SwissTrax/Epoxy/Bare Concrete-Garage floor options and a huge waste of money.
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- Опубликовано: 13 авг 2022
- What choice will you make for flooring in your garage. Check out these floor options.
Know what you want and future costs and maintenance with your choice.
Questions, email me at oneeyecustoms22@gmail.com
#Epoxycoatings #SwissTrax #BareConcrete #VinylTile
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Great video! The best part was showing you taking the floor out, cleaning it and putting it back!
This has been the best video I’ve watched so far for flooring review. Thanks!
Loving this channel more and more. Great stuff and awesome info. Keep up the great work!
Yep, sold on the SwissTrax. I can handle removing it every few years and cleaning underneath. Thanks for the cleaning demo!
Thanks for the info Doug. I have considered epoxy and Swisstrax in both my shop and garage. I think I’ll wait and spend the extra money up front on the Swisstrax instead of a headache later. Couldn’t help but notice some of the dandy mounts you have on your wall. I would love to hear about those in a video sometime! Keep them coming and I’ll keep watching.
Great video! I’m sold!! Swiss Trax has other products that don’t have grooves that would be great where a person is working with screws etc, and if a person is worried about spilling or cleaning something…put a big piece of cardboard or thin plywood down. Good job Doug!!
Thanks Doug. Another good video, with great information. I thought I wanted the epoxy until I saw your pictures. I may just stick with sealed concrete.
I’ve been vetting garage floor coverings for a couple of months. Was about to sign a contract for an epoxy floor but your video changed my mind. No epoxy! So now I have to make a decision between Swiss Track and Race Deck. I like the fact you can easily pull it apart in sections for cleaning. In West Michigan we’ve got the same winter road conditions as you do in Pennsylvania and now I know so can clean as needed. Great job. Thanks!
Dave M.
Thanks for sharing this. You just saved people a bunch of money trying 2 or 3 different floors. They can go right to the best option
Thanks for sharing your experience with the epoxy flooring. I always thought that would be awesome to have. Will definitely look at some of the alternatives you discussed. Found your channel from the shop organization video. Subscribed! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching and thank you for subscribing!
Thanks Doug. Been waiting for your reasons for choosing this flooring before making my own decision.
Great idea on pulling out the tiles in large sections.
Another great video. Thanks for all the tips and information on the different flooring. Man you should have started doing videos a long time ago.
Thanks Neighbor Doug. I enjoyed the video and I really appreciated the insight on the garage floors. I know which way to go if I should decide to do it (and especially which way NOT to go on the acrylic one!). Kudos
Wonderful in depth review of garage floor options. It was much appreciated as I was thinking of an epoxy coating but now I know not to waste my money! I found your channel through your neighbor's Hometown Acres channel. Along the lines of Liberty Mutual's ads, Adam's channel should be called Hometown Acres and Doug since you have been such a great help to him!😁
Appreciate the information on the epoxy flooring and how easy it is to maintain the SwissTrax flooring.
Thanks for such a thorough, unbiased video highlighting the pros and cons of all three solutions. I have epoxy floors in my garage but don’t really like them, and would appreciate being able to hide the debris with something like the swisstrax. I also think the swisstrax looks way better than my epoxy floor. I get the downside of having to remove everything to clean, but with “regular” use (excluding something like living in the Yukon or having a detailing company where you’re always cleaning muddy cars), it seems like a minor pain you’d have to go through every few years. I also really like the idea of the smooth tiles for the deck/patio. I have a hot tub and that would be a far better solution to go from the house to the tub. Thanks again!
Sir, I LOVE THIS VIDEO!!! I've been debating on what to do with my shop floor for months, and you helped me make my decision. Six months ago, I was dead set on getting epoxy. Now, I'm SO glad that I didn't jump on that thought. I had also considered the peel and stick tiles, which still isn't a "bad" option, but after seeing your video, I'm definitely going with the SwissTrax.
Well, I hope you have as much luck with them as I have!
Nice job. I am hoping to eventually put SwissTrax into our shop!
Awesome video, sweet to see good explanations of epoxy in comparison too
Nice job! I never knew how easy it was to lift up that flooring!
