I just installed over 900 sq/ft of the 5.5mm "hidden" SupraTile, in a home garage. It's pretty nice stuff. With everything though, there are pros/cons. I'm not bashing the product, just telling my experience with it. So, here are some quick thoughts on the SupraTile.
My garage floor was in rough shape and don't believe epoxy would have held. So tiles were really my only option. I purchased some samples of SwissTrax and didn't care for the plastic feel. I then got a sample of the Advanta Tuffseal and they just sent over some color samples the size of an 8x10 sheet of paper. I then emailed ArmorPoxy, about getting some SupraTile samples. They sent me out 3 full tiles, for free, to try out. So, that was awesome right off the bat. I put those tiles through hell, before I decided they were going to be my choice.
Pricing was actually comparable to SwissTrax.
I chose black, as I had a "theme" going in my garage.
Disclaimer: Black looks awesome but it shows every thing. I'm pretty **** and have a Dyson near by, to vacuum every few days.
Installation was simple. It took me around 2 days, doing it myself. It's basically tongue and groove but you need a dead blow hammer, to make sure the tiles are interlocked together correctly. So prepare to get your arm workout.
Edge pieces are easily cut with a table saw.
I laid the tile under my garage door and it closed w/o activating the safety feature. So I didn't need to re-adjust anything on the garage door opener.
If you have any "dips" in your garage floor and it's not perfectly flat, then the tile can easily get mis-aligned. The tiles need to be installed precise, as if you screw it up early, your lines will be messed up later down the road and the tiles won't interlock together, regardless how much you beat on it with the hammer. Some of the "hills" in my garage floor, caused the interconnecting lines to form a "\/". But it's pretty minor and hardly noticeable.
Don't drop anything super hot on it. I was using a die grinder on a bolt and accidentally dropped the bolt. Since the bolt was hot, it instantly melted a nice bolt shape, into the tile. I had extra file left over and was easily able to replace just that one. Not a huge deal and that was my fault. Can't expect PVC to hold up to a super hot object.
Anything heavy will leave indents. But the indents disappear after a bit. For example, I'm in the middle of an engine rebuild and my engine stand wheels, left divots. I originally thought they were going to stay like that. But a day later, the divots were completely gone. Since then, I just cut some spare pieces and "doubled" up on the floor, where the metal wheels are. It will leave a divot in top piece but the bottom tile is perfect. The same logic goes to anything heavy, but is "sharp" on the bottom. For example, I have some shelving units, that the bottom legs are "L" shaped and sharp on the bottom. I figured it would just cut into the tile, from all the weight I'm putting on it. So I just cut some spare pieces and doubled up, under the legs, just in case they were to cut through.
The tile has a very strong odor to it and it has lingered in the garage. I've gotten used to it but my wife and her mom are can't take it. So they don't hang out in the garage at all. I've actually been working with Armorpoxy on this and they mentioned that they hadn't heard about this before. I never smelt it in the samples. But it smells like a mix between plastic/vinyl and some some of chemical. It's hard to explain, as it's unique. It's strong enough to get in your clothes. It's definitely the tile, as the smell arrived, when I brought the pallets into the garage. Of course, I've tried opening the garage and allowing it to off gas but it seems to return.
The tile had a yellow residue, initially on it. When I first installed it, I was on my hands and knees alot, and the tiles turned them yellow. I scrubbed the tiles down with regular handsoap and warm water to clean it. It does seems to be getting much better but I still get yellow staining, if I wear socks. I'm not sure this yellow residue is (release agent?). I've been told by ArmorPoxy, that Simple Green or Purple Power is the preferred cleaners. So I plan on cleaning the tile with Purple Power soon. Hopefully this will take away the smell too?
I've already spilled a ton of oil and coolant on the tile, while rebuilding my engine. It cleans up super easy. The only areas I'm concerned about, is where the garage floor isn't level. As I mentioned above, if the tiles aren't installed on a level surface, the interlocking lines can "\/" and cause cracks. I'm not sure if liquids could get through. It's not an issue of the tile, it's my floor. Just something to think about. Other than that, it's been about 2-3 months since I installed.
Other than the odor, I've been pretty pleased with it. The silver lining is, the odor is keeping my wife from putting all of her stuff back into the garage. So the garage is finally all mine. lol
