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RaceDeck Free Flow or not?

M

Maxx2

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Aug 30, 2013
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Hi,

New to this forum and have already spent hours reading all the build threads. I have a 1 car garage which thanks to this forum I have begun to upgrade.

Flooring is the most important part of this project and I have decided to use RaceDeck flooring. I received my samples of CircleTrac and Free Flow but can't decide which I prefer. The numerous threads with the Free Flow tiles really are impressive as the light reflecting off them really gives them a unique and high-tech look. When looking at the sample tile however it does not have the appearance of a very high end high quality product (which I know they are). The subfloor showing right through them when looking straight down is quite an ugly sight.

Does anyone regret choosing the Free Flow design? Have you seen a complete floor with the CircleTrac as well? Which yields the best looking quality finished product?

Thanks!
 
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UNDERPLANE

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Aug 21, 2013
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Just finished my floor using Race Deck diamond design. Considered the Circle Trac, but the wife vetoed it. I think the Free Flow looks great but my floor does not have any slope to it so that I could hose the debris away.
 
S

SlowPoke-Canada

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London, Ontario
I don't have either but I'm on the fence too.
I think they all look great so it may come down to functionality for me.

I don't wash cars or track much debris in the garage but I do handle a lot of small parts and create a fair amount of sawdust. I think for me that would make free flow least beneficial.

Having said that... you can mix & match Race Deck. I might benefit from a strip or two of free flow at the door for the odd time snow gets tracked in.
 
M

MSG C5

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Sarasota Area
I'm in my garage flooring R&D phase as well. :lol:

I have samples of RaceDeck Freeflow, RaceDeck Diamond and Swisstrax Ribtrax (Similar to Freeflow).

A few observations...

Anyone who is concerned about the hollow or "click-clack" sound should consider the open face Freeflow or Ribtrax design as it significantly reduces the echo sound associated with the solid surface tiles. I performed a test where I dropped a quarter on each tile. The sound when the quarter hit the RaceDeck Diamond was very loud. Sort of like dropping a quarter on a pergo faux wood floor. When I dropped the quarter on the RaceDeck Freeflow tile, the sound was a lot quieter and more muted. Sort of like a softer, rubber surface. So if the hollow sound is an issue for you, the Freeflow is the better choice as the sound will be a non-issue on a full floor. In fact, I bet the overall garage echo will probably be muted as the floor tiles will probably help absorb sound.

IMO, the Swisstrax product is geared more torward commercial or industrial applications. It is a beefier product, larger in size (15.75 inch squares vs. 12 inch RaceDeck squares) and thicker as well. While this is good, I also noticed it was more difficult to vaccum up dirt and other garage floor junk through the Swisstrax than it was the RaceDeck. You can slightly bend the smaller RaceDeck Freeflow tiles but you cannot bend the larger Swisstrax Ribtrax tiles at all. Also, the Ribtrax grid-like pattern seems to show less of the floor underneath than the RaceDeck Freeflow tiles probably due to the thicker tile and the additional cross-beams underneath. Unlike the RaceDeck Freeflow, the Swisstrax Ribtrax also have an X-pattern that appears on the top of the tile which IMO sort of distorts the 3D cross-pattern visual effect of the tiles so I personally like the looks of the RaceDeck Freeflow better.

What I cannot understand is why Swisstrax decided to engineer their tiles in such odd configurations. Why 15.75 inches?! IMO, it makes it more difficult to measure out and design a floor. Plus their other style tiles cannot mix/match and they come in different sizes based on the design. The RaceDeck tiles can be intermixed. It would be a lot easier comparison if I was comparing a 12" RaceDeck tile to a 12" Swisstrax tile.

The RaceDeck tiles also tend to lock in a little tighter than the Swisstrax tiles primarily because their hook and loop tabs are larger than the tabs on the (larger) Swisstrax tiles. :dunno:

It makes for a really tough decision, however I think both brands are high quality and will work well for any residential application. The Swisstrax will be more expensive per tile, but you will need less of them to cover the same square footage. However as mentioned, they are beefier and feel more commercial. I think their colors are a little more muted than RaceDeck also. The RaceDeck beige is almost an exact match to my existing floor epoxy and I like their graphite color as well. The Swisstrax ivory is the closest to the beige I can find and it has more of a yellow-ish tint and their gray tiles are not very dark compared to the RaceDeck graphite. I guess it comes down to a matter of personal taste.





 
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B

bigmak

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MSG C5 said:
What I cannot understand is why Swisstrax decided to engineer their tiles in such odd configurations. Why 15.75 inches?! IMO, it makes it more difficult to measure out and design a floor.
Click to expand...

