Racedeck Questions

[jw3571]

Just getting ready to start building a two car garage and am trying to decide on flooring. I've had epoxy before and it was a bit of a pain with peeling and cracks. I'd like to go with race deck but have a few worries. I plan on washing my cars in this garage, will the race deck be a problem? I will have a floor drain in the garage, will the water get to the floor drain? How does the race deck interact with the sloping of the concrete for drainage? I also live where it snows so there will be days when i pull into the garage with salt and snow draining on it, is that a problem? I assume I'd want to go with the free flow tile for this reason is that correct? How easy are these to keep clean. Lastly i'm concerned about the clanking when walking on these, how bad is it?

Thanks in advance

 

[RaceDeck1]

Hi
Thanks for considering RaceDeck.. I went through and answered some of your questions within your quote below ( IN BOLD) . Drop us a line or give us a call and we can get you some samples and info out asap

Just getting ready to start building a two car garage and am trying to decide on flooring. I've had epoxy before and it was a bit of a pain with peeling and cracks. I'd like to go with race deck but have a few worries. I plan on washing my cars in this garage, will the race deck be a problem?The patent understructure design of RaceDeck flooring is channeled to all air, liquids and moisture to flow freely. If your floor is sloped to a drain or out the door, that is where it will flow. I will have a floor drain in the garage, will the water get to the floor drain? How does the race deck interact with the sloping of the concrete for drainage? the powerlocks allow the floor system to a sloping floor and will stay interlocked with no issue I also live where it snows so there will be days when i pull into the garage with salt and snow draining on it, is that a problem? We are also in a snowy climate here in Utah and our floors work great in these areas. The FreeFlow is another great option for your flooring or for a section of flooring for your daily drivers I assume I'd want to go with the free flow tile for this reason is that correct? not mandatory but very popular in snowy climates...you can always combine both styles with RaceDeck How easy are these to keep clean.EZ Lastly i'm concerned about the clanking when walking on these, how bad is it? every floor has its own unique sound, less than 1% of all floors we sell have underlayment under them, but if you choose to do so DO NOT use a foam or rubber pad.... we suggest synthetic landscape felt or our patent SHockTower in sections of entire floor.

Thanks in advance

 

[jw3571]

If you don't use the free flow tiles, how does getting water on the normal race deck tiles work? Does it go in the cracks of the tile or does it just sit on the tile?

 

[RaceDeck1]

If you don't use the free flow tiles, how does getting water on the normal race deck tiles work? Does it go in the cracks of the tile or does it just sit on the tile?

The seams between the modules are very tight and create a hydro-static tension keeping most all liquids out... but it also works together with the understructure to allow air to circulate

 

[Shea]

I plan on washing my cars in this garage, will the race deck be a problem?

There are car detailers and other members here who use the free flow in their garage for washing cars to keep them out of the sun. As long as you don't have drainage issues in your garage this tile works great for that.

I also live where it snows so there will be days when i pull into the garage with salt and snow draining on it, is that a problem?

No it's not. It is advisable however to rinse the salt deposits and debris from the winter off the concrete when winter is over. Some people do this with a high pressure hose right through the tile. For heavy accumulations some people will remove parts of the floor for this.

 

[Gearhead00]

I just removed all the Racedeck (original diamond style) from my garage that the previous owner installed.

A few points:

-I was also worried about the effect that road salts were having on the concrete under the floor. When I pulled up the floor, I was very surprised in that the concrete was fine (a testament to the sealing I suppose) but there was a very fine layer of talc fine dirt and dust underneath.

-I had a horrible oil change episode where I had to drive a screwdriver through a filter to get it removed. Nasty soot filled diesel oil everywhere. I figured it would be all over under the tiles. While there was some very slight leaking to the floor below, I was impressed that there wasn't more.

-It does clank underfoot. Think a little more hollow sounding than early Pergo floors.

-My garage faces west. In the afternoon sun, the floor would expand and buckle. To the tune of being about 4-6" high at the joints. After cooling, it was just as before.

-I removed it because I'm planning on doing some welding and metal fab, along with some other restoration work and I didn't expect it to survive. I wanted to recoup the investment while it was still serviceable. Took me 6 weeks to sell it and it went for roughly $1.50 a tile on average.

I think it would be a complete PITA to remove and reinstall it in order to clean under it.

I think it's probably a great product for "showcase" garages, but not for anywhere there will be high heat.

 

[vectorw8015]

It is an interesting product. I have had my ups and downs with it. My garage faces East and if a door is open and the sun hits it, it will buckle 6" in height. Also one of my cars sits 4" above the ground. If I let it idle it will heat and buckle the tile, then it gets to close to the catalytic converter and melts the Race Deck. Race Deck doesn't warrant this, they don't see it as an issue. Once it is in place if there is any moisture under it from condensation etc, mold will creep up between the tiles. Once it is dirty with sand or dirt and you drive over it, you will never get it clean again. Sand impregnates it when you roll over it with a heavy load. Despite their advertisement of it being able to handle heavy loads, (they don't state over how large of a foot print) It has trouble with tool boxes sinking in to it. I will admit my tool box is larger than most (10,000 lbs empty) Racedeck States that the tile will handle this type of weight. It doesn't, my tool box sinks in to the tile. On the bright side its easy to install. Just my two cents.

