Racedeck Flooring

I think it's a great product - I need to get out & measure the garage & take some pics for a quote.

 

fwiw, here's my opinion.

first off, i'm an owner (kiwi). i did my garage a couple years back and think it's a great product, so i have a positive bias towards this stuff.

most of the people i talk to find this particular solution to be far too expensive. these tiles work out to $3.00 to $3.25 per square foot with shipping and all that jazz. that ain't cheap. it means a two-car garage will run you $1500 to $2000. not short money for a "garage improvement".

it's substantially pricier than the average DIY epoxy effort.

and it's not substantially less expensive than going with a ceramic or the like tile effort.

imo, the market for these things is very focused. it's guys willing to spend money on their garage who want to DIY and want to do weird patterns and/or plan to move it with them when they move.

i went this route because i originally planned to do some wacky patterns that would become a resale liability; and i wanted to be able to take it with me when i moved.

hope this is helpful.

doody.

 

I only have my own buying experience to relate if that is of any use.

I completely remodeled my garage during the summer of 2003. I did extensive research on all of the possible flooring that would be functional as well as attractive. I am a Toyota technician by trade and my floor had to meet my expectations in regards to stain resistance and durability. My final choices after investigating every option I could find were U-Coat-It epoxy, RaceDeck, and StarQuartz Tile.

The approximate pricing for each on a 20X20 garage

U-Coat-It $585.00
RaceDeck $1100.00
StarQuartz $5400.00

Each option has definite strengths and weaknesses.

The U-Coat-It floor is the cheapest, has excellent durability, is easier to use with a lift, but is labor intensive, (especially if you have oil, grease, or other chemical stains already present. Prep for the epoxy is the key to good adhesion), not removable, and can be slick when wet. (not good with oil and antifreeze) Few color choices available in real quality floor epoxy.

The RaceDeck is the next cheapest I looked at, but was still double the price of epoxy. On the pro side the color and pattern choices are huge. The floor is totally removable, and you can change the pattern if you get tired of it. The floor is very durable. Even a floor jack didn't scratch the samples I received. The textured surface is nice and grippy, and oil doesn't faze it. The floor provides some nice cushioning for your feet if you stand on it for long periods of time. The cons for me were that my garage has a step at the front that made a smooth, continuous floor impossible with RaceDeck. The main part of the floor could be RaceDeck, but the front part still required another floor covering. My garage also is not a size where the RaceDeck tiles will fit exactly. Either gaps are left at the walls, or the tiles have to be cut to fit. The cut edges of the RaceDeck are NOT attractive. Tiling around a lift presents a challenge.

The StarQuartz was VERY expensive. But it was also gorgeous. The sample tile was a high quality synthetic tile that was impervious to everything short of nuclear holocaust. A large color selection and different sized tiles made for real design flexibility. The cons were EXPENSE!!!! The price of $5400.00 did NOT include installation. I was unprepared to attempt a DIY project with the price of a mistake so high. A lift poses no problem for StarQuartz. The compression standard on the tile means you just tile the floor and bolt the lift down on top of it. The Starquartz would have been a more viable option for me if I was going to stay in my current home for a long term. I don't see myself being here after a few more years. Plus the price of my home doesn't justify that kind of expense which cannot be recouped at sale.

I don't know if my story is helpful at all. Each person has a different circumstance and needs. I went with the U-Coat-It mainly because I was familiar with it, and the price was just a lot lower. If I was more successful in my occupation, the RaceDeck or StarQuartz would have been my choice.

I guess you could say I took the Wal-Mart path, when I preferred the Neiman-Marcus path.

Here is a pic of my floor. I like it pretty well.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

ntol - I'm not in the market for one at this time, as I am in an apartment. However, were it not for your ad presence in F-Chat, I would not have known that your product would be what I will put in my garage when the time comes. With that in mind, think of your ads in F-Chat as being an investment that will pay it's dividends.

 

I appreciate that you have chosen to support FerrariChat. If I am representative, you definitely are close to your market. I recently finished the floor of my 2400 sq ft garage with 2 part epoxy simply because of the cost. The epoxy was a lot of prep work but I recruited some friends and it wasn't too bad. I am considering doing the primary work bay in racedeck for looks and durability.

Bottom line - I love your product but IMO it currently is too expensive for mass appeal in large applications. I am sure at some point in the future I will buy some.

 

Hey, don't forget we have to pay Ferrari sized maintenance bills!

 

I purchased approx 1500 sq ft of RaceDeck which I was going to use in my own garage. After putting down the first few tiles, I was disappointed with the sound and feel of the product under foot. Very "cheap" feeling which the folks at RaceDeck said would go away with the use of a carpet or some other liner under the product to dampen out the noise. It's not a bad product and probably one of the better interlocking tiles.

