2 month RaceDeck review- my experience thus far

93TOY · Jun 28, 2013

For those of you who are on the fence, here are my thoughts and feedback having lived with my FreeFlow since mid-April.

OUTSTANDING!

As I mentioned in my thread in the "Garage Gallery", the ordering process and the customer service was great. Installation was super-smooth and as easy as advertised. Overall first impression was "WOW!!".

So now it's been a couple of months and I have to say I'm still in love!

To give you guys an idea on how I use my garage (and the floor), it serves two purposes: 1) It is where my wife parks whatever she is daily driving, and 2) it's where I detail 7-10 cars a month and do some mild wrenching.

When my wife parks in there, she's driving either the 4Runner or a 370Z. She pulls in there after having driven in any kind of weather and we've had a VERY wet spring where I live. It's so nice how the water just runs down in the grooves meaning no slick surface to walk on! Water runs down to the concrete and runs back outside or evaporates. no problems at all. When she pulls the vehicles in, a small amount of grass clippings will be left behind on the RaceDeck. However it easily vacuums up with my shop vac which I have out anyway when I detail.

When I detail, it does seem to offer a slight bit of shock absorption as opposed to standing on concrete while I'm working. No downfalls at all for detailing on it. When wrenching, I have dropped a few small nuts or washers that fell down through the FreeFlow, but they were easily recovered with a magnet. I still haven't had to remove a tile yet.

I still haven't mopped it yet. Only vaccumed with the shop vac and it still looks GREAT! Color is vibrant, doesn't move, mild expansion/contraction. (FWIW- my garage door faces north, no direct sunlight hits the flooring)

I was a little concerned about my shop dogs nails getting caught in the grooves, but there has been no problems, in fact she likes to lay on it!

The coolest thing is the "wow" factor. I am amazed how many non-car/ non-garage people have seen it and their jaw hits the ground. The words "garage envy" have been said more than once! And it makes a great impression on my detail clients.

Anyway, I just wanted to offer an update and say that from what I've seen so far, this was some money well spent. Thanks again RaceDeck!!

A few pics (right after installation, but it still looks the same) for reference.

wingrider · Jun 29, 2013

Looks great mate, especially like the use of the lights on the walls.

69bigblok · Jun 29, 2013

Looks great! Thanks for the update. I've had racedeck before and looking to do freeflow like yours this time around so I'm glad to hear the good review. Very nice space you have.

93TOY · Jun 29, 2013

Thanks guys!

RaceDeck1 · Jun 30, 2013

Your garage looks great and I also love the light set-up. Thank you again for Choosing RaceDeck and taking the time to follow up :thumbup:

LegacyIndustrial · Jun 30, 2013

Ditto the lights. Very sharp.

TONE · Jun 30, 2013

I guess I'm the odd ball. Those lights scare the **** out of me.

pattenp · Jun 30, 2013

I'm with you. Looks like an accident waiting to happen.

TONE said:
I guess I'm the odd ball. Those lights scare the **** out of me.

rockchucker · Jun 30, 2013

For detailing that is almost a must with the lights on the walls. Overhead lights just don't cut the mustard.

Great use of space and a nice garage you have there!

TONE · Jul 1, 2013

I agree that lights on the walls are a good idea for detailing. However, those (florescent) lights scare "me"

I would think LED or something that isn't so prone to breaking would work well.

Just my 2 cents.

rockchucker said:
For detailing that is almost a must with the lights on the walls. Overhead lights just don't cut the mustard.

Great use of space and a nice garage you have there!

pattenp · Jul 1, 2013

I came back to say the floor does look great. But off topic again, do you have plastic safety sleeves on the tubes on the wall mounted lights? Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

M17715 · Jul 1, 2013

OMG!! That looks beautiful!! Thanks for showing us the pictures.

Jim B · Jul 1, 2013

rockchucker said:
For detailing that is almost a must with the lights on the walls. Overhead lights just don't cut the mustard.

Great use of space and a nice garage you have there!

Lights should have some kind of housing over them for safety. Then they would cut the MUSTER (mustard is for sandwiches).

93TOY · Jul 1, 2013

Thanks for the compliments guys!

