs to be able to get back out and I would think that fabric would not allow the moisture out…
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I’m going to test point loads directly on some scrap for jacking up my 3,000 lb Sky but on my actual floor I plan to place a sheet of wood under jack stands just to be safe.
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I will be washing the car soon (long overdue) and I always do my final rinse in the garage so I will be sure to watch for drainage and report back.
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Below is a cool little us vs. them I found: #It’s actually for RaceDeck but#
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RaceDeck : 100% USA Made - When we say "USA Made" we mean it. Our floors are designed, engineered, tooled, molded, and manufactured under one roof in Salt Lake City, Utah.
• THEM : Virtually every competitor outsources their molding and manufacturing overseas. Quality, long-lasting, floors result from a combination of flawless manufacture and the best materials. Our multi-patented manufacturing process assures our floors have no flaws or weak points, which inevitably cause cracking and breaking later on. Our competitors fall behind in both manufacturing and materials.
RaceDeck : Superior Molding Technology - We have over 34 years experience in modular flooring manufacture. In that time, we have developed proprietary processes that result in the most durable floors in the world. Our patented single flow injection molding system ensures material flows consistently throughout the mold from a single point, leaving no break or flow points. This process is expensive, but the results are invaluable.
• THEM : Inferior products are made using a multi-point injection technique. With this process, material is injected at several points throughout the mold and flows unevenly until it hits the next mass of material and hardens, leaving severe structural flaws. Because of these flaws, multi-point injection molded floors can be easily cracked or damaged, even by gentle bending.
RaceDeck : PowerLock™ System : RaceDeck’s multi-patented PowerLock™ System is engineered to handle the heaviest loads. When engaged, the locks actually become part of the superstructure, strengthening the floor. #What’s more, the PowerLock™ System lets the floor expand and contract naturally in garages with big temperature variations.
• THEM : Many of our competitor’s floors do not have true positive locking systems. Instead, they have #flimsy “locking mechanisms” on the outer wall of each tile which loosely hook the modules together. These do not actually lock the tiles together, nor do they provide structural support or allow for expansion and contraction. Our competitor’s products simply cannot compete with ours because we hold the patent on the PowerLock™ System.
RaceDeck : Our flooring withstands rolling vehicle loads in excess of 50,000 pounds - The industry’s toughest!
• THEM : No other flooring system comes close to the RaceDeck line up in terms of sheer strength.
RaceDeck : We use premium grade high-impact copolymers in our manufacturing process. This means no fillers, foam agents, lead, or other foreign materials compromise the integrity of our flooring. This ensures they hold up in even the harshest garages.
• THEM : In an effort to save money and hide design flaws, many of our competitors use fillers and foam agents in their products. This comes at a huge cost to the quality and structural integrity of the flooring. Some imported products have also been known to contain toxic lead.
RaceDeck : We are the world’s leading manufacturer and supplier of modular garage flooring and the creators of the modular garage flooring industry you see today. We produce more modular flooring each month than our competitors produce in a year - combined! We have manufactured over 100 million feet of flooring since we began.
• THEM : No one has been in business longer than us. Many have come and gone and left their customers without warranties or customer service. Many of these companies disappeared because their products lacked the quality and consistency RaceDeck provides.
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[Rix6]

Great looking floor, Corey!! It's amazing how cool the car's tires look resting on the patterned floor!

Hide some flooring away somewhere safe. When you need to replace the hot water heater you'll be able to extend the flooring to the corner if you want.

[jpegs13]

Nice job Corey! How much space did you leave along the edge? You'll be surprised how much the tiles expand in direct sunlight. I have the same type of flooring and had to recut to leave a 1/2" gap to make up for the expansion.
Great write up as usual, good stuff!

[TS656577]

Looks fantastic Corey! Congrats on the new floor!

[MustangMikeFL]

looks great, I love tricked out garages and the floor made a dramatic improvement.

[CEE DOG]

Thanks to all of you!!

Nice job Corey! How much space did you leave along the edge? You'll be surprised how much the tiles expand in direct sunlight. I have the same type of flooring and had to recut to leave a 1/2" gap to make up for the expansion.
Great write up as usual, good stuff!

Thanks buddy!!!

I left a 1/2" as specified in most places but got tight on one wall. I had already cut them so I left it but I expect I'll have to remove about 7 of them and trim a bit off.

[Mike Phillips]

The new flooring looks great!

I didn't see it mentioned but does the tile have a glaze finish like the RaceDeck TuffShield tiles? Sure makes keeping the tiles clean a breeze...

I even used XMT Spray Wax on ours to clean and shine them before filming our TV show...



Tile Wax