John Harry
Active member
Particular thanks to Jennifer Storms at Snaplock (Racedeck) for patiently answering my many questions.
When ordering, ask Racedeck about a Garage Journal member discount. It saved me money.
Cleaning and painting the garage was a real chore, but putting down the tile itself was pretty easy. The majority of the time was spent measuring and cutting. I'm really happy with how it turned out.
Here's a few notes that might help others. These ideas aren't all mine but they helped me.
When creating your design try to consider how it will look after cabinets, tools, etc. are in place. You don't want to make a great design that will be covered up.
Measure, measure, then measure again. Draw pictures and/or make notes. Plan out ahead of time where each tile is going to go, how tiles will be laid around obstructions, etc. Mis-cutting a bunch of tile would be expensive. I put down over 500 tiles, of which 71 had to be cut. I started with 1 spare tile, finished with 1 spare tile!
Find the most visible and straightest wall and start there. Unless your floor is really out of square you'll be able to cut all the tiles on that wall exactly the same amount while still keeping the design centered and the expansion gap even. Make an L across the front and down that wall.
If you're not using a rip guide on your saw, snap them together and cut several at once, using the kerf from the previous cut as a guide rather than measuring each one.
I found that ramp tiles don't have to be lined up with the square tiles they fit into, so long as a set of loops and tabs match up. By starting my ramp tiles 6" in from the edge of a square tile I was able to accommodate 8' overhead doors without any cutting and patching.
Snapping the tiles together with a rubber mallet may be easier than stepping on them, particularly if you (or your lovely wife who is helping you) aren't very heavy.
Thanks for choosing RaceDeck