I went with epoxy (actually Criterion's seamless product which is sold by the same guys that make Starquartz tiles) in the workshop and Porcelanosa's Ston-ker tiles in my detail and storage bays.

 

The reason Marlboro advertises on the Ferrari F1 cars is not so that people will run out and buy a pack of smokes, but rather to keep the name in peoples mind and to maintain their brand.

I think there is a lot of value in having racedeck stay in peoples mind through ads here. I first heard about it on the Viper club when someone from Racedeck posted. Prior to hearing about it and hearing positive comments, I would never have considered a plastic floor could be durable enough to work in a garage. Then I saw a guy at a tradeshow using Racedeck (red and gray tiled) and it looked really nice. So I figured I might give it a shot for our tradeshow booth. Then I saw you advertising here and now "racedeck" is a name I know. Having seen the product and walked on it, I really like it. And I will probably be a buyer for my business in the next year, and probably a buyer for my home in the next couple of years. So I think the ad is working in that respect.

The thing I would say is that Rob ought to make the ads more prominent, because actually until this thread happened, I didn't even know Racedeck sponsored the site. I am conditioned to tune out all advertising, so the only ones I do know that advertise are Sodacom and the plasma TV place (because the pic of the TV caught my eye).

 

Our biggest sales to date have been to motorcycle shops. If any of you here have a bike that you like to show off, a 4X10 section of color matched (or contrasted) tile for your bike looks real great trimmed out. Its less than $175, also, so its not a huge investment.

Ed

 

I am planning a complete garage redo in the spring, though I am not really a do it yourselfer, it looks to me like racedeck may just get my business. I just have to find someone willing to install it.

 

Carnut,

It really is a DIY project in that if it starts to go wrong you can pick it up and start over again. I did my floor with Kiwi about two years ago, it's a three car garage and after gettting about one car's worth done I decided I didn't like the pattern and that it wasn't lined up right. I took it apart and started over. It still looks great today, even better in the spring when I can power wash it.

Just one thing- a set of good knee pads should come with every order

 

Absolutely a do-it-yourself project – VERY easy to install and remove – I use an underlayment material designed for floating laminate flooring. This eliminated the “sound and feel of the product under foot” issues stated previously in another reply.

 

Question for the guys at Racedeck:

Do you currently or are you planning to have a discount for FerrariChat members? I think the product is nice and it resonates well with this community and it would be great if you guys offered a promotional discount for us!

If so, I can think of at least half a dozen to a dozen guys who will line up to buy your product.

Thanks,
Byron

 

Can someone elaborate on this "feel?" At the dealership we had a section of plastic interlocking tiles to display one car and walking on it was annoying, clack-clack-clack. If the tiles had a rubberized bottom that would go away, but these didn't. They also weren't very flat in relation to each other, giving it a kind of "rolling" look, which contributed to the sound. I don't know if they were Racedeck or not, but I would never buy them whatever they were.

My next garage will have a textured finish, sealed and clean.

Mark

 

damn straight!

i got about halfway done with my garage when i realized i had stupidly picked the wrong line to be the straight line and had to back it all out. i guess i shouldn't drink so heavily when doing home improvement projects . totally not a big deal though. wildly DIY.

i cannot. i have kiwi tile and think it's great. it's right on top of the concrete. no excessive noise. i think it feels great - even in bare feet! the floor is much warmer (not on the cement) and it definitely is more comfortable to stand on for long periods than concrete (i guess it's got some give - i dunno).

doody.

 

I just remodeled my garage and considered your tile but instead decided to go with 16"x16" porcelain tiles. I wanted a more "upscale, showroom" look.I also didn't like the fact that with racedeck , when you hose down the garage the water seeps underneath. With the porcelain, I also made the base board using it. Also it was cheaper per tile.

 

fwiw, this is why the "open" tiles that kiwi sells and racedeck also seems to have now are great. especially if you get weather where you live (eg: snow).

i too don't like the idea of solid tiles - it seems like a liability.

the problem with any ceramic etc. tile that is laid in mortar or adhered to the cement is that it can come up with moisture, etc. (the shower in my master bath is a gazillion 1" tiles - what a freakin' nightmare!). these let the the water evaporate.

each spring i vaccuum the kiwi with my shop vac to get the sand up. and wash it (the white tiles do get dirty) with soap and water. no problemo. but it's also no biggie to separate big chunks and drag 'em out into the driveway for a power-wash either.

my two drachmas.

doody.

 

Water sitting on top of the Racedeck will sweep/blow/mop out. There will be some that gets through the cracks, but it will drain out to the edge of the floor/ out the garage doors as if there was no covering on it. Its pretty much a non-issue, IMO.

Ed

 

As I stated before, love the product - but, to address the post above -
Purchased my race deck tiles from a web store for $3.49 -
no shipping -
no discounts -
advertised price -

how about a better deal for us Ferrari owners?

 

my racedeck with wood base
Image Unavailable, Please Login