As for the lights (MAN, they are the buzz!), if you look up my remodel over in the garage gallery you can hear the story of the lights.

They are indeed there for the detailing as light is essential. And yes, they do have sleeves over them.

We have no children, so it's either me the wife or an occassional buddy out there. I'm pretty sure the original lights (mounted 4 feet high) were put in place around 1996-97. In all of those years no broken bulbs. I must be living right, or else I'm just cautious but I don't feel like I'm walking on eggshells out there. Of course, generally speaking I don't run into walls much! Ha ha!

Anyway, thanks for the concern but I wouldn't have it any other way!

jbogacki · Jul 2, 2013

How are the black tiles with dust from your shoes and normal foot traffic? Do your shoes leave a lot of marks? Im on the fence between the black and graphite.

Mickm · Jul 2, 2013

Your garage looks awesome and the RaceDeck is a big factor.

I to have RaceDeck flooring and am very pleased with it.

Cheers!
Mickm

93TOY · Jul 2, 2013

jbogacki said:
How are the black tiles with dust from your shoes and normal foot traffic? Do your shoes leave a lot of marks? Im on the fence between the black and graphite.

Dust really isn't present since it's concrete and established yard outside. However, this was a really bad pollen season (shortly after install) and surprisingly it doesn't look too bad! No shoe marks at all.

I bought a string mop since some of the FreeFlow owners say running over the floor with the mop occasionally makes it like new again, but I haven't used it yet. As mentioned, my worst problem (which is minimal) is some grass clippings which are easily and quickly removed with the shop vac.

I've looked at the black tiles in areas that have no foot or vehicle traffic and you can see a very slight amount of pollen. I would not hesitate to order black again.

340wedge · Jul 3, 2013

The floor looks great and I love the color scheme you chose :beer:

. I'm thinking of copying it! I have seen Racedeck in person but not the free flow tile. How much of the garage floor can you see through the free flow? I don't want to look down and see a lot of the old floor through the free flow vented areas. Thank you

93TOY · Jul 3, 2013

340wedge said:
The floor looks great and I love the color scheme you chose. I'm thinking of copying it! I have seen Racedeck in person but not the free flow tile. How much of the garage floor can you see through the free flow? I don't want to look down and see a lot of the old floor through the free flow vented areas. Thank you

If you look straight down onto it, you can see the underlying floor a little. But if you're at much of an angle (other than directly above looking straight down) you can't see much of the floor at all.

69bigblok · Jul 4, 2013

I had that same concern since parts of my floor are ugly. Amazingly it really hides the old floor slab below very well and I'm planning to put my free flow down without messing with the old slab.

Hey 340Wedge - Call and get some free samples. That is what I did to test dropping it down in different areas to see how much of the "old" floor I could see before ordering.

Periodic · Jul 4, 2013

may i ask, how wide is your stall, inside to inside?

Do you find it "tight" to work around a car?

93TOY · Jul 11, 2013

Periodic said:
may i ask, how wide is your stall, inside to inside?

Do you find it "tight" to work around a car?

I think it's 13' 1/2" wide by 18" deep, and yes it's tight depending on the size of the car.

When my wifes 370Z is parked in there it's fine. When our 4Runner is in there it gets tight. When I detail and have an Escalade or a full size 4-door pickup in there it is MAXED OUT. I would love to have more space, but in my opinion too much could never be enough when it comes to garage space!

93TOY · Jul 11, 2013

A few pics of the floor after a couple of months.

Keep in mind, whatever the wife is daily driving parks in here every night. With all of the rain we've had (22" ahead for the year!), the floor has seen it's share of water runoff from the cars. I also detail in here.

I haven't mopped it yet! (I know I should!) Hit it with the shop vac about once a week to remove grass clippings.

I couldn't be happier with the flooring!

dubber · Jul 12, 2013

Looks great! Nice idea for the follow-up that will definitely benefit people hesitating to click the 'Checkout' button on RD's website.

BTW your a better husband then me lol.....Wifey's car stays outside

93TOY · Jul 12, 2013

dubber said:
Looks great! Nice idea for the follow-up that will definitely benefit people hesitating to click the 'Checkout' button on RD's website.

