RaceDeck: Eliminating the "Clacking Sound"

[Redrsa]

Thanks for all of the good info on this site. A friend/member just installed RaceDeck in his garage and it looks absolutely fantastic!

I'm getting ready to order RaceDeck for my garage and have read suggestions on how to reduce the clacking noise when the tiles move ever so slightly and slap the floor as you're walking on it. I'm sure you get used to it to some degree, but the movement and noise gives the impression of being less than solid. The primary suggestion seemed to be using thin nylon plastic such as that used as a weed barrier in mulch beds.

1. Very low cost but is this thick enough to actually make any difference? It would provide something between the plastic and the concrete, but certainly not much.

2. What about the rolls of thin foam used under laminate hardwood floors? Seems it could be very effective and would basically compress to about 1/16" or less. No idea how much it costs.

3. Other/better ideas?

Thank you!

 

[Jack Olsen]

The weed netting would allow moisture to escape. I would think it would be enough to stop the sound of the two hard surfaces coming together.

 

[RaceDeck1]

Thank you for considering RaceDeck, I have commented in your quote below

Thanks for all of the good info on this site. A friend/member just installed RaceDeck in his garage and it looks absolutely fantastic!

I'm getting ready to order RaceDeck for my garage and have read suggestions on how to reduce the clacking noise when the tiles move ever so slightly and slap the floor as you're walking on it. I'm sure you get used to it to some degree, but the movement and noise gives the impression of being less than solid. The primary suggestion seemed to be using thin nylon plastic such as that used as a weed barrier in mulch beds.

1. Very low cost but is this thick enough to actually make any difference? It would provide something between the plastic and the concrete, but certainly not much.RD- if you are going to use an underlayment, we recommend using a synthetic landscape felt so moisture can escape. Do not use a foam pad as it can react with chemicals and will not let moisture escape. Also do not use Rubber, it will react to petro products, it smells and most importantly is promotes mold and mildew

2. What about the rolls of thin foam used under laminate hardwood floors? Seems it could be very effective and would basically compress to about 1/16" or less. No idea how much it costs. RD - again no foam in the garage

3. Other/better ideas? RD- Only put in the areas you walk through,

Thank you!

 

[Shocker]

Erp. I put down some cheap foam laminate underlayment. It has worked great the last 3 years. I guess I will have to pull some tile and see if there is any problems.

 

[Redrsa]

Good info, thank you! I'll look for the synthetic landscape felt.

 

[The Lazy Destroyer]

I did a layer of synthetic landscape felt when I did mine. It doesn't really add too much cost and was easy to put down before laying the tiles.
I think it was about $80 to do 900+ sq ft of the landscape felt.

 

[ChargedUp!]

Turn up the stereo. Problem solved!

 

[marty_p]

Turn up the stereo. Problem solved!

...and leave your wallet out of the equation!

I would do like Jack O. -- right the first time, and for the last time by using Jorgen's recomendation.

And of course we want pics!!!

 

[sol]

I did a layer of synthetic landscape felt when I did mine. It doesn't really add too much cost and was easy to put down before laying the tiles.
I think it was about $80 to do 900+ sq ft of the landscape felt.

I did the same and the difference was well noted. Been rocking the racedeck in my 900 square foot garage for 3 years now, 3 winters and still love it.

I liked racedeck so much, I covered 1000 square feet in my warehouse to cover and protect the polished concrete floor.

 

[Airwilf]

Ididn't put anything under my tiles.My Vette is stored at a neighbors garage who winter in Florida.So.slush & sand drip my our 2 daily drivers,& yes some sand & crud gets between the tiles.I plan to pull up some tiles every 2 yrs.When I walk on the tiles,there is a light crunching sound which is the **** under the tiles.When the crunching stops a few rows up,I'll know that I don't have to tear up beyond that point.I wash/hose out the floor in the winter when temps allow (61F 2day).Where the tile edge meets the garage door,I lift the tiles & put twopieces of 2"X2" X6" long piece of wood under the front edge .That way water runs out & also carries out a lot of crud.Before & after pics attached.It's definitely not that clean now.Like any floor finnish,there will be some maintenance required.

 

[marty_p]

Nice floor, Air, and thx for your insight!

 

[Redrsa]

Very nice looking floor, Air!

