Epoxy paint or snap together tiles for the garage??

leadfoot · #1 (**permalink**) 07-25-2003, 10:11 AM

I am leaning towards a professional painting the garage with an epoxy... Not something you want to make a mistake on, especially etching with sulfuric acid...

I would be interested to now if anyone has tried both, and or recommend one over the other, as well as a good supplier of tiles.

Ron61 · #2 (**permalink**) 07-25-2003, 10:23 AM

Leadfoot,

I had my garage done by Professionals twice with all the etching and so forth and the first job lasted about 2 years before the paint was a mess. Of course the next ones that did it told me the first people didn't do it right. They must have did it correctly as theirs lasted nearly 4 years before it started cracking and coming up. I now have my garage covered with the race deck snap together tiles and wish I had know about them long before I did. I have replaced one tile wheer I got a gouge in it from a jack stand with sharp edges. The gouge wasn't even that much and no one but me even noticed it but I have a few spare tiles and it was easy to change. Other people have had much better luck with the epoxy than I have and you should talk to them. The tiles cost almost half what the first epoxy job did and the second one was even more than the first one.

Ron

spencer · #3 (**permalink**) 07-25-2003, 11:53 AM

Ron61...
Who is the manufacture and where did you purchase them?
Spence..

leadfoot · #4 (**permalink**) 07-25-2003, 11:58 AM

Found it here...
http://racedeck.com/racedeck.htm

CobraEd · #5 (**permalink**) 07-25-2003, 12:37 PM

Ron, I have heard that you can't turn your wheels while driving on the Racedeck or when the car is stationary or it will tear up the snap-in tiles. Is this not true?

I always thought that the Racedeck floor looked good and would be a fun project, but I was concerned about turing the wheels and tearing it up.

Ed

Robert Evans · #6 (**permalink**) 07-25-2003, 01:03 PM

We are the dealer for RaceDeck in So. Calif. and in Las Vegas. We can answer all your questions about the products including turning your wheels on the tiles if you call Toll free 866-789 5927, or visit us at www.tuffdeck.com

Like Ron, I think you be satisfied.

Kputz · #7 (**permalink**) 07-25-2003, 01:24 PM

How many orders from CC members would you have to get to make a substantial discount?

Ron61 · #8 (**permalink**) 07-25-2003, 02:46 PM

Ed,

I have turned the wheels on my cars both while stationary and while moving in the garage and haven't damaged the tiles any. I won't say you can't do it, but so far I haven't had any problem. I have to jockey my Torino Cobra around the kwick lift ramp with the Cobra on it every time I take it out or put it back in the garage and it is a big block with a lot of weight. I have also used the car-jacks that I have to lift the rear wheels and roll the car around on them with no problem. I am sure that if you tried you could damage the tiles but I have always been careful with my cars and things anyway. I did get some extra tiles of each color just in case and as I said I did change one of them but the one that had the little grove in it I kept as no one else even noticed it and I wanted to see how easy it was to get to one that was a little ways out in the floor. I have been very happy with them so far.

Ron

B. SMITH · #9 (**permalink**) 07-25-2003, 03:43 PM

I'M IMPRESSED

B. SMITH

David Kirkham · #10 (**permalink**) 07-25-2003, 05:02 PM

We are seriously considering the Race Deck for several projects. The stuff is great and the guys who make it are really nice people who care about their product.

As for Epoxy...ours is peeling too. Difficult to keep clean and not very happy with it.

I don't think you could go wrong with Race Deck.

David

luke-44 · #11 (**permalink**) 07-25-2003, 05:36 PM

I can't believe what I do for a living (industrial containment linings)actually crossed with a Cobra posting.

Epoxy/urethane linings can be extremely attractive (tough mirror-like finishes) and will last forever (maybe longer) when done properly - like most painting jobs, surface prep is 2/3 of the cost.

Surface prep problems and the associated specifications and details are exremely well detailed in a series of ASTM and NACE specifications, as well as other documents. A greasy floor presents specific extra problems.

I would be happy to share these technical details with anyone by sending pdf attachments if you are interested - send me an email - my company mfg'rs coatings that are good, and I am in a position where I can offer CC folks special pricing, but there are also a hundred other mfgr's out there - I am upgrading my own shop with a 30 mil (0.030") high gloss self leveling system from my original 5 mil semi gloss epoxy - it will look like a sheet of grey glass when done, but will be tough as nails. Nonetheless, It's not the product so much as the prep. Let me say this another way - it's the prep....no, its the prep...

Bottom line - if you don't want to take it on yourself (and it is not really all that hard if you take your time and follow the instructions) then have it done by a competent contractor who knows what I am talking about - not just some "joe painter" type. Concrete is much different than steel or wood.

BTW, the "acid wash" isn't near as scary as it first sounds....

In Utah, I would be happy to provide David Kirkham with contacts for a quality installer - well at least the SLC area.

Hope this helps, Regards, luke-44

leadfoot · #12 (**permalink**) 07-25-2003, 06:36 PM

I sure know I am asking the right questions and on the right track when David Kirkham responds to my questions that I pose (last one was on knock-off care).

If I can find someone in Canada that reps racedeck... that will be what goes in...

Thanks..

