Tile Specs
 

Do not have any experience with either porcelain or ceramic tile.

For those that have used the products, is there a particular brand and/or quality grade which should be used on a garage and workshop floor..........thanks

PORCELAIN TILE
 

FOR THE LAST 3 MONTH I HAVE WORKED IN A LOCAL PORCELAIN TILE FACTORY. TODAY I ASKED ABOUT A NEW TILE THEY WERE MAKING. IT HAS A SAND LIKE TEXTURE. THEY EXPLAINED THAT WITH PORCELAIN YOU CAN MAKE A TILE WITH A ROUGH SURFACE. CERAMIC IS SMOOTH. THE NEW TILE IS CALLED "GRIP". THIS TILE WAS BROWN IN COLOR AND 20 x 20". LOOKED VERY GOOD. THEY HAVE THE SAME COLOR BUT SMOOTHER. NOT LIKE CERAMIC, BUT A SAND LIKE FINISH. I THINK WHEN ITS WET IT WOULD NOT BE SLIPPERY. I'LL GET A PIECE AND PUT SOME WATER ON IT. THE GRIP TILE WOULD BE GREAT FOR GARAGE OR SHOP FLOORS. MONARCH IS THE COMANY THAT MAKES THE GRIP PORCELAIN TILE. HOME DEPOT AND OTHERS SELL THEIR TILE. MADE IN THE USA. ( ALABAMA)

Helter:
As the dealer in So. Calif. selling RaceDeck, we are selling about 30,000 s/f of "cheesy-looking" floor each month. :)

Randy:
There are two types of "concrete stains" available today; one is a paint-based type of so-called "stain" that is sold as a covering for concrete. You may have seen theses stains at Home Depot or Lowe's, and they are not actual "stains", but rather they are glorified paints. They are opaque and are not catalyzed like two part epoxy's or urethane's are. They are water based and have virtually no resistence to harsh chemicals of solvents.

True concrete stains are actually combinations of salts and minerals blended in a water base to actually "stain" the concrete and give it a translucent effect, much like a wood stain would do. Chemical concrete stains are not sealers or topical coverings like a coating would be...a chemically stained concrete floor MUST be coated with something such as a typical concrete sealer. Chemical stains are only available in color shades of black, brown and green, and by diluting and blending colors together, you can create various shades of those colors. If you have ever seen a reddish stain on your concrete driveway caused by a radiator leak from a car, that is essentially what a concrete stain is, except a little more refined.

Because concrete stains are translucent and not opaque, they will not hide imperfections in the concrete.....in other words, if you have a big ugly oil stain or crack in your garage, you will still have a big ugly stain with a crack in your garage after staining. Plus, because concrete stains are water based and rely heavily on a chemical reaction with the concrete to change the color of the concrete, if there is anything in the floor that has caused it to be water-proof (such as oil, grease, old floor sealer, paint spills, etc.) the stain will not have any effect in that area and will not change color.

Also, because the stained floors must be sealed, the best type of sealer is a solvent based acrylic sealer, not a water based acrylic sealer, although they can be used. Neither of these are very effective against chemicals such as laquer thinner, brake fluid, gasoline, etc. They can be topped with certain epoxy products, but then you run the risk of having the same problems that other epoxy products have when applied to concrete garage floors. Most water based epoxy blends cause the chemical stains to change in color and have an adverse reaction. I have had green floors turn bright blue before!

Chemical stain floors are generally designed for foot traffic areas and very light duty vehicle traffic areas.

If you go to: www.lmscofield.com you will see some of our chemical stain floors. While they are very decorative and can be stunning, they do require alot of maintenance and upkeep to keep them looking nice, and I would not recommend them in a garage application.

Thanks Bob :3DSMILE: Thirty thousand feet a month - damn I need to be the dealer in Georgia.

Randy

Randy,
How's your car coming along? I looked at your gallery but it looks to be still going together. Any news?

Also, how much hp out of the stroker?

Deletum 5000
 

Has anyone heard of or used the Deletum 5000 paint which can be used on concrete, plastic, brick, metal, wood.

Paint contains silica.

Is it appropriate for use on garage floors ?

Taller Bob
The car is about 95% finished and on the road since early summer. I'm having so much fun driving that I probably won't finish the last 5% until it gets really cold. The motor is STRONG and pulls like a BB according to my BB friends:3DSMILE:

Randy

Don't push it GS.**)

How did a BB guy find this thread %/

Something I haven't seen mentioned but that I presently have is a heated floor. Plastic tubing was laid under the floor prior to pouring of floor. (they use this in homes under tile floors) It's not hooked up yet ( have to tie into heating system) but I was wondering what effect this would have on both the epoxy covered floor and the tiles. Should that improve life expectancy or shorten.
BTW I work in an industrial type building and while I don't know what exactly was used on the floor I can tell you that it's some type of dyed concrete (green) that has been down for more than 20 years and about every 6 months it gets buffed out using an ordinary buffer. We've spilled all kinds of things on it, especially oil. It shines so well you're afraid to walk on it at times. (Like walking through the kitchen after your mom just mopped it)

007 it is probably a colored concrete. Any concrete floor can be maintained to a high level of shine, colored or not. When I was in flight school we kept our plain old concrete floors waxed and buffed to the extent that you could see your face in it.