BTW your a better husband then me lol.....Wifey's car stays outside

The way I look at it.....for most average Joe's (like myself) the Racedeck is a pretty significant investment. So I wanted to give an un-biased review of my experience. It probably doesn't sound un-biased because of my praise of their product, but I really have been that happy with my investment!

As for being the good husband, I always kid her about HER 370 and HER 4Runner and all I have is an old wore out Dodge Charger! Haha! Since mine is a "company car" it always stays out. Whatever she is currently driving (about 2 weeks at a time) goes in the garage each night, and whatever she isn't driving at the moment is outside under a California Car Cover. She's got it MADE! LOL!

mdameron · Jul 12, 2013

What does the stuff look like up close? Does it have grooves in it? How do you clean spills? Does it stain?

93TOY · Jul 12, 2013

mdameron said:
What does the stuff look like up close? Does it have grooves in it? How do you clean spills? Does it stain?

That one shot above is the most up close shot I have. Yes, there are grooves in it that expose the floor below. I haven't had any spills on it yet, but anything fluid is going to run right through it. Wet cars pull in and the water runs through the tiles, lays on the floor and evaporates. No experience with stains yet.

Best word of advice, if you're interested contact Racedeck and they will send you sample tiles that you can check out. For me, all of the pictures on here really raised my curiosity, but having sample tiles in hand sealed the deal.

55cadillacking · Aug 1, 2013

One pitfall of the FreeFlow:

My wife got her expensive high heel shoe caught in one of the grooves. She was not impressed. Be warned!

dubber · Aug 2, 2013

55cadillacking said:
One pitfall of the FreeFlow:

My wife got her expensive high heel shoe caught in one of the grooves. She was not impressed. Be warned!

Well I'm sure the driveway would be fine. You could suggest that she parks outside.....HEHEHE....

frizz · Aug 2, 2013

I'm curious regarding detailing. I occasionally detail my own cars now, used to do a few a week. I'd be concerned about build up over time with polishing dust and what not either in the grooves or sitting below the tile. Or just splatter. You know, the occasional "oops ran the buffer too high for a second." Anyone ever have that happen? I'd be curious as how you can clean the grooves out unless you just use a pressure washer?

MSG C5 · Aug 2, 2013

Very nice. I like the black, red and charcoal combination. It looks great matched up with the colors of your walls and house!

I also like the side wall lighting. A friend of mine installed a 4-post lift (on top of his Racedeck floor) and the lights really come in handy at that level when working underneath the car.

How easy are the Freeflow tiles to maintain clean? What about the dust/dirt that normally settles on top of the floor/tiles? Do you vacuum it out do something else?

My friend's Racedeck floor is all diamond tile and he uses a large commercial-grade floor duster as his floor always looks good.

RaceDeck1 · Aug 2, 2013

Thank you for taking the time post an update on your RaceDeck floor ( and of course choosing RaceDeck, we know you have other options out there). I am going to share you input with our sales & manufacturing team as well!

Your garage really looks great!

93TOY said:
For those of you who are on the fence, here are my thoughts and feedback having lived with my FreeFlow since mid-April.

OUTSTANDING!

As I mentioned in my thread in the "Garage Gallery", the ordering process and the customer service was great. Installation was super-smooth and as easy as advertised. Overall first impression was "WOW!!".

So now it's been a couple of months and I have to say I'm still in love!

To give you guys an idea on how I use my garage (and the floor), it serves two purposes: 1) It is where my wife parks whatever she is daily driving, and 2) it's where I detail 7-10 cars a month and do some mild wrenching.

When my wife parks in there, she's driving either the 4Runner or a 370Z. She pulls in there after having driven in any kind of weather and we've had a VERY wet spring where I live. It's so nice how the water just runs down in the grooves meaning no slick surface to walk on! Water runs down to the concrete and runs back outside or evaporates. no problems at all. When she pulls the vehicles in, a small amount of grass clippings will be left behind on the RaceDeck. However it easily vacuums up with my shop vac which I have out anyway when I detail.