Quick question: the non-red colors, are they Black and Graphite, or Graphite and Alloy?

Thank you!

 

[Cryptic1911]

We put down some thin synthetic landscape fabric from home depot. It doesn't eliminate all of the hollow sound, but it does take the sharp "clack" out of it, and makes it a more rounded sound. I really thought I was going to have a hard time with the noise myself, but it's really not that bad at all. The landscape fabric allows water to flow through it, unlike the hardwood underlayment. That stuff will trap the moisture and grow funky stuff under there

Here's a few pics of ours as we were installing it:

We just overlapped the edges of the fabric and layed the tiles down on top

Even ran it under the lift with the tiles

Very nice looking floor, Air!

Quick question: the non-red colors, are they Black and Graphite, or Graphite and Alloy?

Thank you!

Mine is red , black, and graphite, so it looks like his is as well. Must be a popular color combo!

 

[Rockuf8]

Looks great! Love the subtle pattern.

 

[Tricon]

I put the cheap gardening stuff down as well. I noticed afterwards it does two things, 1 makes it completely silent, 2 it actually looks better as you can't see my concrete stains and whatnot underneath as I got the vented tiles.

Totally worth the $50.

 

[albaran]

I put the solid Racedeck down with no underlayment. There is no "clacking sound". It feels more like a hard rubber mat and is not objectionable at all. I've posted this before, but it would be helpful if someone could do a comparison of the two installs.

 

[felixgogo]

I didn't want to have the clacking sound either, but I also didn't want to put the floor down and get it up again.

So no comparisons, I just purchased the weed control fabric as suggested, and put that down first.

As my floor is very uneven and rough it was worth doing in my opinion.

The floor is quiet and dry.

I would suggest to have the underlay if you are in any doubt.

 

[stanleyoutdoors]

I put 2 layers of landscape cloth under where i work, but not under where I park (I wanted better drainage there) There is a big difference in noise so I know it helps a lot.

 

[stanleyoutdoors]

TRICON:

Did your tile drains fill up with sawdust? (I see a saw in your pic) I don't have drain tiles and I can't even sweep the sawdust away. Looks dirty all the time! Can you clean yours?

 

[RaceDeck1]

Teaser - We will have a two new style of garage flooring coming out later this year with one being a patented anti-fatigue system built in and it will also knock out over 40% of the so-called sound as you walk across it too... That's all I can say now stay tuned

 

[kngelv]

Teaser - We will have a two new style of garage flooring coming out later this year with one being a patented anti-fatigue system built in and it will also knock out over 40% of the so-called sound as you walk across it too... That's all I can say now stay tuned

How soon?

James

 

[marty_p]

Jorgen, you big tease...

 

[CT2012]

here's my $0.02: i put the fabric down in areas i walk on most. eh, it works ok. still clacks. but, i don't care. it looks friggin' awesome, cleans up easily, am very happy.

many other things in life to worry about.

 

[Tricon]

TRICON:

Did your tile drains fill up with sawdust? (I see a saw in your pic) I don't have drain tiles and I can't even sweep the sawdust away. Looks dirty all the time! Can you clean yours?

I've been doing a lot of wood working and I love it so far. I just vacuum it up and it's really easy to clean because it stays localized to just a few tiles rather than blowing around the garage.

 

[Teej2012]

Do all the hard PVC tiles clack or just RD?


Sent from an underground bunker

 

[Cryptic1911]

I would say that they all do

 

[Teej2012]

I would say that they all do

how unfortunate given the price range.. oh well, you gotta pay to play.


Sent from an underground bunker

 

[Garage Flooring]

Do all the hard PVC tiles clack or just RD?


Sent from an underground bunker

Racedeck is not a PVC product it is polypropylene. Polypropelene tiles are the 'hard plastic' while PVC are more flexible with the "puzzle" locks. Jorgen is correct, some very inexpensive landscape fabric = problem solved on polypropylene.

 

[Teej2012]

Racedeck is not a PVC product it is polypropylene. Polypropelene tiles are the 'hard plastic' while PVC are more flexible with the "puzzle" locks. Jorgen is correct, some very inexpensive landscape fabric = problem solved on polypropylene.

so PVC is like that coin/diamond flex thats out there... okay.