Thank you for a. very in-depth review. Answered many of my questions.
You are very welcome.
Great share from a satisfied user, thx Doug &family
- Recently discovered your channel through your neighbors Hometown Acres. Your quickly moving up to my favorites to watch. Very much appreciate your creative tips. Not sure of your professional background, I believe manufacturing & tool and die? Hard work ethic from the old US Steel Belt, sadly now Rust Belt.
- Geez, as our manufacturing floors were going epoxy I believed it was God gift to permanent flooring. Your floor certainly changed my mind, as you mentioned it was properly prepped with grit blasted concrete prior to the epoxy application.
- Another advantaged would be a persons working & standing fatigue factor.
- Doesn’t a periodic hosing rinse a lot of dirt and dust into floor drains.I’m guessing you likely do that.
- Keep up the great work and the videos.
Thanks for watching!! Hope you enjoy!
I'm currently in the process of removing the plastic Swiss Trax tile floor you showed in your first space to replace with a poly chip flooring system. While the Swiss Trax system was ok, it did leave permanent marks in the top of the tile when dragging heavier items across it, the castors on my benches and tool boxes sunk into the plastic and it seemed to never want to release any dog hair that fell onto it, eventually lead to a smell that wouldn't go away. I've puled the plastic tile out in sections to power wash but it never looks new after a few years.
The new floor will be an Epoxy Vapor Barrier spread at one gallon at ever 130 SqFt and then flaking to rejection with around a hundred pounds of flake and covered with an MCU Super UV Clear Coat. I'm hopeful this will give me a more durable finish that's easier to keep clean and this method should have enough texture to be slip resistant and hide dirt and stains easily. The newer clear coats are supposed to be resistant to most of the issues you mentioned.
To install a new Swiss Trax system in my garage would cost me around &7K in martials alone. The textured Epoxy flake with Urethane UV protective top coat cost just $3K for the same space. I've done both myself so the labor is not an affective element in my cast. But regardless, if the Poly system doesn't look great in a few years, I can grind it up and lay a new one and still be under the cost of the plastic tile.
Just make sure you prep that concrete via diamond grinding or its not going to last.
Pretty interesting Douglas,so hang on.Imust say that you posted very interesting videos lately. I'm waiting for the next one.
Excellent video. Enjoyed the content. Very informative.
Nice video Doug! Lots of good information.
I’m glad I watched this. I was actually thinking of doing the epoxy. Thanks Doug!
It just didn’t work out for me. It might be ok for minimal use where you didn’t bring hot tires on it everyday and all the conditions were perfect, but that just isn’t here at my place.
That dirt accumulation under the tile would drive me nuts....no thanks. Not a good choice for a shop floor.
Nope, not for a shop floor. That’s why I didn’t put it in my shop. It is only where I park vehicles
Wait till you look in your ducts that will keep you up at night
Great informative video! Thanks for the warnings on the epoxy, have been considering it for an area. Think I might seriously look at the SwissTrax instead! BTW - I love all of the LEE Extreme Motion workpants, causual wear, jeans as well as their shorts. About all I were anymore!
The perfect video for my decision .
Thank you, very helpful.
😊
You are welcome and thanks for watching!!
Yeah its 15 3/4 is 40cm so for europe and many other areas it makes sence. But the inch system works great since you can visually relate to it much better. 😊. I love what you made, I will do the same! Thx 😊
Great video Doug and Great product but I'm a woodworker. Don't think that would work for me. Great heads-up on the epoxy. Keep'm coming 👍😀👍
I’m an immigrant from over the hill (HtA)…..I’ve just spent the past two weeks researching flooring options and biggest question I had was rolling jack / jack stands - thx & I was leaning towards the brand you didn’t use but missed the thickness as I was hung up on the 15x15 for some goofy reason. Now go watch Don McMillan on drybar comedy…..your cargo shorts/pants comments made me laugh. Grapevine, TX.