When I detail, it does seem to offer a slight bit of shock absorption as opposed to standing on concrete while I'm working. No downfalls at all for detailing on it. When wrenching, I have dropped a few small nuts or washers that fell down through the FreeFlow, but they were easily recovered with a magnet. I still haven't had to remove a tile yet.

I still haven't mopped it yet. Only vaccumed with the shop vac and it still looks GREAT! Color is vibrant, doesn't move, mild expansion/contraction. (FWIW- my garage door faces north, no direct sunlight hits the flooring)

I was a little concerned about my shop dogs nails getting caught in the grooves, but there has been no problems, in fact she likes to lay on it!

The coolest thing is the "wow" factor. I am amazed how many non-car/ non-garage people have seen it and their jaw hits the ground. The words "garage envy" have been said more than once! And it makes a great impression on my detail clients.

Anyway, I just wanted to offer an update and say that from what I've seen so far, this was some money well spent. Thanks again RaceDeck!!

A few pics (right after installation, but it still looks the same) for reference.

rshadd · Aug 2, 2013

That looks great!

93TOY · Aug 2, 2013

55cadillac- Thankfully the wife hasn't gotten any of her shoes caught.....YET! I never really considered that happening, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time! LOL!

As for the questions regarding cleaning issues, keep in mind that the most recent pics were taken after several months of use and the only cleaning I've done is the previously mentioned "run the shop vac over any grass clippings". No mopping yet, and you see what I've got. I will likely mop it soon, but it just doesn't seem to need it too badly.

As for detailing. I'm using a Porter Cable 7424 and foam pads which create very little dust. And if I'm spattering or throwing product, I'm using way too much product, so residue from detailing is really a non-issue.

Funny story- I had a new detail client stop by today as I was working on another clients Tahoe. He was discussing how he wanted me to detail his wifes Murano, but he kept coming back to my floor! We finally got the appointment lined up, but he just kept asking about the floor! He said he had seen it online but had never seen it in person, couldn't believe how good it looked, etc!

I have no doubt that when he got home his wife heard more about my floor than about her upcoming detail!

Jorgen- You may have to set me up on some kind of comission, because I think I'm going to sell some tiles! LOL!

fedwin3 · Aug 2, 2013

Looks like main floor is mix of black and graphite, correct? How did you get 2 shades of red? I believe RD only sells one standard red color.

2CWG · Aug 3, 2013

fedwin3 said:
Looks like main floor is mix of black and graphite, correct? How did you get 2 shades of red? I believe RD only sells one standard red color.

If I'm not mistaken, the appearance of "2 shades of red" is a visual illusion caused by the surface structure of the FreeFlow style tile.

93TOY · Aug 3, 2013

2CWG is correct. It's just an illusion. And you are correct about the black and graphite.

pepi · Aug 3, 2013

2CWG said:
If I'm not mistaken, the appearance of "2 shades of red" is a visual illusion caused by the surface structure of the FreeFlow style tile.

In plan english he is saying they are turned 180 when set.

rkirshner · Aug 3, 2013

hi the floor looks great . may i ask a question. i live in the northeast. during the winter months the roads have salt and ash on them . what happens to all this debris (and the usual dirt and gravel on tires) that falls into the empty space of the tiles. does it just collect on the concrete floor below
thanks

93TOY · Aug 3, 2013

rkirshner said:
hi the floor looks great . may i ask a question. i live in the northeast. during the winter months the roads have salt and ash on them . what happens to all this debris (and the usual dirt and gravel on tires) that falls into the empty space of the tiles. does it just collect on the concrete floor below
thanks

Simply answered, "yes". Everything just falls through unless it is large enough it won't fit.

In my case, our vehicles rarely go on dirt or gravel roads and we haven't been through a winter with the Racedeck yet. Salt and sand is primarily what they spread here, but the roads the wife travels to work are highly maintained so the vehicles don't usually have much hanging on them when they come inside. They're usually wet but nothing caked up on them like you might see up north.

For conditions like you're questioning you'd probably want to ask 55cadillacking since he knows what REAL winters are like! (Unlike myself!)1

2 month RaceDeck review- my experience thus far

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