Racedeck In A Rental

[Blind32]

Hi All,

I'm somewhat new to this forum but man do I love it so far. Lots of really good info and really smart people. I did some research for a situation similar to mine but didn't find exactly what I was looking for so I figured I would post. Here we go.

So I am going to be renting a house with a 2 car garage. I'd love to have a garage as epic as most of y'all but I have to work with what I have. I love to work on cars. While working on cars, oil/transmission oil/coolant/fuel/blood spills happen, they just do, no stopping it. Previously I had always epoxied the floors and it worked great. I doubt the landlord would let me do this to their garage. Well I'd like to keep my security deposit and that means I can't stain the garage floor. Here is my idea. Racedeck. The CircleTrac type. I have never messed with this stuff before but I have done some research. They seem like a popular alternative to painting/epoxying the floor.

The issue I have is, they are tiles that fit together. If liquids are spilled on the cracks between the tiles, I don't think they fit together tight enough to be completely waterproof and prevent oil from reaching the garage floor. So I would end up with a grid style stain on the garage floor. No good.

My idea to fix this would be to put down a few layers of plastic drop cloths before setting up the racedeck. Once the racedeck is down, trim the edges of the plastic drop cloth off so it isn't visible. Now for my questions:

-After doing some research on this wonderful site, I noticed that racedeck allows airflow underneath the flooring to prevent molds from growing. Would this really be an issue for me? I am located in Texas where it is pretty hot and humid. I don't plan on staying at this place for more than 2 years.

-I don't know my plastics that well. Would there be any concern for a chemical reaction between oil/transmission oil/coolant/fuel/penetrating oil/silicone spray/PB Blaster/etc and the plastic drop cloth or racedeck?

-I plan to only racedeck half of the 2 car garage. Yah I know, sounds cheap. How bad will this look? I will only be working on cars in 1/2 of the garage. The other half will be used by my girlfriends car. No need to deck that. Another reason I am only doing half is, I am renting this place. I don't want to buy all this deck for this specific size garage because later when I move, I'm stuck with this configuration. I figure I can deck half the garage, then when I move into a house I own, I'll implement my half garage into some more new tiles to design my full garage. Which leads to my next question...

-what color design would be best to implement into a 2 car garage in the future? I am guessing a solid color would be the easiest.

Thanks for any help you guys can provide! I know those last two questions are a little silly but that is my situation. I am also open to other ideas on how to tackle this issue.

Also, I noticed there are a bunch of BMW guys and fellow Texans on here. 2007 Z4MC here in Dallas.

 

[Wingnut65]

Welcome to GJ, Blind32. You found the right place to ask garage related questions.

Hope I can help you out with your RaceDeck questions as my RD flooring should be delivered tomorrow!

Now for some answers to your questions... Not really. No. And, What ever color(s) you want!

Mold growth really is not a problem with RaceDeck as the plastic is formulated to prohibit the growth of mold. It is also formulated to be stable with the normal garage related chemicals. I haven't found anything in my garage that will stain it yet. The joints in the tiles are so tight when they snap together that moisture penetration is very unlikely. I have had standing liquids on the samples I received and nothing went through to the floor. Having the plastic sheet is a good idea in your case. Since you are going with only a half court floor, the exposed side edge should also have the tapered edge tiles to prevent tripping.

The color choice is up to you. I started with the black-n-white checkerboard pattern and ended up far from it. I looked at the RD Gallery on-line and combined several patterns to come up with a layout that I could get past my Minister of Finance. I wanted her to agree to the layout so it wouldn't be held over my head the rest of my life. A solid color would be easiest for you, but consider adding a border or two of different colors. You may want to start thinking the big picture to see what you would want a full 2-car garage to look like. Then order tiles for a single car garage pattern using the same colors. Then when you move, just order the remaining. I have heard that white tiles show dirt a little more than other colors, so you may want to use it sparingly. I picked Black and Beige for mine.

To make yourself feel comfortable, call RaceDeck and have them send you a couple tiles so you can test the tightness and sample the colors you are considering. Kia has really been a big help getting me to where I am now.

Good Luck on your project.

 

[Blind32]

Thanks for the reply Wingnut. I can't wait to get into my new place, get settled and start working on the garage. I'm not even sure of the exact measurements of the garage yet but I have played around with the design creator on the RD website. I have a few ideas floating around. Thanks for the tips. I'll get in contact with Kia and see if I can get some samples and more information. :thumbsup:

Also I can't wait to see your RD setup!

 

[mikeyr]

My Racedeck was down for many years (near 10) and when I moved last year the floor underneath the tiles was as good as the day I put it down and that was MANY motors and gearboxes later. They fit together really tight, even water takes a while to go between the tiles. Most of the water will evaporate on top of the tile before it goes between them, it does go between the tiles of course but really slow and oil and thicker stuff does not seem to.

I would really consider doing the whole garage as it would look better but I understand money.