 

[jw3571]

This worries me, my garage will face west, will I have a buckling problem?

 

[RaceDeck1]

In regards to Vectorw8015 comments - I have no way of looking into any possible claim through his GJ name...We pride ourselves on customer service and in most cases we go above and beyond what any warranty would be. I can tell you that a customer having a bucking issue of 6" is not the norm and 99.9% of the time it stems from an installation problem and we will do whatever is possible to make it right. The material our product is made from does not promote mold ( it is non pourus), There have been cases where we have seen major issue with the concrete where it moisture coming up through the ground is causing puddling issues. facing the sun is not an issue, my own garage faces west with the door open in the heat of the sun each day with temp swings from 40's to 90's and never an issue, my garage was installed in the heat of the day , capturing the max expansion when I loaded everything on it. ( 12 years ago)

If you do a search, you will find many positive comments, feedbacks and info about our products and our company. In the cases where there have been issues, you will also find we will do whatever it takes to make it right. We are not a miracle flooring product , but we do take great pride in manufacturing what we believe is the best modular garage flooring products in the world, right here in SLC Utah

our phone number is 800-457-0174

 

[Gearhead00]

In what way would it be installed to prevent the buckling?

I didn't install the flooring..it was in the garage when I bought the house. I have no dog in this fight as I didn't pay for the flooring.

It's a floating floor...the buckling occurred at the open end of the garage by the door in the sunlight. The tiles only go together one way...

I'm at a loss as to how the buckling could be avoided.

 

[David Paul]

ja, I've had RaceDeck installed for just over a month now and had the exact same questions you have. I have a floor drain and the FreeFlow tile go right over it without issue and drains fine. I have a combination of solid and FreeFlow. Solid under the lift to catch any spills, FreeFlow every where else. I'm part of the 1% who put the landscaping fabric down first. One to keep it from crackling, but as a side benefit it covered any stains on the floor that may have shown through the FreeFlow tiles.
I am in the process of changing out the brake lines on my Tahoe due to them rusting out, so my garage is a working garage. I understand the concern for welding over the floor. I'll put down a welding blanket when the time comes and call it a day.
All in all I couldn't be happier.

 

[RaceDeck1]

In what way would it be installed to prevent the buckling?

I didn't install the flooring..it was in the garage when I bought the house. I have no dog in this fight as I didn't pay for the flooring.

It's a floating floor...the buckling occurred at the open end of the garage by the door in the sunlight. The tiles only go together one way...

I'm at a loss as to how the buckling could be avoided.

Hi
The best way to to explain 'capturing max expansion' during installation is to give you an example, which I will below. There really are no two garage environments that are the same and the best way to address any question or concern when installing is to call us, we are happy to walk you through the install process and give you suggestions.

Capturing max expansion example.

With modular flooring in a garage environment where we can see temp swings of 50+/- degrees in a 24 hour period, there are suggestions we have to install properly on the initial install.

What is Capturing Expansion Example? - If we took say a 30'x30' floor and placed it in a AZ parking lot in the morning when it was 50 degrees it would go in flat. If we came back at 3 pm and it was 100+ degrees it would be flat ( no 'buckling') and then again came back at midnight it would be flat. Why did it stay flat? because the floor was able to push out and in through our module sizing and lock systems.
Now if I came back at midnight the next night and maybe a few cabinets, tool boxes, lifts, etc on the flat floor and came back in the morning it would be flat. When I came back at 3 it would have some buckling and then again when I came back at midnight it would be flat. Why ? because the floor takes the path of leas resistance and can not push out the heavy equipment.
Now How To Capture. - This time, I come back to that same floor in the hottest part of the day and place all of that furniture and equipment on the floor that is hot and flat. I come back at midnight and its flat, I come back at 8 am and its flat and again I come back at 3 pm and flat, why? Because you have captured the floor at its hottest and max expansion. the floor is not strong enough to pull in the equipment and will not push out past max expansion, you captured it.

There are other things overlooked that are very important when installing a modular flooring. After the install, it is always a good idea to walk through the garage at the hottest part of the day and make sure that no part of the floor is pushing up against walls, posts, garage door rails, studs, cabinets, etc. The floor can not push these things out so it goes the path of least resistance. I can't tell you how many times this is the case when we get involved.

As I mentioned above, we have a dedicated team and are more than happy to talk with anyone during their installation to walk them through it.

 

[Gearhead00]

Sure, that make absolute sense for static objects.

However, my wife (holder of two advanced engineering degrees) wants to know if she then has to restrict parking of her SUV on the floor to between the hours of 3 and 6 pm (of course this window would vary throughout the year due to sun declination angles) when the first 4 feet of the floor has been exposed to afternoon sun and has reached maximum thermal expansion so that the SUV can properly "capture" the floor and prevent the buckling.

