Racedeck Free-Flow in Northern Climate

[Polish Rifle]

Hello everyone,

I'm a longtime lurker on this forum and have gotten a ton of inspiration from many of you. I requested a few quotes from RD in 2015 after purchasing a newly built home with a 3 car garage (630 sq. ft.) and I'm thinking about pulling the trigger this spring.

My garage is properly sloped, so drainage is not an issue. My question is in regards to road grit - particularly the stuff left behind after a snow melt. I live about a mile off Lake Michigan in central Wisconsin, so the mess left behind in our garage is substantial.

For those of you with RD Free-Flow tiles, how do you clean out the grit from underneath the floor? Does a power washer do the trick? As it stands, I routinely use a shovel, broom, or leaf blower to remove the tracks of dirt left behind from snow melt.

Unless there's an easy way to "push" it out the door without pulling up the flooring, I imagine it would accumulate quickly after a couple seasons.

Thanks in advance for any input you might have.

 

[Shea]

Check out this article here; http://allgaragefloors.com/winter-tips-interlocking-garage-tiles/

There is a video near the end that shows how you can do spring cleaning after a hard winter. The video was done by one of the members here at GJ. Removing a large section of the floor and pulling it out is much easier than you may first think.

 

[66HertzClone]

I have a three car garage, two of the bays have free flow where the cars park, the other bay is for my Mustang which doesn't see rain or snow so I used the coin dot there. You are correct, sand and **** ends up beneath the grill of the free flow tiles. I also get the leaves and seeds from the ailanthius trees which to me are worse. When it gets bad enough to annoy me I breakout the leaf blower, does a reasonably good job, I have used a brush in some areas to loosen it up in order to get it out. Be aware that you will end up with a lot of dust in the garage in the process, it seems the wind is always blowing into the garage when I do this.

If I were to do it over again I would still use the free flow, having the large puddles that would develop from the melting snow packed in the wheel wells would make a huge mess and potentially allow someone to slip and fall.

I have not tried it but I bet you could use the hose and water to spray it out, a few pieces of whatever slid under the tiles across the door opening would speed the water draining out. I my garage I know there is a huge low spot in the bay where the Mustang is parked. The water would/could collect in that low spot and being under tile likely mold before evaporation would be complete.

I hope that is enough info.

 

[mikes02ls1]

Check out this article here; http://allgaragefloors.com/winter-tips-interlocking-garage-tiles/

There is a video near the end that shows how you can do spring cleaning after a hard winter. The video was done by one of the members here at GJ. Removing a large section of the floor and pulling it out is much easier than you may first think.

Good name, my daughter's name is Shea... It is hard for people to pronounce her name.

Casa Grande, Arizona

 

[Polish Rifle]

Check out this article here; http://allgaragefloors.com/winter-tips-interlocking-garage-tiles/

There is a video near the end that shows how you can do spring cleaning after a hard winter. The video was done by one of the members here at GJ. Removing a large section of the floor and pulling it out is much easier than you may first think.

Thanks Shea - This is exactly what I was looking for. I appreciate the information.

 

[Polish Rifle]

I have a three car garage, two of the bays have free flow where the cars park, the other bay is for my Mustang which doesn't see rain or snow so I used the coin dot there. You are correct, sand and **** ends up beneath the grill of the free flow tiles. I also get the leaves and seeds from the ailanthius trees which to me are worse. When it gets bad enough to annoy me I breakout the leaf blower, does a reasonably good job, I have used a brush in some areas to loosen it up in order to get it out. Be aware that you will end up with a lot of dust in the garage in the process, it seems the wind is always blowing into the garage when I do this.

If I were to do it over again I would still use the free flow, having the large puddles that would develop from the melting snow packed in the wheel wells would make a huge mess and potentially allow someone to slip and fall.

I have not tried it but I bet you could use the hose and water to spray it out, a few pieces of whatever slid under the tiles across the door opening would speed the water draining out. I my garage I know there is a huge low spot in the bay where the Mustang is parked. The water would/could collect in that low spot and being under tile likely mold before evaporation would be complete.

I hope that is enough info.

Excellent response. Just what I was looking for. Now I simply have to decide between the 6 or 7 different designs I've created so far on Racedeck's website.

It's borderline obsessive playing around with that layout designer.

 

[SteveCh]

Worst thing for my floor is the chunks of salt/sand/ice/slush/mud that fall off the pickup onto the FreeFlow as it melts on warmer days. You know, the chunks that are stuck on the mudflaps [all four wheels] and the frame. That mess sinks down into the Freeflow and dries out. Some of it I can remove with a shop vac, but what I've gotten to doing is pulling out the tile once a year for early summer cleaning. It isn't a big job, I simply separate the flooring into three large mats and pull them outside to use a hose and broom to clean the tiles. The concrete floor I sweep and then use the garden hose again to rinse anything out the door. Then I just pull the three mats inside and reconnect. Takes me an hour or so once a year. I use a "putty knife" to disconnect the lines of tiles to get the three removable mats. I find a fairly stiff knife to work best. First time took me a while to get it done quickly; now I can separate the tiles and pull them outside in about fifteen minutes. I believe there is a short video clip on RD site showing the putty knife trick.

