Need advice on new floor, Tiles or Racedeck ?

[Elgreco]

Hi there. I am getting ready to re-do the flooring of my garage which is cement now and I am tired of painting it every few years due to the harsh weather we have here.
We deal with a lot of snow and salt here in Quebec,and as I park one of the cars inside during winter, I constantly have to clean and wash the floors. Paint does not last too long.I have a double garage btw with cabinets around.

I had decided to lay down good porcelain tiles and be done with it. They last forever and no problems washing them. But lately I have been contemplating about racedeck tiles.
Problem is I have never seen one up close and I was wondering how convenient it would be for weather like ours. Does dirt get trapped between them ?
Does water flow under them as I have a sewer trap right in the middle of my garage ? Do I have to worry about condensation under them ? I like to be able to hose down the floor from the snow without worrying about water under them taking forever to dry.
I was thinking of using them because they are easier than laying down tiles. Not that I mind, but it's faster.Also I plan to re-do all my cabinets again around my three walls. If I were to use Racedeck, should I finish my cabinets first and then do the tiles or can I do the whole garage and put cabs on top ?

So any advice you guys have or suggestions, please let me know. Thank you.

 

[patrickd_21]

I'd like to know this as well, as I'm in the same situation and live in Quebec as well!

 

[Zedder]

I'm in Toronto and have had Race Deck tiles down for the past year. I didn't want to mess them up with winter slush etc, so I pulled them up on Saturday to store them in my other garage for the winter. I have a combination or Free Flow and Diamond pattern tiles and I was shocked to see how much water was trapped under the Diamond tiles! I had parked the car in the garage when it was wet Tuesday night and the water was still there on Saturday afternoon. I guess the cold temperatures were preventing the water from evaporating. The floor under the free flow tiles was perfectly dry...so, I am changing my complete floor to Free Flow for next season. Overall, Race Deck is a great product and looks really nice.

 

[Elgreco]

Thank you. You just answered my question.
This is exactly what I didn't want. Water getting trapped underneath for long periods of time.
I guess Tiling the floor was and is still the best solution for my location. Do it once and forget about it. Just choose dark color grout and be careful with spills.

Thanks again.

 

[slickgt1]

I agree. Search for my name for Can your floor do this, thread. You will see how they are holding up. I am in NYC, we get snow, slush and all other BS. I have only mopped the floor once, no problems with it at all. Set and forget. Solvents, paint, lube, oils whatever hits it, comes off. And whatever doesn't want to come off, a wire brush works just as well. Do the tile.

 

[RaceDeck1]

I'm in Toronto and have had Race Deck tiles down for the past year. I didn't want to mess them up with winter slush etc, so I pulled them up on Saturday to store them in my other garage for the winter. I have a combination or Free Flow and Diamond pattern tiles and I was shocked to see how much water was trapped under the Diamond tiles! I had parked the car in the garage when it was wet Tuesday night and the water was still there on Saturday afternoon. I guess the cold temperatures were preventing the water from evaporating. The floor under the free flow tiles was perfectly dry...so, I am changing my complete floor to Free Flow for next season. Overall, Race Deck is a great product and looks really nice.

RaceDeck is a suspended surface with a fully channeled sub-structure to allow liquids to flow and air to circulate. Water cannot get trapped

From what you describe above, one of two things is going on ( or both). If your floor is very uneven with areas that create puddle aka 'birdbaths' then the water can not flow out and will take much longer to evaporate. Then you mention it was freezing so the moisture may be frozen some or all of the time, not allowing it to evaporate. The FreeFlow is an open grid and in any enviroment, moisture will evaporate quicker with FreeFlow. One last scenerio is that the moisture you are seeing is coming up through the concrete ( very common). you would have to do a moisture test area to learn if that is the case.

I live in the mountains in Utah and have SUVs that drag in snow and slop all winter long, I wash my cars in the garage during the winter and have no issue. My floor is pitched to allow run-out ( standard slope) and I use a combination of FreeFlow and Diamond.My floor has been in for nearly 10 years.

If you go with a glue down or ceramic type tile, I would recommend a moisture test on the concrete or you may run into issue with your tiles popping out on temperature swings and/or impact & rolling loads. There is a lot of good info on every kinds of flooring here...Something for everyone

 

[Fish-man]

RaceDeck is a suspended surface with a fully channeled sub-structure to allow liquids to flow and air to circulate. Water cannot get trapped
----
I live in the mountains in Utah and have SUVs that drag in snow and slop all winter long, I wash my cars in the garage during the winter and have no issue. My floor is pitched to allow run-out ( standard slope) and I use a combination of FreeFlow and Diamond.My floor has been in for nearly 10 years.

I'm interested in the Racedeck... but need to know how best to handle my garage. I would be putting the Racedeck down to protect the concrete from the salt. First 7 years here, I didn't have anything really to protect from salt, now I've got pitting, mostly where the tires sit. I think if the RD doesn't let much seep thru the joints, that will help, but I know for sure that the edge of the RD by the door will get runoff trying to flow back under, since the door won't let the water flow under.

Thoughts?

 

[dcs Inc]

With floating tiles, you are subjected to trapping road salts. Let these sit on your concrete and they eat it away. I'm sure they are suspended and have cavities to offer run off but what happens when a little dirt stops these areas up? It seems you have to keep these really clean. gene ec-Indy

 

[jimchris]

I have free flow under the cars and snap carpet around the edges and between the cars. The free flow is great, the snow melts and goes down the drain. The free flow aways looks clean and about 2 times a year I vac the floor to get the dirt out. The carpet doesn't get dirty because of the free flow so you don't track anything on to the carpet.

 

[RaceDeck1]

I have free flow under the cars and snap carpet around the edges and between the cars. The free flow is great, the snow melts and goes down the drain. The free flow aways looks clean and about 2 times a year I vac the floor to get the dirt out. The carpet doesn't get dirty because of the free flow so you don't track anything on to the carpet.

The FreeFlow is very popular with the wives out there... keeps the dirt from tracking in the house....