Excellent video Dough, thanks
I have SwissTrax flooring in my garage here in France and the only thing I regret is not getting it 10 years ago! Just working in a cool looking garage makes it more fun and I haven't had any problems with oil spills or the weight of my project vehicles damaging it. If you do a lot of machining on a lathe then you will want to get the solid ones, as the metal shavings will be easier and faster to clean up
Perfect video for a sunday morning thanks
Probably the best video I've seen on SwissTrax and the concerns I have over it. Definately on the list for the patio.
Thank you!
Thank You for posting the video! Not my choice though, as someone that does mechanical work on my vehicle and other toys. Why? Well I drop a small part, even a small but immensly inportant circlip and it dissapears into one of those slots in tile, as it. invariably will due to Murphy's law, I am looking to loose a lot of time finding and retrive it.
Thanks for making this video. Your garage looks awesome. You should receive some 💵 sponsorship. Very helpful.
Ty
Nice video Doug.
Thanks, I almost went Epoxy until I started looking into the Swisstrax option.
I hope this video gave you some things to think about.
Thanks so much for this video. I have been debating which floor to lay and you helped me decide! My only concern now is if the smooth tile will allow enough dirt to flow through vs. the ribbed tile.
Hi Doug.
Really good, informative video. It was well put together.
However, when you have us all over for a cook out, I'm going to show everyone the corner of the garage you did not pull out. All the dirt that must be under there. How can you sleep.
Lol
Sincerely Ed from Chicago 🙂
I like that flooring cover! great job!
Thank you!
Yeah its 15 3/4 is 40cm so for europe and many other areas it makes sence. But the inch system works great since you can visually relate to it much better. 😊
Very good information! My concern being up in the Northeast is the road salt destroys concrete. I would want to coat the concrete first with something to protect it!
All the concrete has had a sealer put on it when it was finished. So I think I am ok there.
@@OneEyeCustoms Does the sealer need to be reapplied every so often?
Those are some seriously nice deer mounts in your garage. You should do a video highlighting some of them.
For the amount of labor that has to go into installing an 800 dollar epoxy, plus a 200$ floor grinder rental and another 100-200$ in buying the necessary tools to install the epoxy correctly. It’s comes out to be around the same maybe a few hundred less than Swiss trax but a headache nonetheless. Thank u for the video. I’ll be going with the Swiss trax
Love this video!! Very informative. Not doing the Epoxy!!
Thank you…that was helpful❤️
Beautiful floor and nice product, I don't think it would work in my garage as I do a lot of dirty work like spray undercoating. I actually used agricultural rubber floor matts - they come with a check pattern or plain - mine were 3/4 inch thick so it is almost flush with the cover for my two post hoist cables. They also have ridges cut on the underside to let water escape and they are easy to cut to shape, but very durable. Just another option for some people. Great video, enjoy them very much.
@michaelmacdonald7342 can you share a link to your rubber mat choice?
What a useful video! Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
15-3/4" size is inherent to the metric system 40cm x 40cm tiles
Excellent video I'm going to have to look into that product.
Have a Jesus filled day everyone
Greg in Michigan
Excellent video
@Quadrille Thank you! I hope I have plenty more you like as well.
Great video. Thanks for convincing me to stay away from epoxy.
Fantastic video! Thanks for putting the time into this, as I consider garage floor tiles.
Couple of questions:
1) I see you have a few floor drains. I have one single floor drain in the center of my garage floor (24' X 24' garage floor area). Your garage floor, like mine, must slope toward your drains. from different directions. Does this multi-slope floor surface pose a problem for the tiles ability to 'lie flat' to the cement surface? Do you get any air space between tile and floor because the tiles are rigid and may not conform/bend to meet the contours of your cement floor? I don't want to walk across the tiles and feel the tile sink to the floor and make flackery clack noises when they come into contact with the cement floor.
2). Do you live in a state with 4 seasons, where you get a fair amount of snow.... and drag road salt in with your vehicles that will drop to the floor, melt, and then sit on the concrete floor beneath your tiles and start eating away at the cement? I already have fair amount of degradation of my raw cement floor from years of snow melting off my car and sitting on the cement.... salt is corrosive to cement. So.... wondered if the years of salt melting, then drying and sitting beneath the tiles on your cement (at least where there is exposed cement from where your epoxy has chipped away) is starting to pit your cement?