This would not happen if I had solid tiles [the mess under the tiles], but it could possibly make things quite slippery on the floor. I will stick with the FreeFlow, not gonna go buy completely new tiles to try out. I am still happy with the floor.

 

[Polish Rifle]

Worst thing for my floor is the chunks of salt/sand/ice/slush/mud that fall off the pickup onto the FreeFlow as it melts on warmer days. You know, the chunks that are stuck on the mudflaps [all four wheels] and the frame. That mess sinks down into the Freeflow and dries out. Some of it I can remove with a shop vac, but what I've gotten to doing is pulling out the tile once a year for early summer cleaning. It isn't a big job, I simply separate the flooring into three large mats and pull them outside to use a hose and broom to clean the tiles. The concrete floor I sweep and then use the garden hose again to rinse anything out the door. Then I just pull the three mats inside and reconnect. Takes me an hour or so once a year. I use a "putty knife" to disconnect the lines of tiles to get the three removable mats. I find a fairly stiff knife to work best. First time took me a while to get it done quickly; now I can separate the tiles and pull them outside in about fifteen minutes. I believe there is a short video clip on RD site showing the putty knife trick.

This would not happen if I had solid tiles [the mess under the tiles], but it could possibly make things quite slippery on the floor. I will stick with the FreeFlow, not gonna go buy completely new tiles to try out. I am still happy with the floor.

Thanks Steve.

I know full well what you're describing. We have a Jeep Grand Cherokee that drops massive amounts of snow/sand/ice/salt/dirt all over the garage. My Mercedes does the same of course, but not nearly as much as the 4x4.

I just watched a video showing exactly what you described. Looks simple enough, and as an admitted clean freak - would be something I wouldn't mind doing each spring.

I thought about the solid options, but I like the benefits of the Free-Flow and think the carbon fiber like look is really appealing. I dig how the colors of each tile changes depending on the direction of the ribs.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Shea]

Good name, my daughter's name is Shea... It is hard for people to pronounce her name.

Casa Grande, Arizona

Thank you sir! Yep, I have battled with the name pronunciation thing all my life. "She-ahh" is what I usually get.

 

[mikes02ls1]

Thank you sir! Yep, I have battled with the name pronunciation thing all my life. "She-ahh" is what I usually get.

Yep they say it that way. LOL

Casa Grande, Arizona

 

[doorfx]

Just put a garage mat down in the winter?

 

[Garage Flooring]

Hello everyone,

I'm a longtime lurker on this forum and have gotten a ton of inspiration from many of you. I requested a few quotes from RD in 2015 after purchasing a newly built home with a 3 car garage (630 sq. ft.) and I'm thinking about pulling the trigger this spring.

My garage is properly sloped, so drainage is not an issue. My question is in regards to road grit - particularly the stuff left behind after a snow melt. I live about a mile off Lake Michigan in central Wisconsin, so the mess left behind in our garage is substantial.

For those of you with RD Free-Flow tiles, how do you clean out the grit from underneath the floor? Does a power washer do the trick? As it stands, I routinely use a shovel, broom, or leaf blower to remove the tracks of dirt left behind from snow melt.

Unless there's an easy way to "push" it out the door without pulling up the flooring, I imagine it would accumulate quickly after a couple seasons.

Thanks in advance for any input you might have.

A good shopvac will clean right through them really really well. If you don't have drywall to the floor, you can pressure wash once or twice a season

 

[piker28]

Usually what I have seen is every so often people pull out the tiles and wash down the floor with a power washer or hose.

 

[idriveahonda]

I have RD FreeFlow (newly installed) and I'm in VA. We don't see a ton of snow but as many others have mentioned, they are easily separated and removed for cleaning.

Product is beautiful when installed, you will love it. Changes the entire look of a garage.

 

[CJDave]

I just flush my FreeFlow with a garden hose. The grit and grime seems to follow the flow of water to my overhead door, following the slope of the garage floor. CJ Dave.

 

[RaceDeck1]

We are based and manufacture here in Utah, where we get a lot of snow and road slop. My house is located in the mountains with a lot of snow, I have FreeFlow in the main area where we pull in with our SUV and 4x4 trucks that get loaded with road slop that falls off the vehicles and on to the floor, which melts overnight, leaving me a clean surface in the mornings . My garage has drains, but my previous home was just pitched floor, so all the liquids flowed away freely. I also was my cars in the garage all winter long.