Garage finished, time to get to work

[Marc Lublin]

While most of you were down in Nashville soaking up the rain (wish I could have been there, work schedule just didn't permit it), I was finishing up my garage. I installed a Bend Pak 4 post lift which I purchased from American Automotive Equipment. This is a quality lift, east to install although if I ever do it again I would want another person to help lift the heavy pieces. If anyone ever buys this lift they should just know that the installation instructions are a little outdated. They have made some changes which never made it on paper. That made the installation process go a little slower, but I figured it out in the end. After installing the lift I laid down my new Racedeck flooring. This was a must since my 40 year old concrete is like walking on gravel. I did a blue and black checkerboard pattern that looks really good. Simple installation (if you don't count me knocking into my shelving unit and watching the fire extinguisher fall off the top shelf and exploding powder all over my garage). Nothing a broom, vacuum, mop and plenty of cursing couldn't take care of. So now I am all set for my snake to go in for major surgery. I'm planning on a blower with a strong bottom end. It will be a pleasure to work on it and not have to be lying on my back all the time.

 

[Anthony - 98 GTS]

Marc,

Sounds like a good project -- any pics?? I really want to see a Racedeck floor installed.

 

[Tpup]

I would love to see pics as well. I'm adding a one car garage to my house and will be doing the same thing you did. Last night I was playing with their floor designer looking at blue/black, blue/grey, and other colors. Please post pics

Thanks and congrats in finishing!

Roy

 

[46hemi]

I am also interested in the Racedeck floor. I called them and they sent me a sample which looked really nice. My concerns were the fact that liquids could get between the cracks of the floor and sit under the floor on the cement. I would think this would be an ideal breeding ground for mold/mildew and also because the air circulation under the floor might not be that great the result would be deteriorating cement. I dont drive my car in the rain or snow so that part I am not concerned with but I have an ATV that I plow with and would like to put it in my garage after plowing. When the snow melts it could get real ugly under there. Anyone with experience I would be extremely grateful. Also how much was the lift you bought? I saw several threads on lifts with alot of varied opinions.

 

[Marc Lublin]

I will take pictures either later today or tomorrow and at that time someone could tell me how to post them on the site. I said blue/black because that is what it looks like, but I actually ordered blue/grey, it's just a dark grey. I also only have the car in the rain if it happens to rain unexpectedly, so I don't think water will be a problem. If it does get wet under there I think it will probably dry up OK, it's plastic not rubber and while it looks very nice there are small gaps which should let it breathe a bit. Best ones to ask about that are the Racedeck people. I think someone from Racedeck posts on this site, so maybe he will chime in.

 

[RaceDeck]

Marc: Thank you for going with RaceDeck, I would love to see pictures of your garage with your Viper sitting on top. If you have an questions you can call me here anytime. If I am not available, almost anyone here can walk you through any wuestion you may have....Thanks again.

46Hemi: Here are some anwsers to your questions:
We engineered this floor for the garage enviroment-

*Each tile is loaded with anti-microbial(in the tile when manufactured) This helps eliminate mold,mildew and nasty odors.

*RaceDeck is a suspended floor,allowing air to cirulate.

*Because there is no Glue, you can easily un-snap your floor to get to the sub-surface.

*We also have our free~flow product that is designed to allow liquids and debris to flow through the floor(we recomend a pitched garage for this)

*Unlike epoxy, if you damage an area, you DO NOT loose the entire floor, you can simply un-snap the damaged tile and replace with a new one....for only a few dollars

Of you want to see some pictures, go to www.racedeck.com




RaceDeck

 

[RaceDeck]

I am not sure is this page will post some pictures? I have not figured out how to yet?

You must be registered for see images

 

[RaceDeck]

I will try one more time????

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[RaceDeck]

Yeh I am not as dumb as I thought

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[RaceDeck]

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[picflight]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by 46hemi:
I am also interested in the Racedeck floor. I called them and they sent me a sample which looked really nice. My concerns were the fact that liquids could get between the cracks of the floor and sit under the floor on the cement. [SNIP]
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I had the same concern. Would like to hear from someone who has this floor installed for a while and how it is performing. I would also be interested in finding out it sounds when you drive or walk over it.

 

[Marc Lublin]

Forgot about the price of the lift. It was $2200. It doesn't look like I will have any problems with it, it's very sturdy and looks like it's made very well.

Ok, took some pictures, how do I post them? They are saved in JPEG format.

 

[Gerald]

MAN! 90% of your garages look 100x better than my living room... daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn..

