How Did You Determine Race D FF or conventional?

[davidless]

Hi All,

What a great sight, here’s my garage flooring dilemma, I welcome everyone’s opinion and ideas.

On the plus side I’ve narrowed my new floor down to plastic tile, on the negative side I can’t decide on free flow or solid tiles, yes. I’ve spent most of the morning and afternoon reading everyone’s postings. What I’ve concluded is most people are using the free flow tile. Both types have their benefits, I’m just trying to decide which will be best for me.

Some garage information:

2 car garage about 400 sq ft poured in 1985 located in Buffalo N.Y.
Pitted where cars were parked, very minimal cracks, if any, not in bad shape IMO.

What I park and use my garage for:
My beloved Walker lawn tractor, a large twin track Honda snow thrower, work bench, tool box with castors, metal band saw, metal bench top Drill Mill and maybe some chairs and a beer frig. And maybe more stuff to follow.

I used to park my SUV in there but this year chose not to because of the salt eating away my concrete. Maybe would consider again once I straighten everything out.

I typically hose clean 2-3’x a year and sweep/vacuum the rest. Seems I get a lot of debris when keeping the door open and hate sweeping because everything gets covered in dust. Vacuuming OK but takes too long compared to the large broom.

I don’t wash anything in there but do tinker with my toys i.e., I’m a MODOHOULIC.

No one on here seems to be concerned with the moisture coming up through the FF tiles in the winter time from melted snow, would it be best to seal first or use a vapor barrier. I know many people that park their motorcycles on plastic in the winter because of this.

Since the solid tile doesn’t offer any water resistance below it seems the concrete won’t dry as quickly as the FF. I’m also worried about small parts getting into FF tile, what have people encountered? How about dogs walking on the FF?

I guess this is a good start

Thanks again for any help in deciding

David

 

[padre1964]

I have the same thoughts as you on this decision. Looking forward to others replies.
I also question moving toolboxes and my work stool thats on wheels around on ff tiles.

 

[Shea]

The first thing I would recommend is to clean your concrete real well and then apply a siliconate sealer before you install your tile of choice. A good siliconate sealer will cost less than $50 for a 2 car garage. It's easy to apply and will protect your concrete from road salts and prevent further damage.

You shouldn't worry as much about which tile is going to allow the concrete to dry faster. The solid tiles will let water through, but it's very little. You would have to flood the tiles with a hose to get much water through to the surface. The better brands allow for air movement under the tile which will facilitate in the drying process anyhow.

Both designs work well for what you want to do. I believe someone here posted about their dogs walking on the FF all the time without issue. You should get a few responses from people here about both types.

Good luck with your decision and have some fun with it!

 

[davidless]

The first thing I would recommend is to clean your concrete real well and then apply a siliconate sealer before you install your tile of choice. A good siliconate sealer will cost less than $50 for a 2 car garage. It's easy to apply and will protect your concrete from road salts and prevent further damage.

You shouldn't worry as much about which tile is going to allow the concrete to dry faster. The solid tiles will let water through, but it's very little. You would have to flood the tiles with a hose to get much water through to the surface. The better brands allow for air movement under the tile which will facilitate in the drying process anyhow.

Both designs work well for what you want to do. I believe someone here posted about their dogs walking on the FF all the time without issue. You should get a few responses from people here about both types.

Good luck with your decision and have some fun with it!

Thanks for the sealer advice, since my concrete is pretty clean do you recommend any type of etching or acid washing before applying?

david

 

[Shea]

As long as your concrete will absorb water and not bead on the surface you will not need to etch it for a sealer. If it does bead at the surface then you may need a mild acid etch.

 

[dubber]

Like Shea mentioned above do clean and apply a sealer before you put your tile choice in. I went with RaceDeck FreeFlow tiles in my current garage (and my last) it does come down to personal preference 100%. I chose this route as i like the ideas of the snow being able to melt through the tiles and then flow out the sloped garage. Same applies to washing and detailing the car in the garage. Avoids puddles and dries quickly.