When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I had Racedeck in my old garage and PEI 5 in my new garage. Racedeck is an incredible product in that you can create a really cool looking garage with a durable floor in an afternoon. I'd say it's a long-term garage floor for most "normal" home garages. I did lots of heavy mechanical work on mine -- pulling engines and transmissions with cherry pickers, etc. and -- while it physically held up just fine -- the lighter tiles will show the grease and wear over time and no amount of cleaning really brings them back to new. Greasy heavy parts will gouge the plastic and drive grease/dirt into the abrasions, making them virtually impossible to make look new again. (A friend of mine experimented with power washing/heat/sealants and such and made his look pretty darn good, but the labor to get there was more than it was worth at $4 per new tile or whatever.) When mine got really bad, I just replaced the bad ones in an afternoon for a couple hundred bucks, and the garage looked new again. I'm a little over a year into the PEI 5 tiles, and so far they are holding up flawlessly. I read that the PEI 5 rating is really about how well the surface appearance holds up, rather than the strength of the porcelain itself. I once stabbed at a spare tire with a screwdriver and couldn't make a mark -- even though I was hitting it hard enough to make sparks! Properly installed, porcelain tiles are super strong and impact resistant. I've dropped plenty of tools on mine so far, and at least one transmission skid plate, and they didn't make a mark. And, while not as easy to replace as Racedeck, you can replace individual tiles if something should damage them -- which is not true with a concrete floor. Just my two cents having tried both....
PEI 5 porcelain....
Racedeck....
we are in the process of building a house and I looked at all options and we are doing porcelain. My garage I want to have a clean modern almost museum like look. Clean and uncluttered. We have a way to go so lots of time to look at colors and brands but 100% porcelain for me.
I had Racedeck in my old garage and PEI 5 in my new garage. Racedeck is an incredible product in that you can create a really cool looking garage with a durable floor in an afternoon. I'd say it's a long-term garage floor for most "normal" home garages. I did lots of heavy mechanical work on mine -- pulling engines and transmissions with cherry pickers, etc. and -- while it physically held up just fine -- the lighter tiles will show the grease and wear over time and no amount of cleaning really brings them back to new. Greasy heavy parts will gouge the plastic and drive grease/dirt into the abrasions, making them virtually impossible to make look new again. (A friend of mine experimented with power washing/heat/sealants and such and made his look pretty darn good, but the labor to get there was more than it was worth at $4 per new tile or whatever.) When mine got really bad, I just replaced the bad ones in an afternoon for a couple hundred bucks, and the garage looked new again. I'm a little over a year into the PEI 5 tiles, and so far they are holding up flawlessly. I read that the PEI 5 rating is really about how well the surface appearance holds up, rather than the strength of the porcelain itself. I once stabbed at a spare tire with a screwdriver and couldn't make a mark -- even though I was hitting it hard enough to make sparks! Properly installed, porcelain tiles are super strong and impact resistant. I've dropped plenty of tools on mine so far, and at least one transmission skid plate, and they didn't make a mark. And, while not as easy to replace as Racedeck, you can replace individual tiles if something should damage them -- which is not true with a concrete floor. Just my two cents having tried both....
PEI 5 porcelain....
Racedeck....
i so love your floor and design...love the pseudo antiqued black and white, the wood, love it all!
it certainly will look the fanciest the longest...in my 2 garages i know that the main use one will get the perforated race deck tiles...wife has complained so much and rightly so about slipperyness
in my "display" garage i'm torn...will be lifts, work area etc...dont have to worry about slipperiness...also wanna try )hah) to stay a little price conscious
You can get porcelain tiles cheaper than Racedeck, but when you add grout, float material, slip-mats, installation, etc., the plastic tiles are probably a lot cheaper overall -- since you can put them in yourself without needing anything else. That said, I put vapr barrier under mine (like you'd use with Pergo) and would recommend it for the solid Racedeck tiles. They make the floor sound 'normal' when you walk on them (and keep oil from soaking into the concrete), without the plastic clicky sound they make when directly on the slab. With swisstrack open tiles, I supposed a vapor barrier would kind of defeat the purpose though...
Just wanted to thank everyone contributing to the thread.....am property hunting and it's actually changed my plans for the purchase and garage setup....thanks!
i second the thanks...still working on what i will do in one of the garages...main use garage will be perforated race deck/swisstrax
to those that used perforated race deck/swisstrax did anyone seal their concrete ahead of time?
i second the thanks...still working on what i will do in one of the garages...main use garage will be perforated race deck/swisstrax
to those that used perforated race deck/swisstrax did anyone seal their concrete ahead of time?
No and get Swisstrax not Racedeck. It is way better. I have had them both. I actually ripped out my last RD floor and sold it and replaced with Swisstrax. Way better. Doesn’t have that clank sound the guy above talked about and doesn’t expand and contrast with temp swings like Racedeck does. IMO Racedeck is sh$t.