3) I am considering the 'solid top' versions of the Racedeck flooring.... do you think there is a downside to that verses the flow through tile you chose to put down?
and finally..... have you had any issues with slight turning of your car tires ripping up tiles or distorting, puckering them up from the flooring when moving vehicles in and out and around in the garage? Thanks a ton!!! This video was super informative.
I live in north west Pa so we get plenty of snow and road salt. I have to keep after the silt that drips on the floor. Either vacuum it up after it dries or wash it down the drain.
The tiles contour to the floor, no clacking when walking on it.
Tires haven’t twisted up any tiles, but I also only pull straight in and out.
All in all, pretty easy to maintain.
@30:30, we need to hear some stories about those monster bucks on the wall in the background!!!
15 3/4 = 400 millimeters even. Also, for audio purposes, some feedback - might consider a wireless lav mic. Your speech is intelligible but the echo in the garage does make it quite echoey. I enjoyed the floor comparisons though, I should probably do my garage with this. Currently raw concrete which isn't great.
I call it a floor jack, too. kek
I'll take non-smoothed concrete and a leaf blower.
Paint does the same thing as that epoxy did.
I don't see any surface preping that was done. Mechanical bond with diamond, etching, priming then using industrial grade epoxy is the way it should have been done.
Do you think a dremel would cut the tile?
I would advise anyone against an epoxy floor. I had it done with the flakes and it can get dangerously slippery. Rain or snow on your vehicle drips onto it and here in the northeast if the temp goes below freezing you have a thin sheet of ice on the floor. But aside from that, you are absolutely spot on that it looks like crap in no time. Tire marks, road salt, and hot tire pulls ruin it. It might hold up in a basement but definitely not in a garage. I don't work on anything in the garage, just normal usage...parking cars, trash cans, lawnmower etc.
I would not advise using a Dremel, it would take you forever and you would go through hundreds and hundreds of cut off wheels.
17:28 - Thanks for this walkthrough. While I like the Swiss Tax for its thickness and works with uneven garage floors, my only issue is dirt and gunk will get trapped in those ribbings and underneath the tiles.
Curious if you do a routine vacuum on the tile to pick up the dirt, since it can't be swept off clean with normal flooring.
I run a shop vac over any of the areas that might have debris or dirt in the rib areas. And then I do a yearly cleaning as shown in the video.
Hey Doug, We're building a new house and I am researching garage floor coatings and I remembered you doing a video on that. So thanks for this video. The question I have for you is how does a creeper or creeper seat roll on the Swiss Traxx floor tiles? I really like this option as opposed to a permanent coating. Thanks for your input.
A creeper and wheeled seat move nicely on it!!
Another great video. I must say neighbor Adam has created a good content provider in you Doug. Now lets talk about the beautiful mounts in your garage and why are they in the garage instead of the house. Is it Maybe there are nicer ones in the house? Are they from Crawford Co? I lived in Mercer Co. for 60 of my 62 years and now live on Pymatuning lake since I retired in Crawford Co. Let us know. I understand you have to be careful not to offend anybody.
@John Geiwitz thanks for the compliments! Some are from Crawford and some from Warren. I don’t think I will ever do a video on the mounts, people get funny about that stuff these days and I really don’t feel like going head to head with the haters. There are some great hunting stories on that wall with my family and more than likely, that’s where they will stay. Take care and thanks for watching!!
Very detailed video! Probably the best one I've watched. Did you grind the garage floor before the epoxy and was it stained with oil or anything? Swisstrax won't work for my application and was thinking epoxy but I'm getting mixed reviews
I did grind and acid wash, the white floor. Still didn’t last very long under daily use. The blue floor garage never had a car on it prior to the epoxy. Was new concrete and waited a month to epoxy it. Even left a semi rough surface for the epoxy to adhere. Then it failed with daily use. I gave up on epoxy. I couldn’t stand the thought of redoing it every 4 to 5 years..
Good luck with your floor!!
