Hydraulic jack and jack stand dents Racedeck

[steakpowered]

Hi guys,

Just found this forum today after looking around at RaceDeck. I'm closing on a house soon and I'm leaning towards it over a professional epoxy job. I do plan on working on my car from time to time, but not just the typical fluid changes. Up to the extent of a full motor swap.

The only issue I've seen is if people don't use plywood or something under the jack and stands, it leaves some kind of dent. Can anyone provide pictures on what that damage looks like?

Thanks!

 

[south_paw]

One thing i didnt like when i had a racedeck floor was the floor jack wouldn't roll forward as the jack lifted the car up. This is not a healthy situation. As far as the jack stands you can weld large washers to the feet of the stands to avoid damaging the floor. For me, racedeck was one and done. Nice looking and the floor is never too cold in the winter but I found myself always thinking about the work I'm doing and how the floor impacts that work. Do not get a light color. The dirt is not easy to clean. You will need to buy the cleaning solution to get it to look clean.

 

[steakpowered]

One thing i didnt like when i had a racedeck floor was the floor jack wouldn't roll forward as the jack lifted the car up. This is not a healthy situation. As far as the jack stands you can weld large washers to the feet of the stands to avoid damaging the floor. For me, racedeck was one and done. Nice looking and the floor is never too cold in the winter but I found myself always thinking about the work I'm doing and how the floor impacts that work. Do not get a light color. The dirt is not easy to clean. You will need to buy the cleaning solution to get it to look clean.

which racedeck floor did you get? Also, was the wheel size of the floor jack on the smaller size? I'm wondering if that contributed to the lack of the wheels rolling.

I was looking at racedeck diamond in alloy color.

 

[CombatNinja]

steakpowered,

RaceDeck is a great product and is fit for purpose for a great many residential garage applications. That said, I would not recommend it to someone that has the intention of doing full-on engine swaps on jack stands in their garage. Not being a jerk, but that is just a poor match of flooring to intended use. Get yourself a nice densifier, follow the up with a simple sealant so you can wipe ups spills and be happy.

 

[steakpowered]

steakpowered,

RaceDeck is a great product and is fit for purpose for a great many residential garage applications. That said, I would not recommend it to someone that has the intention of doing full-on engine swaps on jack stands in their garage. Not being a jerk, but that is just a poor match of flooring to intended use. Get yourself a nice densifier, follow the up with a simple sealant so you can wipe ups spills and be happy.

I guess it seemed to good to be true. I'll look into other options. I've also have done an engine swap on a regular garage floor with jack stands before. Just looking for a cleaner garage this time around. Thanks!

 

[RaceDeck1]

I think you will find a number of members hear who have very active garages with RACEDECK flooring, including full vehicle buildsm (including myself). The weight if the cars on jackstands is not the issue... it's the cheap angle-iron style that have the cookie cutter thing angle iron legs with no pads < ^>. this will even chip and mar concrete - there are a number of options 1- any jack stand with foot pads or base plate 2- place a small steel or wood pad/plate under stand 3- use our RD pro aluminum plates. ...That said no single garage floor system is for everyone, some love epoxy, some love VCT, some love ceramic... When we invented RACEDECK we developed a product that would create a product that would solve the most common issues and concerns with a garage floor ( ease of installation, ease of repairing a section, durability, moisture and mold issues, chipping & peeling, staining, and to look really cool ... that said, modular flooring is not for everyone..( just a lot of them ) .

 

[SteveCh]

My jacks roll fine on my Racedeck, both coin and Freeflow, as I jack up a vehicle. Not an issue. I keep small squares of scrap ply on which to place the jack stands. Not an issue. I roll my very heavy tablesaw across the Racedeck. Not an issue.

 

[Cryptic1911]

I have no problems with jacks rolling on the floor. Also, look at OTC 6 ton jack stands. They have flat bottoms, so they won't dig into the floor. I've had my car sitting on stands for a month now on mine

 

[Ralf11]

AFAIK, RaceDeck is for display garages, not for pros.

If you do the amount/type of work that a prof. garage would do, then use the flooring that they use. It's called "con Crete" -- apparently something about a Greek island.

 

[Shea]

My brother has a RaceDeck floor. No problems with jack stands here and it's a 3700 pound car. However, I do recommend that you keep a piece of 1/4" - 1/2" plywood around for jacking up vehicles. Even with the large wheels, it can leave dents in the floor. This is simply due to the fact that you have all that weight concentrated on a very small area that is not flat, but curved.