15.75 inches = 400 mm. Swisstrax is a "Swiss designed, American made" brand so it shouldn't be surprising that their products are metric based.
 
G

Garage Flooring

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Wow. Really great analysis. Both Swisstrax (or TrueLock Plus Ribbed) and Racedeck make great products. When it comes to the solid tile, I believe it is a matter of personal preference. I can make some great arguments for the solid tile and I'm sure Jorgen can make some great arguments for his Racedeck products. Both are American Made, quality products.

On the Ribbed tile, I do not believe their is any comparison. The other great think about the Swisstrax or TrueLock ribbed tile is no matter how much direct sun they seem to get, they never have an expansion and contraction issue.
 
M

MSG C5

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Sarasota Area
bigmak said:
15.75 inches = 400 mm. Swisstrax is a "Swiss designed, American made" brand so it shouldn't be surprising that their products are metric based.
Click to expand...

I can appreciate that. I guess I need to re-measure my garage plan in meters. However, it's strange that each different tile option has different measurements. I guess their strategy is to not intermix the tile designs.

BTW, while working out in my garage today (moving and installing all my Gladiator gear lockers/cabinets onto the walls using their geartracks), I placed both my sample RaceDeck and Swisstrax tiles on the floor near the garage door opening. It was a typical, sunny and hot, late summer day in Florida where the temperature hit the low 90s. Both tiles seemed to be fine with no curling or major expansion. I measured both tiles before/after and did not notice any significant change. Both have been sitting in garage for a couple weeks so I'm sure they have already expanded. Since they are black tiles, they were both pretty hot to the touch afterwards.
 
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S

Stee6043

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West Michigan
I have no regrets going with FreeFlow. With a Michigan winter I can't imagine having a solid tile in my garage (daily drivers). Just my two cents though.

In terms of subfloor I'd have to agree to a certain extent. I covered a gray epoxy with my free flow so it looks great. If I saw bare concrete I'm not sure I would have loved it as much. Cheap fix with the black "anti clack" fabric, however.
 
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M

Maxx2

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Lots of great information! Thanks to everyone!!

I'm really leaning towards the Free flow for the visual aspect primarily. I do not wash any cars in the garage and do not have any reason to expect any fluids being dropped on the floor except for rain drip from a wet car.

I considered using the landscaping fabric under the tiles but do not like the idea of getting build up on top and below the fabric. I'm not sure but the possibility for mold growth is also there I would suspect.

I could put down a nice layer of cement paint in a black color before putting the tiles down but not sure if that will last very long.

Would like to place my order tomorrow but not 100% sure. I also considered ordering a small 4x4 section of each tile and put them down side by side. Not sure what I would do with the ones I decide not to use though.
 
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MSG C5

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Maxx2 said:
Lots of great information! Thanks to everyone!!

I'm really leaning towards the Free flow for the visual aspect primarily. I do not wash any cars in the garage and do not have any reason to expect any fluids being dropped on the floor except for rain drip from a wet car.

I considered using the landscaping fabric under the tiles but do not like the idea of getting build up on top and below the fabric. I'm not sure but the possibility for mold growth is also there I would suspect.

I could put down a nice layer of cement paint in a black color before putting the tiles down but not sure if that will last very long.

Would like to place my order tomorrow but not 100% sure. I also considered ordering a small 4x4 section of each tile and put them down side by side. Not sure what I would do with the ones I decide not to use though.
Click to expand...

If you go with Freeflow, I think you should skip the additional fabric, especially if your concern is about the hollow sound as the Freeflow basically has no echo compared to the solid tiles.

If your concern is the look of the floor underneath the tiles, perhaps you should apply a big box store cement epoxy before laying down the tiles. I have residential grade epoxy on my floor and it has held up pretty well with the exception of the areas where my wet, rain-soaked, hot Florida tires rested. That's where it lifted prompting me to install rubber pads. As a result, I have no issue in laying down Freeflow tiles over the floor as it should look fine.
 
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M

Maxx2

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MSG C5 said:
If you go with Freeflow, I think you should skip the additional fabric, especially if your concern is about the hollow sound as the Freeflow basically has no echo compared to the solid tiles.

If your concern is the look of the floor underneath the tiles, perhaps you should apply a big box store cement epoxy before laying down the tiles. I have residential grade epoxy on my floor and it has held up pretty well with the exception of the areas where my wet, rain-soaked, hot Florida tires rested. That's where it lifted prompting me to install rubber pads. As a result, I have no issue in laying down Freeflow tiles over the floor as it should look fine.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

My main concern is the look of the bare cement underneath. I may try the landscape fabric first and see how it holds up. If it begins to deteriorate then I will lift the tiles and do a DIY epoxy coating and dump the fabric.