CSX 4027 · #13 (**permalink**) 07-25-2003, 06:53 PM

In my last place I had new poured concrete. I acid etched it and followed all the directions necessary to do a perfect job. I was less than impressed. It lifted all the time and I kept having to chase after it.
I recently dealt with Bob on the new race deck floor recently installed. It was easy to do and if I ever move again I can take it with me and it looks and responds great.
In my opinion, it is the only way to go.
You will end up spending more time and money chasing after your epoxy floor than you will with Race Deck.

Robert Evans · #14 (**permalink**) 07-25-2003, 06:59 PM

If you call us on Monday, I can get you in touch with a RaceDeck dealer in Canada.

BTW, I second everything that Luke said,...PREP is the key. After being in the concrete and epoxy floor coating business myself for over 13 years, we only had one floor failure; we did not shot-blast that particular floor and we paid the price.

Also, acid washing is now considered hazardous waste in California with a HUGE fine if you are caught washing or disposing of acid wash water where it should not be. We have also found substantiated proof that when Muratic acid is used as an acid wash for profiling concrete floors, any steel reinforcing within that concrete is affected by the acid which penetrates through the concrete. We never acid washed any floors that contained steel reinforcing.

Double Venom · #15 (**permalink**) 07-25-2003, 07:02 PM

OK...
New shop being built. I have seen epoxied floors you can hit with a hammer and not have them chip. I've seen ten time as many blister and peel.

Now I find out their is a stain in lieu of a paint that is supposedly tons better than epoxy. Then I found out this week that they now will mix your concrete in "color" for you.

Keep talking guys, we've got to make the decision soon!

DV...Is "Racedeck" like the decking I put on my boat years ago? Like a rubber waffle with holes in it, or is it solid?

leadfoot · #16 (**permalink**) 07-25-2003, 07:06 PM

OK now I am really set on racedeck..... Choices of racedeck tiles.... laminate or diamond????

And what is the ballpark costing per 1' x 1' tile???

Do you place your lift on or cut around the tiles?

Thx..

luke-44 · #17 (**permalink**) 07-25-2003, 08:27 PM

Re: CSX 4027 - in the heirechy of concrete surface prep methods -acid etching is at the bottom - despite following the instructions, many times the results are less than satisfactory - for a variety of both technical and environmental reasons which is far too involved to get into in this forum. My own personal job turned out A1, hence my comments that it can can be done, but, this is my business - every day. Shot blasting is far away the best surface prep method, as noted by Evans, - however - it requires special equipment not available to the layman.

Like everything it comes down to $$.

A good epoxy lining by a qualified installer will likely run $3-4-6/per SF - the bigger the job, the less the cost - setup is a major cost. Take it on yourself, and you can do a 20'X 20' garage for a few hundred $$ for the materials.

I can't comment on the racedeck approach as to $$.

I can comment that a properly done epoxy lining is second to none in appearance. This is why you see them in a lot of the pro race carshops - clean up is a breeze. I'm not selling here - actually, these small jobs are not what I do, nor prefer to get involved with. I only offer my comments to share some knowledge.

luke-44

CSX 4027 · #18 (**permalink**) 07-25-2003, 08:55 PM

Leadfoot;\
I think the diamond plate looks the best and will give you the anti-slip you will need. The laminate could be too slippery,

Luke-44;
I am not an expert in this area and only tried in the past what was advised. If there was a better method I was not aware but,
no matter what you spend, you can't take epoxy with you and with race deck you don't have to halucinate from the smell.

luke-44 · #19 (**permalink**) 07-25-2003, 09:51 PM

Curious as to the cost of Racedeck.

Anybody have a number for a typical 20x20 garage? It's all a moot point without $$ attached to the equation. Is this a $200 floor or a $2000 job?

I would really think twice about the "free flow" or even the checker plate for my garage floor. My preference would be the smooth "laminate".

Any problems with dirt getting in the seams over time? Again, I'm only asking the question - why do most pro race shops go with a seamless coating?

luke-44

rms427 · #20 (**permalink**) 07-25-2003, 10:28 PM

I just finished installing Racedeck diamond plate in my garage. I had built the garage about 4 years ago and used a concrete stain that was recommended by the local hardware store. The installation instructions said to wait 6 weeks for new concrete to cure before applying the stain. I waited the 6 weeks and never parked a car in it so there was no oil. I acid washed the concrete as they recommended and then applied the stain. It looked great at first but started to fail after only a few months. It failed in all areas including a bathroom. I think the main problem was that the floor was poored much thicker than normal which then took longer to cure. Unfortunately, I did not think of this before I applied the stain.

By the time I installed the racedeck the stain was a mess. I could scape it and vacuum it up and by the next day more paint was coming up. It was like a fine powder that got all over everything. I decided to go with the racedeck since I could lay it over the failed stain. I felt getting the old stain off would require me to move out the cars, cabinets etc. and would take several days to complete and then there would be the time that it would take to install and cure an epoxy before I could put the cars and cabinets back in the garage. The racedeck was easy to install. I installed it under my lift but cut it around all the cabinets. I even installed it into a bathroom. I only had one car that I left out of the garage at night while I installed it (this is a 4 car garage). I used a pattern of 4 foot squares of black and white. It looks great.

From now on I will put something under sharp edged jack stands. I used them to hold up the lift while I installed the racedeck under the legs and they cut into the material. It wasn't real bad but it did leave indentations. Another thing is that direct sunlight will cause the area in sun to expand which can cause it to lift up a bit. As soon as the sun is off it the tiles go back down. We've had 100 plus degree days and as long as the sun isn't shining directly on it there isn't any lifting. As far as oil leaking from the cars it wipes right up.