The car in the picture just had the transmission out to replace the clutch while on this floor. That doesn't include all the work and maintenance that has been done with brakes, suspension, and fluid changes for all the track events it attends. The floor has held up well.

 

[Ralf11]

yeh you could use Esco stands or others with feet

 

[Doocruze]

I use QuickJacks on my free flow race deck without any problems. I never pulled a motor but did replace axles, brakes, shocks, and struts. No damage to the floor. Even drive snowmobiles into the garage. After two years of use I think I got one scratch from the snowmobile. Wheels roll real nice on the floor. My roller chair and snowmobile dollies roll better on the deck than they did on concrete. Then again the deck is covering up some nasty cracks and uneven concrete. It's sure is nice to have the water and snow flow under the floor. I no longer have to get wet while working on something. I can even tip the snowmobiles on its side without damaging the sled. The only think I do not like is cleaning them. They are a pain to clean, but I only clean them one a year to get all the dirt out of the cracks.

 

[steakpowered]

thanks for your all the feedback guys. I don't want to risk it, so I'm going the other route with epoxy/polyaspartic coating.

 

[Doocruze]

Good luck. My friend did the epoxy and it started pealing off within a year. He had good concrete too. I would of tried epoxy if my concrete was in good shape. The race deck sure did hide my poor concrete. My friend is very disappointed in epoxy. It should of worked for him. He wished he did the race deck instead.

 

[RaceDeck1]

Good luck. My friend did the epoxy and it started pealing off within a year. He had good concrete too. I would of tried epoxy if my concrete was in good shape. The race deck sure did hide my poor concrete. My friend is very disappointed in epoxy. It should of worked for him. He wished he did the race deck instead.

We have a saying around here.. "you coat it and eventually we cover it"

 

[Garage Flooring]

We would always suggest plywood under any jacks. I have had RaceDeck and TrueLock in my own garage and had 0 issues. A lot of it comes down to using the right kind of equipment and not using old equipment that has been roughed up or damaged.

I would protect any floor I value. Coated, tiled, mats.

 

[16again]

I’m just a backyard mechanic with a RaceDeck floor. Use my jack and stands a few times a year on my RaceDeck floor. I use a floor jack with ESCO jack stands. No issue with my previous Jeep Grand Cherokee or my 2 current Toyota’s. Floor is great! Highly recommend RaceDeck flooring.

 

[kram71]

We would always suggest plywood under any jacks. I have had RaceDeck and TrueLock in my own garage and had 0 issues. A lot of it comes down to using the right kind of equipment and not using old equipment that has been roughed up or damaged.

I would protect any floor I value. Coated, tiled, mats.

I think its smart to use plywood on any finished garage floor. I have seen indentations on both epoxy and tiles so it makes sense. $5 in plywood can save a lot of potential problems.

 

[gb99]

For those with RaceDeck open tiles. Could you please bounce a basketball on it and let me know if the ball bounces true? I know it’s a strange request, but I am using my future garage as a kids play space and car workshop, so would like to find a flooring that suits both activities. Thanks!!

 

[GRivera]

OP- not from personal experience but have you thought of polyurea? Reading about its qualities seems good for a working shop.

Also, for those with a working shop and Racedeck, I didn’t see an answer to the ease/damage done to rolling around an engine stand with full engine on it (600-700 pounds) or an engine hoist with an engine on it. Please advise?

 

[RaceDeck1]

OP- not from personal experience but have you thought of polyurea? Reading about its qualities seems good for a working shop.

Also, for those with a working shop and Racedeck, I didn’t see an answer to the ease/damage done to rolling around an engine stand with full engine on it (600-700 pounds) or an engine hoist with an engine on it. Please advise?

Toolboxes ( like big Snap-On) and engine hoists are commonly used.. most all have commercial casters and 600+ lbs as you mention is a non issue..

 

[GRivera]

Thank you

 

[Doocruze]

I roll around a 550 lb snowmobile on dollies on top my freeflow racedeck floor all the time. No damage. It rolls easier on the racedeck than it does on the concrete. Moving my Quickjack lift around is also much easier on the racedeck floor. The Quickjack rolls better on the wheels and for pushing it flat under the car. Actually, it was a pain to position the Quickjack under the car on concrete. With the racedeck it slides nicely. I really like my freeflow racedeck floor. I would show pictures but can't figure out how to send them.

