TGiuliante

Have any of you guys tried the snap together tiles like performance floors or Swiss trax for you garage floors?

if so pros and cons?

Thanks
TOm

jlutherva

I'm ready to do something to mine too. I bought the epoxy paint kits thinking that those would be a good way to go; however, it seems risky since my concrete was sealed at some point. I don't want to go to all of the expense of getting it painted only to have patches peel up.

Jim

RDnomorecobra

the snap together tiles scare me a little ... let's say you spill something. you just leave it under there? have to pull up the floor?

ErnieN85

epoxy with a clear coat epoxy is the way to go!
just like any paint job prep is where it is at
if it's a concrete floor diamond grind it first (equipment rental place)
then clean it good follow directions and don't drive on it for a week
then it will last! otherwise the only thing better is a terracotta floor (like a barn)

varkwso

Two part epoxy with clear coat. You will need vapor barrier under concrete and prep it well. I used acid on my new concrete.

travisnd

I used RaceDeck to create a "work pad" under my work bench/cabinet setup just to get the cabinets off the slab. My slab was poorly done and has no vapor barrier so it sweats badly. As a result, epoxy coating would be an exercise in time, money and frustration.

Since I do real work in the garage I've left the floor alone... sure I'd like to have a fancy epoxy coated floor, but it'd get torn up over time. Doing the whole floor in the snap-lock stuff doesn't appeal to me as it is a big sea of plastic. Plus, it makes odd noises when you walk on it. Regarding water/fluids, the tiles have water channels built into them so anything that does get under them will flow out to the end due to the normal grade of your slab. Also, water can't get in-between the cracks easily due to hydro-static tension.

Here's my "work pad" I created...




A great forum for everything garage/shop related is www.garagejournal.com

racerbob4

My son is building a new race garage and last year when we went to the PRI show we ran into a booth for Rocksolid Floors. Their product is sold in Lowes stores and is the most expensive floor finish that I have seen. It may also be the best. Yopu can call them in Minnesota at 866.765.4474 and talk to Mike McAllister. I think preperation is the secret to getting a great floor. Rocksolid is an polyurea coating and requires some acid etching. It goes down a lot like paint with a 3/8" nap roller on a stick. They say its 4 times as strong as epoxy and is eco safe. I think one kit does about 250 sq. ft. and works out to about $1 per sq. ft. You can check them out at www.rocksolidfloors.com I think they will be at the PRI show again in early December in Orlando. We are lucky in that we get to put down this protection before anything is spilled or the floor is used for anything.

TRACKMAN2

im a contractor / builder we have tried several brands of epoxy coatings on customer floors.. have had lots of trouble with peal-up
even with extencive prep. especialy where car sit for a while.. there are a few comercial grade coatings that are good but expencive. customers usually dont go that route.. the mats/ tiles ive looked at seem to be a great idea.. cleaning could be an issue, but overall they should be fine...i like the fact there removeable..i would think once a year take them out, clean and replace!

TRACKMAN2

THE EXPRESS WARRANTIES SET FORTH IN THIS WARRANTY ARE IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES. ANY DESCRIPTION OF THE GOODS CONTAINED IN THIS
AGREEMENT IS FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF IDENTIFYING THE GOODS, AND NO DESCRIPTION OF THE GOODS HAS BEEN MADE A PART OF THE BASIS OF THE
BARGAIN OR HAS CREATED AN EXPRESS WARRANTY THAT THE GOODS WOULD CONFORM TO ANY DESCRIPTION MADE BY ROCKSOLID. IT IS SPECIFICALLY
AGREED THAT THE GOODS SOLD BY THIS AGREEMENT ARE SOLD WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY. IT IS SPECIFICALLY AGREED THAT THE
GOODS SOLD BY THIS AGREEMENT ARE SOLD WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSES WHATSOEVER......be careful manufactures always claim faulty installation..i recomend having a installer apply this type of product..their guarentee may be better.....

JMBLOWNWS6

I dont have a big garage but I just did the laminate floor tiles checkers. Been using it for 4 years problem free. Used some floor glue in certain area's and just filled in the low spots. Was cheap and worked for me.

Jason

Are those tiles slicker than snot when wet?

travisnd

Yes... and if you have slab sweat they'll peel up too. I wanted to do large grey VCT (vinyl composite tile) with fleks. After a bunch of research I decided to leave it be do to my situation with moisture.

JMBLOWNWS6

Ive mopped it and no problems. Doesnt get wet unless I spill something in there.

You could seal it easily. But my garage is not really a working garage.

davidfarmer

I don't know the products you mentioned, but I have a ton of Kiwi Tile that I used to use at the races. I can fade (mostly in sunlight) and stain (oil), and it's hard on bare skin (like kneeling). However, unlike some flooring, say laminate home flooring, you can pop individual tiles out for cleaning, then pop them back in. Yes they overlap, but they do so in a way that you can get them in/out easily.

As someone else said though, I personally am just fine with plain old concrete

AU N EGL

Prep is the Key. I just power washed my garage floor 6 years ago before the epoxy, now the epoxy is pealing a bit.

I also tossed in some play sand into the epoxy mix so it would not get slippery when wet.

varkwso

Prep is the key - with used concrete and no vapor barrier no paint/epoxy will work for long. I used the linking tiles in my existing garage since it was stained and has moisture migration problems. They accumulate pollen, dust, dead bugs, metal flakes, rubber slag, etc. in and around them. It takes regular removal and cleaning.

I have zero hot tire pickup and the concrete was cured with nothing ever parked on it. It cleans up way better then bare concrete and does not stain.

TGiuliante

Thanks for the replies.

In my old garage I used an epoxy base coat/clear coat system and it worked great - and I did not have a vapor barrier. The only thing was in the summer months it would accumulated condensation and would be slippery as hell - other than that it was an awesome floor. I just moved and I want to pimp out my man cave. The epoxy floor took 3 days to do between coats, curing etc.... i would like to do a checkered floor so I have been looking into a floor sysytem as mentioned above.

varkswo - do you have tiles with grooves in it?

varkwso

I have an assortment of cast offs/ clearance buys. Some are grooved and some are perforated. A few even have a pebbled surface. They all get dirty and oily.