Concrete needs to be ground down before epoxy is applied. Not sure if that was done
Anyone with experience. I only have motorcycles in my garage, and do ride when it rains. I also do not pull straight into where I park each bike, usually a hard 90 right sometimes left. Is the grip good enough for the front tire? I mean I could just adapt but I also don't want to loose the front end and topple 2 or 3 bikes.
Probability the epoxy that you applied was not UV protection, again hit and sun. Because I never see before an epoxy as that. To applied epoxy the surface needs to be very clean and sander with a machine in order for the epoxy to stick. But I don't know what really happened. Thank you for the video.
I'd rather stain it and put a smooth clearcoat finish so my creepers would roll easier and I'm not beyond using a broom or leaf blower. I don't get the condensation on my floor in winter, Oklahoma, and I have 2 garage doors on the north and south side of the building which makes for a nice breeze coming through the building in the summer. Just wish it was a 30x40x12. It's a 24x24 x8. Just never thought I'd never need more space. Boy was I wrong!
There is NEVER enough space. Never.
Hi mate. Great video. Quick question in relation to the outdoor tiles, do you have any problems with them expanding in heat? Many thanks from Australia…
@Walt Not that I have seen, no issues at all.
Epoxy seems like such a nightmare to prep for. Would rather go tiled option.
Thanks for sharing this video. Very informative! Would you recommend the SwissTrax flooring for a garage that has snowmobiles and a UTV with studded tracks?
The heavy mud would not be good in the SwissTrax and I would not have studded track on it either.
Looks pretty but if you ever want to drag a cherry picker across the floor with weight hanging from it, I doubt this is functional.
Excellent video thanks. I am considering the smooth ribtrax for my outdoor patio deck. How do you cut around the posts? Would you recommend the stadard ribtrax or the smooth for an outdoor deck.(lots of barefeet walking)
Absolutely the smooth for an outdoor patio area.
As far as the posts, you are kinda stuck with where you start with the flooring. Figure out where it will be on a tile and when you need to cut it, heat it up a bunch to try to flex it around the post with only one cut into the post location. But layout plays a huge part as to where the post will land in the tile, it may even be between two tiles… best of luck.
You would love Matt Mooreman of Obsessed Garage!
Already a subscriber and customer of his. 😃 Thanks for the recommendation though!
I installed one of these floors for a customer a few years ago, exactly to the mfg's specs. What happened was, when the customer had the garage door open, and the sun shined on the first foot or two of the floor, the heat from the sun caused that section to buckle. Both myself and the customer were very disappointed. Not only did it look terrible, was a tripping hazard as well.
Was it the SwissTrax brand name flooring?
@@OneEyeCustoms Yes. Home was in Escondido CA, north San Diego. Gets hot in summer there. Homeowner lived with it and just didn't keep the door open very long. I should say after it cooled down, floor went back to being flat.
@@wsfwsf1497 Sounds like potentially installation error. Not leaving enough spaced to the sides for it to expand. Most materials expand when heated.
I would use a shop vac
They probably choose 15 3/4 inches because it's 40 cm, a nice round number in metric
Your problem with the epoxy might be moisture under the floor slab. That will make the epoxy peel away over time.
Thanks for the review! Turning the wheel on the swisstrax, is there any problems with the tiles coming up?
Not at all!
Quick question for Doug- How do your dogs do on the SwissTrax flooring? I have a Lab and my wife and I volunteer raising Medical Assistance Dogs (mostly Labs) and I want to be sure their nails do not catch in the flooring.
Secondly how slippery is the floor in the Winter with snow melting/ My bare concrete is super slick. Trying to find a good solution before I crack my head open. Thanks - Bill
Hi Bill, I believe the round top SwissTrax would work great for dogs. They are no where near slippery that I have experienced. I highly recommend them for a garage floor.
This was a great video on the SwissTrax. I was just about to buy an epoxy kit and I'm glad I didn't! I am interested in wood working and having a workbench in my garage. How well do these floors do with heavy things on them? Do they stay level? I'm just wondering if it would be better to leave the garage corners as exposed concrete to set workbenches on or if you think it would be ok to to take it all the way to the walls and put benches on them? I think the flat tiles would probably be best if I did try this!! Thanks
I have lots of heavy stuff on mine, no problems.
