maxjax and tiles

[32krazy!]

i have a maxjax installed on my concrete garage floor. im thinking of doing a porcelin tile floor over the concrete.
ideas on what to do with the floor anchors? leave a square area were they are installed? lay tile over them and redrill?(what about the height difference now?) tile around the max jax then drop a flat steel plate in place when the lift is stored?

ideally i want to use 16x16 tiles in a checkerboard pattern. maybe red and black or black and gray with dark black grout at 1/8"

 

[32krazy!]

over 100 views and not a single opinion or idea?

 

[JakeKohl]

over 100 views and not a single opinion or idea?

Well don't get snarky!

I'm wondering the same thing. In my case, I haven't bought the MaxJax, installed them, or put in my tile yet (but the tile is coming soon). I intend to drill through the tile and set the anchors (making sure they are in the concrete and not the tile or mortar).

From an engineering perspective, there's no problem just tiling over your existing (known good) anchors and drilling holes in the tile to match (tricky, but possible). As long as you can keep mortar out of the anchors and maintain adequate thread engagement between the bolt and the anchor with the new elevation, there shouldn't be any issue with the maxjax and the existing anchor.

 

[skamp]

One thing you need to be a bit careful of if you tile around the column base is the clearance of the arms. When I installed mine with MotoFloor (like racedeck), I installed direct to the concrete and put the tiles around it. The arms just clear the tiles when the lift is fully lowered. If they did not you would need to lift slightly so they swing instead of dragging on the tiles. If it was me I would install and then tile after. You also gain a bit of clearance for very low cars as the bottom of the arms normally sit about 1/2" of an inch above the concrete. The bottom on my arms are almost flush with the tiles. I have a C6 corvette and although I think I would have been OK, the extra 1/2" is helpful. Hope this helps.

Steve

 

[JakeKohl]

hmmm...interesting thought. The cars I want to use this on are low to the ground. The OP said something about a drop in plate...but a drop in piece of the same tile could also fit the bill.

 

[32krazy!]

Well don't get snarky!

I'm wondering the same thing. In my case, I haven't bought the MaxJax, installed them, or put in my tile yet (but the tile is coming soon). I intend to drill through the tile and set the anchors (making sure they are in the concrete and not the tile or mortar).

not snarkey just solicting ideas. my maxjax is already installed and looking for ideas.

One thing you need to be a bit careful of if you tile around the column base is the clearance of the arms. When I installed mine with MotoFloor (like racedeck), I installed direct to the concrete and put the tiles around it. The arms just clear the tiles when the lift is fully lowered. If they did not you would need to lift slightly so they swing instead of dragging on the tiles. If it was me I would install and then tile after. You also gain a bit of clearance for very low cars as the bottom of the arms normally sit about 1/2" of an inch above the concrete. The bottom on my arms are almost flush with the tiles. I have a C6 corvette and although I think I would have been OK, the extra 1/2" is helpful. Hope this helps.

Steve

never thought about the arms! mine scrape the concrete floor now. theres spacers that can be used to level it more but they are a pain to use every time the lift is installed so i left them out. need to consider this.

hmmm...interesting thought. The cars I want to use this on are low to the ground. The OP said something about a drop in plate...but a drop in piece of the same tile could also fit the bill.

my 996 turbo porsche is very low to the ground. my maxjax arms just barely clear the side moulding on the car.im thinking of using a 1/4" piece of plywood and mud some tiles in line with the rest of the garage and then just drop it in as a cover when the lift is put away. seems the easiest way to cover the anchors up and keep the floor looking uniform

 

[NewShockerGuy]

I will post the thread once I get home but someone on here just drilled right through the tiles and anchored the maxjax in. Infact when you do it make sure the anchors are IN the concrete and don't raise above the titles themselves. He lifted a bunch of cars with zero issues. You could get the placement of the maxjax. Install then tile around but honestly I think the cleanest look would be putting them on the titles themselves.. I believe the person lost about 1/2" when having the titles and maxjax install. Really that's not alot in my opinion. You then don't have to worry about when you remove the maxjax you have two square pads that will look like *** without any tiles there...

Let me look around for the thread. I have about 85 threads bookmarked on the maxjax for when I was installing mine and referenced them all many times...lol

-Nigel

 

[NewShockerGuy]

Here you go:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2634338#post2634338

Top of thread look at Wachuko. I'm almost positive he has some more information regarding his install...

EDIT: Found it
Here you go:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31570&showall=1

Post 67 he is drilling into the tiles.

I saw lay the tiles, and speficially mark where the holes are, infact you could actually drill the holes a tad smaller because ONLY the bolts are going to go through the tiles and you wouldn't have to pound the anchors in since you already have them in the concrete...etc. Would be a super clean look in my opinion... Just have to make sure your measurements are spot on but I think this is the best approach rather than leaving a square for the posts.


Hope this helps.


-Nigel

 

[dubber]

Lets see a pic, might help with perspective!