[Former USMC]

Greetings,

Was wondering if anyone has installed a Swisstrax Ribtrax flooring system in their garage?

http://store.swisstrax.com


1. How do you like it?
2. Easy to keep clean?
3. Resist tire marks?
4. Does the floor take longer to dry after parking a wet car on it?
5. Any breakage?
6. How to you manage dirt, dust, and other debris?
7. Desired or preferred colors or patterns?
8. Would you do it again?
9. What other options did you consider? Paint, vinyl, etc?

Thank you for your response. Other comments are welcomed.

Semper Fi

[P1]

I have Racedeck in mine, but I doubt it's much different from Swisstrax.

1) I like it
2) I blow it out with a leaf blower, or sweep it. If the tiles get dirty, I just clean them with APC
3) yes, no tire marks
4) the Racedeck tiles have little channels under them, which is supposed to aid with the draining of water. But if your garage is 100% leveled, then the water might just sit on or under the tiles
5) zero breakage
6) just like anything else, just vacuum it, sweep it, use a leafblower, etc.
7) personal
8) I would
9) considered epoxy

[Former USMC]

Thanks for the great and speedy response. Your garage looks great by the way. I appreciate your comments.

[Joekerr]

I think Mr. Tonka (Joe) installs floors. Or did. Seems to know something about them. He'll probably have some good advice.

[P1]

Originally Posted by Former USMC

Thanks for the great and speedy response. Your garage looks great by the way. I appreciate your comments.

Oh, and don't get white tiles unless you enjoy cleaning them a lot. They just get dirty. Looks amazing when clean, but let's face it: white will just get dirty IMMEDIATELY in a garage.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by Joekerr

I think Mr. Tonka (Joe) installs floors. Or did. Seems to know something about them. He'll probably have some good advice.

Not really for system floors. We do permanent installation items. Only stuff we've installed in garages is granite, porcelain, and epoxy.

Most of the dealerships we do use porcelain tile these days. Granite is too expensive and porcelain is non-porous enough (dense) to handle the vehicle weights these days.

[Joekerr]

Ahh, I see, noted for next time.

[UncleWede]

Epoxy available for DIY worth the trouble?

[128Convertibleguy]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

Epoxy available for DIY worth the trouble?

Like any paint job, it's all in the prep work

[UncleWede]

Generally, there's paint from Lowes, and then there's PAINT.

[P1]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

Generally, there's paint from Lowes, and then there's PAINT.

Look at the paint they use in warehouses, and then apply the same stuff in your garage at home. Commercials/industrial stuff should hold up.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by 128Convertibleguy

Like any paint job, it's all in the prep work

THIS.

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Do most people do this just for aesthetics or for function? If for function, what function are you looking for the floor coating to perform?

[zx10guy]

I did the epoxy paint on my garage floor. Followed the prep after power washing the concrete floor. Painting was straight forward. Just mix the two cans together to make one gallon. Rolling the paint was a bit of work as the epoxy rolls on thick. Needed 1.5 gallons for my 2 car garage. I also was able to do the epoxy before anything contaminated the floor because I bought my house brand new from a builder.

The flooring lasted about 3 to 4 years before it started peeling. I read somewhere this could happen with a cold floor and warmed up tires sitting on top of the epoxy. It's been about 13 years, and there are about 4 spots where the paint has lifted off entirely where the tires of my cars were sitting on.

Next go around I'd probably consider doing tile instead of epoxy.

As for why I did this, it was more for the functional aspect. I used to wrench a lot. As a result, lots of junk gets on the garage floor. It's real nice to be able to just wipe up the mess off the floor, hose off the area, and then squeegee off the floor. Anyone who has spilled motor oil onto a porous surface like concrete knows what I'm talking about.

[radix]

I pooped on my garage floor. It smelled delicious. Wait, what was the question?

[128Convertibleguy]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

Generally, there's paint from Lowes, and then there's PAINT.

There's good stuff and bad stuff everywhere. Lowe's Valspar "bonding primer" has worked very well for me in providing a base layer. It sticks well to many things, including glossy paint, and seals and hides well, too. Pretty low odor. It has saved me a whole lot of work.

[Former USMC]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

I did the epoxy paint on my garage floor. Followed the prep after power washing the concrete floor. Painting was straight forward. Just mix the two cans together to make one gallon. Rolling the paint was a bit of work as the epoxy rolls on thick. Needed 1.5 gallons for my 2 car garage. I also was able to do the epoxy before anything contaminated the floor because I bought my house brand new from a builder.

The flooring lasted about 3 to 4 years before it started peeling. I read somewhere this could happen with a cold floor and warmed up tires sitting on top of the epoxy. It's been about 13 years, and there are about 4 spots where the paint has lifted off entirely where the tires of my cars were sitting on.

Next go around I'd probably consider doing tile instead of epoxy.

As for why I did this, it was more for the functional aspect. I used to wrench a lot. As a result, lots of junk gets on the garage floor. It's real nice to be able to just wipe up the mess off the floor, hose off the area, and then squeegee off the floor. Anyone who has spilled motor oil onto a porous surface like concrete knows what I'm talking about.

zx10guy,

Thanks. I too, started with epoxy (about 10 years ago)...had one car that peeled the paint up and have been retouching ever since (and no, it does not last very long)...thought it might be time for a replacement.

I met the Swisstrax company in Scottsdale (Barrett Jackson) and was impressed with their product. The installation seemed fairly easy and straight forward with little to NO prep. Comes in a variety of colors and reasonably priced.

Thanks for your feedback.

Semper Fi

[P1]

Originally Posted by Former USMC

zx10guy,

Thanks. I too, started with epoxy (about 10 years ago)...had one car that peeled the paint up and have been retouching ever since (and no, it does not last very long)...thought it might be time for a replacement.

I met the Swisstrax company in Scottsdale (Barrett Jackson) and was impressed with their product. The installation seemed fairly easy and straight forward with little to NO prep. Comes in a variety of colors and reasonably priced.

Thanks for your feedback.

Semper Fi

How does Swisstrax compare to Racedeck when it comes to price?

[MrPrena]

I need to get this done asap!
The Magnesium Chloride is killing my garage floors!

I did some HW, and they are selling these at 0.89/sqft, and my garage is about 400-450sqft? I am over the budget to do Home Improvement from new flooring.

[E90SLAM]

I did Epoxy 5 years ago and its holding up well, except the strip facing the sun outside the garage door. Which it faded yellow under california sunshine.

I just bought the kit from Home Depot and DIY. Washing and prepping/etching the floor took the most time.

[Former USMC]

Originally Posted by P1et

How does Swisstrax compare to Racedeck when it comes to price?

Good question - about $4.00 a square foot - any color, includes shipping. Not sure about the cost of Racedeck.

[P1]

Originally Posted by Former USMC

Good question - about $4.00 a square foot - any color, includes shipping. Not sure about the cost of Racedeck.

OK, that's only slightly more expensive than Racedeck. Their FreeFlow tiles are $3 per square foot.