I have decided to clean my floor, sand it, seal it yet again and be done with it. It is a garage not the dining room.

Randy

Heated floors are the cats ass and will make anything you do last longer. You could put down almost any type floor finish with great results.

Update:
06, Nov. 2003
After a week of digging, laying out "in ground plumbing", packing sand, 3 major inspections, final approval finally came. (Did I mention the temperatures where in the 40's and continous rain for four days? Concrete was finally scheduled for 7 AM yesterday morning. I wanted to be there so bad, but unfortunately I had extended my time away from the primary shop far to long and simply had to get back!

Mrs. DV beeped me first thing yesterday and passed along the good news. The first of three cement trucks had arrived. Glory be! Three trucks later it finally got done.

Now, back on target. After an overly extensive amount of time was spent invesitgating "in floor radiant heat" that too is done.

After the job site was prepped, I laid out a thermal blanket over the entire floor area. Pretty spiffy stuff by the way. Then the reinforcing steel mesh was laid on top of this. Now...two days later the 2,000 feet of plastic tubing was laid out and wire tied to the wire mesh. Talk about a job! In the rain, 40 degrees, on your knees, and attach the tubing to the mesh every three feet! (Seems if you don't tie the tubing down, it will float to the surface of the concrete before it hardens.)

Everyone from the concrete guys to the building inspectors say we will love this heat. Can't wait to try it out! Of course we now need a boiler permit, then another inspection, then a licensed boiler installer, then a "gas line" inspection, then an inspection for the gas exhaust system! Geesh...does it ever end? Of course this is after the needed zoning variances, building permit, permit and inspection for the inground plumbing, footer and concrete permit, with inspection of course! Mechanical inspection for the in floor heat tubes; had to put a pressure test of 50 psi on the tubing for 24 hours. (Thank goodness it stayed on 51 lbs.+ !)

Building arrives Tuesday! Anyone up to a "Shop raising party?"

DV...still drying off

DV I feel your pain, I'm building a garage Majal but my property is on the Chesapeake Bay, so far I have been over seven months just trying to get my permits, I've been through numerious boards where they ask me why I'm so greedy, I have written checks to build new oyster beds in the Bay, what BS, and I'm told it will get harder in the new year when the real restrictive laws kick in. I'm thinking about moving to China where I can be Free.

The Spitz

Randy

When you say sand it, exactly what do you mean? How?

I have a few minor cracks that I chipped out then filled with an epoxy filler but it was difficult to get it perfectly even. I have been thinking of trying to sand those repairs before re-finishing the floor either with another coat of epoxy paint or tiles. Any advice would be appriciated.

Wayne

I bought a 1 part paint from a guy in Long Isl NY about $99 agal needed 2 gals. He called braging that this stuff was the best on the planet. I used it on an old floor yes with oil stains. He had prep instructions wash and etch. Well I did that but 4 or 5 times. I etched and etched till i got no more gray fizzing. Then did it again. No problem looks great. The only problem is the tires stained the paint alittle when & where I first parked the cars. Maybe I needed to let it cure longer.

Wayne I'm going to rent a buffer and buy the sanding disc and buffing pads. Check with any tool rental place, I think they can fix you up.

Randy

Hi all

Just used plain old 4 litre - 1 gallon - tin of paving paint in grey.

%/

Looks good. Dried as I put it on. Brushes washed up in water.

Oil etc. just wipes of and its not slippery.

Total cost $60 US. $80 approx. Aussie dollars. Time 2 hours plus clean out.

May spray a chequered board on with a square stencil soon, Will use a deep blue

Cheers

:3DSMILE:

Bernie

Bernie Knight
mt. Gambier South Australia.

Paving Paint
 

Bernie:

Not being familiar with " paving paint ", would it be correct that this is the same paint that is used on the highways for road markings and cross walks ? Or, is it another type of paint ?

What manufacturer, etc., etc., ?

.....thanks

Interesting Thread...

Can anyone comment on how the race deck holds up to build / restoration environments? e.g. MIG welder splatter, paint overspray (and cleanup), oil, grease, gas spills, etc...

Aslo, I have a 13 year old who likes to practice slap shots in the garage...

Thanks,
-Ross-

I am in the process of enclosing a large carport to make into a good-sized (12X28) one-bay garage. The floor surface is asphalt, and it appears fairly flat, but not as flat as your typical concrete slab.

For any of the Race Deck dealers/customers: Would this be a candidate for a Race Deck floor? or would any unevenness in the surface, however minor, keep the tiles from staying together?

Is there any surface prep needed for a Race Deck floor?