Sounds like I've made up my mind! Going to re-measure tonight one more time before placing my order tomorrow.

I will post updates when I have them.

Thanks.
 
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F

fredrok

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Sep 7, 2013
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Evergreen, CO
Greetings all,

A question for you more Northern characters, I'm considering the free flow also, but primarily to allow a place for the snow melt to go instead of pooling in the garage. Anyone with that experience that can share how it works out and if it's simple enough to just lift the garage door side edge and kind of hose the sand and salt out periodically?

Thanks
 
R

RaceDeck1

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Salt Lake City , Utah
fredrok said:
Greetings all,

A question for you more Northern characters, I'm considering the free flow also, but primarily to allow a place for the snow melt to go instead of pooling in the garage. Anyone with that experience that can share how it works out and if it's simple enough to just lift the garage door side edge and kind of hose the sand and salt out periodically?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Hi
We are based here in Salt Lake City, so we know about snowy roads and FreeFlow is great for this type of climate. All of our modular flooring are properly channeled underneath, so whatever goes through the top surface can run out through the channel. Our multi-patent locking system is another very important feature that sets us apart from the others out there.. Also, remember with RaceDeck you can mix and match our various styles in solid and ribbed.
 
F

fredrok

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Evergreen, CO
Thank you. I'm shooting for free flow with a diamond border and edge trim, not only for looks but thinking that setup may also help "contain" the water for evaporation. Would I be correct in that assumption?
 
R

RaceDeck1

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fredrok said:
Thank you. I'm shooting for free flow with a diamond border and edge trim, not only for looks but thinking that setup may also help "contain" the water for evaporation. Would I be correct in that assumption?
Click to expand...

I am not sure what you mean by 'contain' - but FreeFlow has a fantastic air circulation throughout the module
 
G

Garage Flooring

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There are lots of garage floor tiles in different sizes and brands. We uploaded a very simple spreadsheet to help with the calculations of almost any brand. http://www.garageflooringllc.com/tile-cheat-sheet/

Before you go to True Value and buy a metric tape measure :drool: the easiest way to do it is to convert width and length to inches. So for example. If my garage is 20' 6" , it is 246 inches wide. Using The TrueLock Plus or Swisstrax ribbed product that would round up to 16 tiles wide. If it was 30' deep, that would be 360 inches deep which would be rounded up to about 23 tiles (360/15.75). So for that size garage you would be looking at 368 tiles.



MSG C5 said:
I can appreciate that. I guess I need to re-measure my garage plan in meters. However, it's strange that each different tile option has different measurements. I guess their strategy is to not intermix the tile designs.

BTW, while working out in my garage today (moving and installing all my Gladiator gear lockers/cabinets onto the walls using their geartracks), I placed both my sample RaceDeck and Swisstrax tiles on the floor near the garage door opening. It was a typical, sunny and hot, late summer day in Florida where the temperature hit the low 90s. Both tiles seemed to be fine with no curling or major expansion. I measured both tiles before/after and did not notice any significant change. Both have been sitting in garage for a couple weeks so I'm sure they have already expanded. Since they are black tiles, they were both pretty hot to the touch afterwards.
Click to expand...
 
F

fredrok

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Evergreen, CO
RaceDeck1 said:
I am not sure what you mean by 'contain' - but FreeFlow has a fantastic air circulation throughout the module
Click to expand...

Sorry, I mean if I run the diamond tiles around the perimeter with free-flows in the center, will the water still be able to seep past/under the perimeter tiles towards the walls, etc. or will they help "contain" the water within/under the free flows so it may evaporate.

....and it seems I've hijacked the post now, my aplologies. Last question, promise!
 
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RaceDeck1

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fredrok said:
Sorry, I mean if I run the diamond tiles around the perimeter with free-flows in the center, will the water still be able to seep past/under the perimeter tiles towards the walls, etc. or will they help "contain" the water within/under the free flows so it may evaporate.

....and it seems I've hijacked the post now, my aplologies. Last question, promise!
Click to expand...

ask away :) - The FreeFlow has the max evaporation and RaceDeck's patent understructure is also channeled to allow air and liquids to flow through. With the FreeFlow along side the solid, the circulation rate is increased ( = faster evaporation )
 
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911dev

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RaceDeck1 said:
Chris05gto said:
No regrets here, I still love my Free Flow floor......[/QUOTE

Happy to see you are loving your FreeFlow Floor, great garage design!
Click to expand...