Given that there is enough expansion room left around the edge, the floor shouldn't buckle... FYI, the only place it ever buckled was in the first 4-5' of the garage bay. The buckling occurred so that the peaks were parallel to the garage door opening. Given that direction of buckling, shouldn't the open garage bay have allowed plenty of room for thermal expansion? It did this regardless of a vehicle being parked in the bay or not.

 

[vectorw8015]

I have had Racedeck in two garages and both have been installed with the requisite clearance to the exterior walls with nothing constricting expansion. And if I never placed a single item on the garage floor I suppose it would expand and contract using the perimeter gap. But when you have a working garage that has 3 cars, a snowmobile, a tractor, a large tool box and other items sitting directly on the floor constricting its movement then the floor buckles. With my car sitting idle the constraint of the rear wheels causes the expansion of the tiles and the floor buckles from the exhaust temperature. The floor migrates up towards the bottom of the car as it can not sink in to the concrete. My tool box is at the rear of the garage and just the temperature variation in the atmosphere causes the floor to heave between the casters of the tool box. I happen to live in a climate where we have temperature extremes of -30 to +110 degrees F and with summer rains and high humidity the temperature differential between the floor and the cement causes condensation from humidity. Add heat and over time between the cracks of the tiles you get mold migration. With a hoist you have to bolt it down through the flooring or remove a tile and live with a post gap. I bolted the hoist through the flooring to keep a cleaner look. That seems to constrain the flooring in one section of the garage. My first garage faced West, same issue at sunset. No sense in keeping my experiences with RaceDeck a secret. These are the observations I have made with my 950+ square feet of the product.

 

[RaceDeck1]

Gearhead00 - Is there absolutely nothing else on your floor when the cars are out? typically garages have tables, cabinets, lawnmowers, etc throughout? also keep in mind that something even minor as touching a garage door rail, or a lag bolt stud not cut all the way off , etc... will limit expansion. Also if the floor is fully captured you should not have an issue under most normal garage install set up. There are unique garages where we work with the customers on the install through phone and looking at pics while talking.
With over a million ++ feet a month of flooring manufactured, we have seen virtually every type and size of garage, climate, and application of our products (* photos) ...and we use this knowledge in everything we make and in our customer service. Every type of floor from paint, epoxy, rubber, vinyl, carpet , vct, and modular flooring have their fans who think it is the best application for them, no floor is 100% everything to everyone... we just think we are the closest - all that matters is that you are having fun in your garage... we sure do.

As always you can contact us anytime with questions, concerns, or tips by either PM , email or call. -> Signing out

This floor has been in Kirkhams for over 10 years of serious car building -

 

[Gearhead00]

Again, no dog in this fight as I removed the flooring from the garage.

However, while I understand the pictured applications above (closed shop, probably climate controlled, etc) I don't understand how the buckling in the garage door openings caused by the afternoon sun can be avoided when one is dynamically "capturing" the flooring at different points during the temperature cycle due to randomly parking cars, lawnmowers, etc as you mentioned.

I completely understand how the floor could be captured with static objects and then be prevented from buckling.

As with any floor, I think Racedeck has its ideal applications, (and is most likely the best garage tile option) and some applications where it's less than ideal, just like epoxy, tile, etc. I think it's up to the homeowner to weight the pros and cons of each, and make an informed decision. Just trying to share my experiences with your product with the board, since that is the entire purpose of this forum.

 

[vectorw8015]

Here are a couple of photos with

about 10 minutes of sun exposure.

 

[RaceDeck1]

I did say I was going to bow out of this thread, but after seeing these photos it seems extremely clear to me this is an installation issue. Not seeing the garage in person or knowing other info... this is what I can see from the photo that 'could be' several issues.
first , it looks like the floor is hitting the wall, door opening area on the right and who knows were else, the tiles up against the door opening wall are flat while the the others have no option but to go up. It also looks as though the edges ( and maybe the floor are outside of the garage door. In regards to you exhaust on the Vector causing issue, I am sure that could happen on a custom hand built car.... but I can tell you that with cars like Shelby Cobras ( where the exhaust is 3" off the ground) Turbo's ( where the heat is massive) , et.. there is not an issue..
I am not doubting you are having an issue, when I piece together what you describe ( 10,000 boxes, hand built modified low car, Massive temp swings from -30 to 100+ degrees, and who knows what else. )

As I have said several times above and in PM's to you.. we are happy to discuss to any reply to our PM from you.
Now I am out. Have a great weekend

 

[vectorw8015]

Well I know its a tight fit with sunlight on the floor but at night under contraction there is 1" of clearance to all edges of the floor. I guess I must have installed my flooring incorrectly. The only tile outside the garage door is the edge finisher. Otherwise the floor is fully contained in the door. As for the Vector its a 50 state legal CARB compliant DOT legal car 5" of clearance from the Cat to the floor. And the result of idling on R

ace deck is as follows.