Sent from an underground bunker

 

[mikeyr]

I have said this before but it bears saying again, that clacking sound is so minor I don't understand the problem. When I laid down my Racedeck, it was down over a week before a friend came over and made a comment about the sound, I had not noticed it at all, its so minor.

My daughter's boyfriend was reading this thread and commented he also had never noticed, he went out to the garage specifically to walk on it and came back and said "they are right it does have noise once someone points it out".

Anyone near me, come and walk on my floor before you complain about the noise, its really minor and not worth the extra expense and work to get rid of it.

But its your floor, do what you want.

 

[Teej2012]

I have said this before but it bears saying again, that clacking sound is so minor I don't understand the problem. When I laid down my Racedeck, it was down over a week before a friend came over and made a comment about the sound, I had not noticed it at all, its so minor.

My daughter's boyfriend was reading this thread and commented he also had never noticed, he went out to the garage specifically to walk on it and came back and said "they are right it does have noise once someone points it out".

Anyone near me, come and walk on my floor before you complain about the noise, its really minor and not worth the extra expense and work to get rid of it.

But its your floor, do what you want.

small noises annoy me, but its usually because I don't know the source. Some of us are more hyper vigilant than others. When I hear a noise from inside the car when driving, I almost rip apart the interior to locate the noise...usually its a pen in the door, loose change in the cup holder, a keychain vibration, or even my employee badge clip. I guess if the flooring clacking was that annoying, everyone wouldn't have them. I am satisfied knowing there will be a little noise associated with the tiles. And as much as I hate little noises (though I make many with my mouth all day long and it probably drives everyone around me crazy) I probably wont put down weed mat under the tiles because it could make for a messy spring cleaning.


Sent from an underground bunker

 

[madosta]

Try being around an NVH engineer all the time. You start to hear funny things all the time.

 

[Pastapower]

Hi Jorgen,
Can you PM me Garage Journal pricing on your Racedeck diamond floor tiles. I'm thinking about doing my 700 sq ft garage. Any specials, closeouts or over runs??
Thanks

 

[RaceDeck1]

Hi Jorgen,
Can you PM me Garage Journal pricing on your Racedeck diamond floor tiles. I'm thinking about doing my 700 sq ft garage. Any specials, closeouts or over runs??
Thanks

I sure will - In addition to the GJ special pricing, we often have demo floors from shows and at times have overruns from custom corporate orders, but they go fast. You can always give us a call at 800-457-0174 or email [email protected] to find out...be sure to mention you are a GJ member

 

[Redrsa]

Teaser - We will have a two new style of garage flooring coming out later this year with one being a patented anti-fatigue system built in and it will also knock out over 40% of the so-called sound as you walk across it too... That's all I can say now stay tuned

Jorgen - How soon and how does the price compare? My order has been shipped/received, but I haven't installed it yet... My guess is that I should just install what I have.

 

[scoobers]

Jorgen - How soon and how does the price compare? My order has been shipped/received, but I haven't installed it yet... My guess is that I should just install what I have.

I was about to place an order, but the answer to this question of price and how soon might influence my purchase decision.

Jorgen, if you can't post it, can you PM me?

 

[kngelv]

I was about to place an order, but the answer to this question of price and how soon might influence my purchase decision.

Jorgen, if you can't post it, can you PM me?

I am in the same boat. I figure I've waited this long. What's a few more months?

James

 

[bush438]

For those of you that have put the underlayment down, what actual "product" have you purchased? I know Jorgen recommends a synthetic landscape felt and I have looked at Home Depot and Lowes and most of the weed barriers are made from Polypropylene, is this good for underlayment?

Here is a link to one I am looking at from Home Depot:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Easy-Gar...Landscape-Fabric-1042R/202043542#.UdXcKkrD-1s

I am putting the my RaceDeck down on Friday, can't wait!

 

[RaceDeck1]

Yes, we are going to have two new patent products come out within the next month or so. One is a multi-patent system that will give added anti-fatigue while also sound more like a soft tile product but without all of the issues of them, it will be slightly more expensive than the Orignal RaceDeck garage floor. The other product is a new open grid style flooring...

As for the sound, for more than 99% of our customers, sound is not an issue at all, every floor has their own unique sound ( wood, ceramic, 2nd story garages, et) But for those who do, we recommend a synthetic type landscape felt to absorb sound. ( do not use foam pads, styrene, or rubber , they are not suitable for the residential garage)