I too am undecided between FreeFlow and Diamond Trac. I like the idea of FreeFlow but am concerned the ugly builder applied box store roll on paint with flakes will show through. Will the garage flow beneath show through?

Can debris be vacuumed through the FreeFlow slots?

Tnx
Click to expand...
 
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Chris05gto

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Shinnston WV
911dev said:
RaceDeck1 said:
I too am undecided between FreeFlow and Diamond Trac. I like the idea of FreeFlow but am concerned the ugly builder applied box store roll on paint with flakes will show through. Will the garage flow beneath show through?

Can debris be vacuumed through the FreeFlow slots?

Tnx
Click to expand...
I had the same ugly floor under mine and you can't see it.
You can vac through the tile, also about once a year I take out the whole section (where I park my truck and get winter dirt) out in one piece slide it out in the driveway clean it and clean the floor underneath, when done slide back and snap in.......
Click to expand...
 
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Ironhorse

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I have had both, the free flow I had about 1000sq

yes you get a lot of **** that falls thru ( small screws and jets..lol) and that is a pain. Also if you lay on it and work/kneel on it for a period of time it will leave marks and you will be sore...with that said a wash bay and or if you live in snow country this is a great product. It is hard to really see you floor beneath unless you shinning a flashlight down trying to see it.

As far as tool boxes creepers and jacks..all roll fine...I am sure a cheap metal wheel creeper will not work
 
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CSRPenFab

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Meridian Idaho
Everything in your shop will roll just fine on the RaceDeck. Ignore those who don't even have the product, yet feel inclined to be the resident critic....
 
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CJDave

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Fairfield, Ohio
fredrok said:
Greetings all,

A question for you more Northern characters, I'm considering the free flow also, but primarily to allow a place for the snow melt to go instead of pooling in the garage. Anyone with that experience that can share how it works out and if it's simple enough to just lift the garage door side edge and kind of hose the sand and salt out periodically?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Yes. Just raise the garage door and hose out the garage. I live in southwest OH and this is the 3rd winter for my Free Flow. Love it. No regrets and everyone that sees it raves about it. When the UPS driver delivered all of those boxes he asked what was inside them. I opened one box and showed him. He made me promise to flag him down when the floor was finished so he could see it. Of course I did so. When I need to wash my '69 Mach 1, I do so with it parked in the center of the garage to keep from spraying the drywall. In the shade means not having to hurry when drying the car. When I'm done I use the leftover soapy water and a soft bristled long handled brush to scrub the floor. Rinse and done. CJ Dave.
 
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CJDave

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Chris05gto said:
911dev said:
I had the same ugly floor under mine and you can't see it.
You can vac through the tile, also about once a year I take out the whole section (where I park my truck and get winter dirt) out in one piece slide it out in the driveway clean it and clean the floor underneath, when done slide back and snap in.......
Click to expand...

Contact RaceDeck for a free sample of the Free Flow and put it on your floor as a test of what you can or can't see through it. I have 500 sq. ft. of it and the floor showing through the tiles is not a concern for me. CJ Dave.
Click to expand...
 
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gasserdan

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I don't have the funds yet but I love the look of the freeflow design. If I had the money that's what I would be buying. Looks really expensive. I love how it looks like there are different colors when the light hits it.
 
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idriveahonda

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I've had FreeFlow in my 20x20 now for a couple months...absolutely love it.

Jacks roll across it perfectly fine (unless you have a cheap/old jack with small skinny wheels), same with toolboxes, carts, stools...anything.
 
S

Swissfloors

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Palm Springs, CA
Just wanted to answer a few questions.
Hello Everyone and some really good reading. I just wanted to update you on a few questions. Swisstrax does offer many new tile designs in the 15.75" (same size as Ribtrax) including the Diamondtrax, Floortrax, Vinyltrax, Turftrax, Graphictrax and now even illuminated floors. Check our our website for the new products.

The Ribtrax design features were for a reason. The tiles are 3/4" high and not 1/2" high in order to cast a shadow below the tiles so you do not see the floor. The height was also to allow for drainage below the tiles. Another feature on the connection system is that they are a hidden fix so you do not see the connections from above the tile and with the competition you can. The reason that Ribtrax are so rigid is for durability. With a 3-4,000lb. vehicle running over the top of the floor you do not want movement in the floor that might lead to tile separation when you turn into the garage at an angle. Our floors are used quite often for events where forklifts and scissor lifts run across them which no other modular floor can properly handle to my knowledge.
 
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