 

[Marc Lublin]

Well, if someone can help me get the picures up I will show you how it came out. It is a more simple design than the pictures up there. Don't worry Gerald, even though I have a nice lift and floor, I am still a slob and my garage still looks like a garage. Picflight, It does make some noise when you walk on it. It's plastic sitting on concrete so that is the noise it makes. Doesn't bother me though. My main reason for installing the floor was to protect myslef from the old rough concrete floor. Every time you walked or drove over it you just make more sand. Whenever I started up my 94 the sidepipes would blow the concrete dust all over the garage. With the Racedeck, the problem is solved and it looks great too.

 

[RaceDeck]

Here is a picture of a garage with a lift...(a customers garage)...

RaceDeck has a roll-load capacity in excess of 20,000 psi

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[Marc Lublin]

Jorgen, Do you recommend putting the posts right over the flooring? The post manufacturer said the posts should only be on concrete.

 

[RaceDeck]

Marc:
You can easily cut out an area for the posts to be permantly mounted to the cement floor. We would recomend whatever the lift-manufacture specifies. However, our floor system can withstand the weight. We have actuall seen a fully loaded firetruck use its hydraulic lifts on our floors. The only recomendation we have to lifts and stands is that if you use a jack stand that is of the cheaper angle-iron type (wwith sharp edges) you place a piece of wood,steel, plastic, etc to prevent it from acting like a cookie cutter. **Even on epoxy floors you would need to do this not to ruin the paint.

 

[RaceDeck]

Smoknv10: Your garage looks great..nice job!
We also manufature a Laminant top tile-ShowFloor (see picture).It is a high grade industrial product that you usually can not find at the local Home Depot ( The $.50 and $.70 cent HD Vinyl tiles are from mostly form China) we are a 100% USA manufactured.

We do not market or recomend using any vinyl top tile for a working garage or daily traffic garage...It failed all of our product testing&gt; from stains in the vynil, to chipping,peeling, scratching,warping,etc....) But there are cases this type of product will work for a customers garage&gt;&gt;&gt;

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[viperdoctor]

Here's a trick for protecting the floor (tiles, epoxy, or in my case MotorMat): Thin sheets of fiberboard that you buy at Home Depot.

It's very light and very strong. Much better than metal or wood. Wood is too thick and adds unwanted height, and metal is too bulky.

I had the XJ8 jacked up and on stands for tests, and not even a hit of an impression on the fiberboard.

You just cut it into squares for the jack stands and rectangles for the jacks.

 

[SmokinV10]

I had an expoxy floor. Got rid of it. I hated how it always chipped and looked "patched" when you touched it up. And it was never quite smooth enough to dust mop it. I didnt want to spend $4000 on flooring for my garage and put down the thick troweled epoxy floors. Race deck looks nice, and sounds like a great alternative. I have a sample of it and have considered upgrading but what has been working for me is VCT vinyl tile. For about .70 a foot (including glue) I did the entire garage for under $500. Its easy to replace if it gets dented, etc. You will ruin it with jack stands. It gets cut and buckled under that pressure. You should use a piece of metal or plywood underneath jack stands. Turning the tires does not make the tiles move, however, when you jack up the car and have one side pulling indwards ont he tile, I have had an instance where a couple tiles got lifted. I replaced them. I just bolted down some diamond plate last night where my tires are for that purpose. It looks pretty good too. Here is a pic before the daimond plate is installed:

 

[RaceDeck]

ViperDoctor: Great choice in color&yearon your GTS

As for protecting the floor, you can also use a spare tile for a jack stand that has a sharp edge. Or if you want something that looks pretty trick, you can go down to Lowe's and pick up a piece of Diamond Plate / cut to about a 8"x8" sqaure....

We actually looking into making these to give with wach garage floor we sell

 

[RaceDeck]

.

 

[Anthony - 98 GTS]

Marc,

Ever figure out how to post your pics? Do a search - I want to see your finished product.

 

[RaceDeck]

Marc: I would like to see pictures of your garage too! with your Viper coiled up in its new den

I would like to have a few more Viper shots in our database of photos.

If you have a good shot that I could possibly that you could
E-mail me, I'll send you our a RaceDeck T-Shirt....
[email protected]

 

[Marc Lublin]

I never did, can someone help me???

 

[RaceDeck]

Marc:
I was only able post the the pictures through my website...I do not think you can upload just a picture file?????

It would be great if there was a upload system in place in this forum....it would make it mcuh easier, for those who do not have a homepage website

 

[Marc Lublin]

Hey Jorgen,
If you throw in a tank top or sweatshirt I will get you a picture with both Vipers on your beautiful floor.

 

[Marc Lublin]

Lets see if this works

 

[RaceDeck]

Marc:
Your garage looks great. Email your address and I will send you 2-shirts (2 vipers = 2 shirts). I do nto have ant tanks or sweats,

Also could you email me those pictures? [email protected]

Thanks again for letting us 'floor you'