But don’t buy a cheap knockoff brand.
Thank you for the video! But I did'n get one thing: the SwissTrax tiles that you showed have holes, so all the dirt goes underneath, and, I understand, you cannot clean it since the dirt is getting under the tiles. So, how do you clean it?
You may not have watched the whole video, I show and explain that towards the end.
How do you keep the tiles underneath staying clean? I have a hard time with dirt in the winters and other debris like leaves falling through the holes
Are usually use a shop vac around the tire areas and then if you watch in the video, I show wear once a year I pull it out in sections and wash the whole floor down.
I have a lot of pitting in my garage floor from the harsh NY winters. Would that have to be repaired prior to using Swiss tracks flooring?
@Brian Rice No sir, just put the tiles down and it will hide all the bad concrete!! If you do the Swisstrax, I’m pretty sure you would love them!
I have epoxy floor in my 3 car in floor heated garage!!! Been in 4 years without any problems!!!! Doesn’t look like they ground your concrete before it was epoxied!!!
Time to get a mic that clips onto the shirt or a hat Doug! Save you sounding like an echo inside and having to speak waaay up at distance :D Love the content
I just got a quote for $17,500 to put in a polyaspartic coating. Yeah Im looking back at race deck tiles now.
The coatings look great, I have just had too many failures with them as well as it just wasn’t what I needed. Good luck!
Did you have the polyaspartic epoxy ?
It would still kind of bother me how the dirt and debris collects down under the tiles. Is there any difference between epoxy floors and polyaspartic?
I’m sure there is a bit of a difference, but the main things I don’t like are how slippery epoxy is and all the other things I spoke on in this video. Thanks for watching.
Doug, great timing for this video… I’m finishing up a 4 car garage and don’t want to do the typical epoxy that everyone does.
Question, when the ladies walk on the Swiss track floor with their fancy shoes (heels) do they get stuck or otherwise effected by the gaps in the tiles?
Well, I’ve never had anyone wear a pair of stiletto high heels on it, so I don’t know about them, but my wife has never had a problem with any of her other shoes or heels.
How well do large wire rack shelving units on casters work with the Swisstrax? Everything in my garage is on wheels because space is limited. Casters would need to be able to swivel easily and I think that would preclude the swisstrax system for me, unfortunately.
Well, I have used floor jacks and everything I have is on casters and have not had any problems!
@@OneEyeCustoms good to know. I see now that they have the flat variety in addition to the ribbed tiles.
I'm more concerned about inadvertent coolant or oil spills if you're working on a vehicle. Or would you totally avoid this in a working shop floor?
If the plastic is resistant to pull and gasoline it may be okay to basically sweep it under the rug.
Great video, thank you!
Question about the Swisstrax.... After leaving the dirt under there for a couple years, when it gets wet, does all that sediment under there smell like... "wet dirt"?
I have not noticed any bad smells, but I also don’t have tons of dirt on the floor.
@@OneEyeCustoms Roger that, thank you!
i seen videos with racedeck flooring where the flooring lifts up and twists sometimes when driven on... any issues with Swisstrax like that... i know you probably should still be careful
Not a single problem but I never turn why wheels on it either. Straight in and straight out.
The only way I can see it twisting is by turning the front wheels on it.
Was the concrete physically etched or acid etched? I don't see scratches on the concrete from a diamond machine, maybe that's why it didn't stick? Other than that, the floors look great, thanks for the showcase.
It was acid etched twice, and to one garage was brand new concrete, never driven on with a semi rough finish knowing I was going to epoxy it. Anyhow, it doesn’t matter now, I like the SwissTrax flooring much better for many reasons in my situation!
@@OneEyeCustoms yeah the acid etch is not sufficient. I've watched a few pros do it and they use a diamond etching machine. Anyway, you ended up with something you like better now, so that's all that matters!
15 and 3/4 inches is 40cm, that's why the swiss tracks are that size.
I’ll live with painting my garage floor with oil based porch paint every 5yrs or so for less than $100.