No and get Swisstrax not Racedeck. It is way better. I have had them both. I actually ripped out my last RD floor and sold it and replaced with Swisstrax. Way better. Doesn’t have that clank sound the guy above talked about and doesn’t expand and contrast with temp swings like Racedeck does. IMO Racedeck is sh$t.
Very true on Racedeck. I had it in my airplane hangar and it would expand and contract over an inch on the edges and buckle. I even left a 1" gap around the outside and still wasn't enough. It looked terrible. So bad that I sold the hangar and the next guy ripped it out about 3 months after moving in (I told him about the problem first). My garages now have porcelain and it has been great. Porcelain is cheaper here in AZ because tile labor is really cheap compared to most of the country.
In fairness to Racedeck, you are supposed to leave space around the edges for it to expand and contract, but I hear you.
It's quick and easy, and can add lots of 'pop' to a space, and you can avoid the clicking sound with something under it, but it will never be porcelain...
In fairness to Racedeck, you are supposed to leave space around the edges for it to expand and contract, but I hear you.
It's quick and easy, and can add lots of 'pop' to a space, and you can avoid the clicking sound with something under it, but it will never be porcelain...
In fairness to racedeck?! I doubled the gap I left on the outside from their recommendations and it still wasn't near enough! They are used to 20x20 garages where a 1/2" gap is enough. on a 60x60 hangar floor, I needed 1 1/2-2" around the outside which then looks horrible. I would rather leave bare cement than use it again. I would give the product a 1 star maybe.
In fairness to Racedeck, you are supposed to leave space around the edges for it to expand and contract, but I hear you.
It's quick and easy, and can add lots of 'pop' to a space, and you can avoid the clicking sound with something under it, but it will never be porcelain...
I had the gap as well which BTW you don’t need an ugly gap with Swisstrax. You can mount Swisstrax right up to the wall and if you want perfection like most garages here the RD gap is ugly. Again why add something to keep it from clanking when you can just lay down Swisstrax and you are good. Trust me I have had both, get the Swisstrax. Call them directly and ask for a discount, you will get one. It was the same price as RD. Mine was actually cheaper because they liked the fact I was removing the crappy RD.
No and get Swisstrax not Racedeck. It is way better. I have had them both. I actually ripped out my last RD floor and sold it and replaced with Swisstrax. Way better. Doesn’t have that clank sound the guy above talked about and doesn’t expand and contrast with temp swings like Racedeck does. IMO Racedeck is sh$t.
Totally disagree. I've had both and they're basically identical, save for the sheen/color tones. I've had my latest RD Free Flow in place for almost five years now and it still looks almost brand new. There is no clank sound at all on the Free Flow. I think you're referring to the cheap flat closed tiles like shown in the picture a few posts above.
In fairness to racedeck?! I doubled the gap I left on the outside from their recommendations and it still wasn't near enough! They are used to 20x20 garages where a 1/2" gap is enough. on a 60x60 hangar floor, I needed 1 1/2-2" around the outside which then looks horrible. I would rather leave bare cement than use it again. I would give the product a 1 star maybe.
Flat tiles or Free Flow? I have FF edge to edge and I have zero expansion, popping or moving/clicking. The only tiles I ever had an issue with were the cheap solid ones.
Last edited by Archimedes; 01-04-2021 at 05:43 PM.
Very true on Racedeck. I had it in my airplane hangar and it would expand and contract over an inch on the edges and buckle. I even left a 1" gap around the outside and still wasn't enough. It looked terrible. So bad that I sold the hangar and the next guy ripped it out about 3 months after moving in (I told him about the problem first). My garages now have porcelain and it has been great. Porcelain is cheaper here in AZ because tile labor is really cheap compared to most of the country.
Just to be clear, the above is NOT what Handdoc or I am talking about. RaceDeck Free Flow is an identical product to SwissTrax, with gaps. It does not click or bulge at all, unless I imagine if you have a ridiculously unlevel slab.
I agree that the above tiles suck. I had them prior to Free Flow and did not care for them at all.
Last edited by Archimedes; 01-04-2021 at 05:39 PM.
In fairness to racedeck?! I doubled the gap I left on the outside from their recommendations and it still wasn't near enough! They are used to 20x20 garages where a 1/2" gap is enough. on a 60x60 hangar floor, I needed 1 1/2-2" around the outside which then looks horrible. I would rather leave bare cement than use it again. I would give the product a 1 star maybe.
Sorry about that. The hot AZ weather and large open space probably doesn't help. I used it in a typical 2 car garage with floating cabinets that hid most of the gaps around the edges. They worked quite well for me, but everything has its place. Put Tom Brady in a barbershop quartet and he might get 1 star reviews as well.
01-03-2021, 03:20 PM
Totally disagree. I've had both and they're basically identical, save for the sheen/color tones. I've had my latest RD Free Flow in place for almost five years now and it still looks almost brand new. There is no clank sound at all on the Free Flow. I think you're referring to the cheap flat closed tiles like shown in the picture a few posts above.
