Race Deck Flooring

[mmotley]

Well, I've had a stall in my shop for about 6 months now lined with race deck flooring. Long story short, I would not recommend it for an automotive shop. It is awesome for a home garage, museum/car show setting, or something like that, but not for full blown automotive work.

 

Now for the details of why. First, it expands and contracts WAY too much. Anytime you run a fuel induction service, it will cause the flooring to raise up to 6" above the floor. I heard rumors from the tool guy that a shop with a service drive had issues with it raising up when the sun would shine on it just right.

 

I had an old LS400 with an ignition coil go bad and caused it to run so rich, the cats were glowing red. The flooring raised up enough to cause it to melt... Which brings me to my second point. It's plastic. This may seem obvious, but if your doing any sort of grinding on the floor, it will burn it. If you grind off a bolt, and it falls on the floor, it will melt it.

 

Third, and this may just be me being lazy, but it's not that easy to clean. AVOID yellow like the plague. Darker colors are your friend. I think white may even be easier to keep clean than yellow.

 

PROS:

As the promised, I had no issues with any chemical reactions. I intentionally left a puddle of brake cleaner on it over night to see if it cause any damage. It didn't. Neither did any other chemical or fluid. It is tough and can take a beating. Dropped many hammers on it from various heights, had engine and trans assemblies sitting on jackstands and it did no damage. Protects some things from being damaged when they fall, better than bare concrete or hard tile. It provides fair grip with covered in oil or brake fluid. Looks great to a customer when they peak out in your shop and see some fancy flooring with a pattern or design on it.

 

Conclusion:

Again, it would be great for a personal garage or showroom. But to be pulling transmissions and doing brake jobs, etc, everyday... I think I would spend the money and go with actual tile, or save my money all together and just do your normal epoxy.

 

Anyway, just my thoughts. I do have some pics if anyone is interested. Or I'll be more than happy to answer questions.

[Joe Marconi]

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