RaceDeck vs Snow & Grit

[Bob_Defly]

Hi all, newbie here!

I've been researching flooring for my garage for a while now, and due to the various cracks and stuff I've decided that RD would probably be best, rather than trying to fix the old concrete and epoxy. The one thing I can't decide on is Freeflow vs the original diamond tiles...

Where I live is pretty snowy and gritty for 5-6 months of the year, so I believe there are two options:

1. Diamond original for the entire garage. Any excess water will drain towards the door as there is a slope. Plus all the grit and salt can be swept out weekly. My only concern is water getting under the tiles, will it start to smell? And will the water run towards the door on top of the ties, or underneath them?

or

2. Diamond for most of the garage, Freeflow for the bits under the car wheels to the door, so forming two tracks per car. Probably better for water flow in Winter, but then these sections will also fill with sand and salt pretty quickly, so will have to be lifted and cleaned out every Spring, if not more often than that.

I'm leaning towards Diamond all over, as I really don't want to have to lift the tiles back up to clean underneath them.

Any thoughts on which scenario would be better?

 

[dubber]

I believe all of Race Deck's tiles are designed on the bottom portion to allow water to pass freely. And in your case with a slope they will allow the water to leave out the garage.

Free Flow tiles will allow grit and snow to melt through and you don't necessarily need to pull up the tiles to clean. You can shop vac through the tiles, as well as hose through them then mop the surface.

 

[bdamico]

The one thing you'll learn is every single racedeck question has been asked and answered five times or more in the racedeck forum - you just have to use the search function

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=198447&highlight=racedeck+snow

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=192570&highlight=racedeck+snow

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=186194&highlight=racedeck+snow

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=134000&highlight=racedeck+snow

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=74577&highlight=racedeck+snow

 

[RaceDeck1]

and of course you can call us and we will answer any question specially to your garage. you can go with either style or both. In my personal garage I have FreeFlow in front under the daily drivers ( great in winter) and diamond throughout the rest.

 

[Bob_Defly]

Thanks. If I go Diamond throughout, do you forsee any issues? Will the water seep through and drain away anyway?

There are a lot of examples with the freeflow (which I am shying away from due to the amount of grit), but I don't think anyone has posted a garage from a snowy climate with no freeflow?

 

[RaceDeck1]

To answer your question- yes, the underside of all RD floors is raised and channeled to allow air, moisture and liquids to flow freely ( and evaporate). You will have no issues with the diamond in winter, just clean as you would any other floor with a mop or broom. The freeflow is popular because all of that snow and road slop that you drag in the winter, falls through the floor so in the morning your floor does not have piles of dirt or water on it.

 

[66HertzClone]

Thanks. If I go Diamond throughout, do you forsee any issues? Will the water seep through and drain away anyway?

There are a lot of examples with the freeflow (which I am shying away from due to the amount of grit), but I don't think anyone has posted a garage from a snowy climate with no freeflow?

As others have said I used the free flow under the cars and the coin top everywhere else. My shop vac made short work of the grit that accumulated over the course of the winter. I used a still straight broom to loosen the grit up and the vac took care of the rest.

IMO, it would be a big mess to have a solid tile here in the northeast with the snow that often is present during the winter months. The fit of the tiles is tight enough that nearly all of the liquid will remain above the tile. So evaporation and the possible tilt of the slab is how the mess would be eliminated. Then you would be dealing with the grit left behind, in time I'm sure it will lead to scratches in the tiles.

 

[Bob_Defly]

Ok then probably last question. Does the grit that falls through the area where free flow is, also migrate under the other tiles? I don't want a sandy gritty noise eminating from under the diamond area.

If I do need to lift the area once a year to clean, how easy is it, do you always have to start at an edge?

 

[RaceDeck1]

Hi
On this page

and this page http://www.racedeck.com/installation.html it shows how easy it is to pop out a single tile or full section.
The structure under the floor is channeled to allow everything to flow out on pitched garage floors and evaporate on all floors.

 

[Bob_Defly]

Wow, that's way easier than I thought. Thanks for sharing.

Ok freeflow it is, thanks everyone!

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Regardless of which floor pattern you go with, you are still going to have water flowing under the tiles and you are definitely going to have salt and other minerals accumulate under the tiles in a Northern climate (road salt).

It would be smart to apply a basic sealer (topical or penetrating) to help protect the concrete from these silent concrete killers.

 

[Stee6043]

If you want a high quality tile for your garage floor, regardless of construction, you're going to have to expect some level of upkeep.

I don't think you can beat the freeflow for our climate. It's the best of both worlds - looks great and at least conceals the grime in the winter. A solid deck, in my case, would have been a lot more work throughout the winter.

I high recommend Racedeck. And fully endorse the free flow for 100+ inch winters.