 

[RaceDeck1]

I roll around a 550 lb snowmobile on dollies on top my freeflow racedeck floor all the time. No damage. It rolls easier on the racedeck than it does on the concrete. Moving my Quickjack lift around is also much easier on the racedeck floor. The Quickjack rolls better on the wheels and for pushing it flat under the car. Actually, it was a pain to position the Quickjack under the car on concrete. With the racedeck it slides nicely. I really like my freeflow racedeck floor. I would show pictures but can't figure out how to send them.

Thanks for the kind words.. and if you are online IG or FB tag us @racedeck we'd love to see it.

 

[Doocruze]

For those with RaceDeck open tiles. Could you please bounce a basketball on it and let me know if the ball bounces true? I know it’s a strange request, but I am using my future garage as a kids play space and car workshop, so would like to find a flooring that suits both activities. Thanks!!

I pumped up the kids basket ball and it bounced just fine on the Freeflow Racedeck. It did make a little hollow noise over the areas with cracks and uneven concrete below the Racedeck floor. The Racedeck is hiding some poor concrete. Over the solid flat areas the ball bounced with normal noise. The ball bounced true in all cases. Hope that answers your question.

 

[gb99]

I pumped up the kids basket ball and it bounced just fine on the Freeflow Racedeck. It did make a little hollow noise over the areas with cracks and uneven concrete below the Racedeck floor. The Racedeck is hiding some poor concrete. Over the solid flat areas the ball bounced with normal noise. The ball bounced true in all cases. Hope that answers your question.

@Doocruze: thank you so much for doing that! I haven't logged onto GJ in a while so just saw this. Have a great weekend.

 

[Mark in Baltimore]

I use the same plastic material that real estate signs are made of when jacking up the car on my Swisstrax. A couple of pieces is all you need, and they don’t take up very much room. Easy to handle, and easy to roll a floor jack onto and off of. I do have about half a dozen pieces sitting in the garage just in case, but I usually only need two pieces, each one being about 30” x 40”.

 

[RaceDeck1]

For those with RaceDeck open tiles. Could you please bounce a basketball on it and let me know if the ball bounces true? I know it’s a strange request, but I am using my future garage as a kids play space and car workshop, so would like to find a flooring that suits both activities. Thanks!!

You should drop us a line and get info on our other Sports division SNAPSPORTS® http://www.snapsports.com - we do many garages, barns, and indoor gyms - as well as outdoor courts

 

[CJDave]

My floor jack, a NAPA 2 ton unit, rolls fine on my Free Flow when jacking or just pushing it around. The wrong type of jack stand legs will mar the tiles though. I use some thin plywood pads under one set of mine. Another set has the leg bottom edges turned under and are fine against the floor. I had a catastrophic engine failure a couple of years ago. I pulled and re-installed the engine and 4 speed in my garage. My tool box, floor jack, engine hoist and engine stand all rolled just fine. CJDave.

 

[dogzbody1]

I've had professionally installed epoxy and Race Deck. on moving into a new house this summer I installed Race Deck before doing anything else.
Epoxy is pretty to start but slippery as hell when wet, sure you can add chips (I even had what I would consider a reasonable amount) but then it holds dirt and dust and is still slippery as ice. The second time her majesty fell I was informed that I had to do something about. I chose to cover it with Race Deck and have never looked back. And even with a professional install (diamond grinding etc. I was getting considerable lifting and poooing in 2 years.)
I have the diamond pattern but never noticed the jack not rolling as I lifted the car. I've done multiple engine and transmission swaps on the Race Deck and it still cleans up nicely.
Too each their own, Race Deck for me.

 

[CJDave]

dogzbody1, I agree with you. As others here have said the floor finish should match the use. I don't weld and heavy maintenance is seldom. Thank God. Dumping chemicals on my floor to make it slipperier than the bare concrete didn't seem like a good idea to me. My neighbor did that. I learned from his experience. Love my Free Flow. It isn't for everyone. I get that.
In the flooring section of this forum there seems to be many more people with issues involving floor coatings than issues with tiles. Issues like bubbling, smells that linger for weeks, can't use it for days, the preparation before applying. No flakes, yes flakes and how much flakes. Contractors that don't know what went wrong. Not for me. CJDave.