When it comes to building or renovating a car detailing garage, many don’t know what to do with the floor. In my opinion, the best option is to install floor tiles. Since there are plenty of floor tile types, I decided to write this article and show you what kind of floor tiles you should buy for your auto detailing garage.
Key Takeaways:
- Open-profile floor tiles are the best choice for detail shop flooring.
- The best brands that make open-profile floor tiles are Racedeck, Swisstrax, and IncStore.
Types of Garage Floor Tiles for Auto Detailing
In auto detailing garages, selecting the right floor tiles is crucial. Let’s focus on the top choices:
- Open-Profile (Vented) Floor Tiles. These are ideal for auto detailing garages. Their open design allows water and dirt to drain, keeping the floor dry and safe. I highly recommend these for their slip-resistant and clean features.
- Flat Surface Floor Tiles. Common in auto repair shops, these tiles are user-friendly and low-maintenance. They resist water and oil but lack a draining system. This means they retain water and dirt on their surface, which isn’t ideal for detailing work.
- Garage Flooring Rolls. These are the quickest to install, covering a large area swiftly. However, they share the same drainage issue as flat surface tiles. They also require time to settle and become flat post-installation. If damaged, you need to replace the entire roll, unlike individual tiles.
Open-Profile (Vented) Floor Tiles: The Best Choice For Your Detailing Garage
If you’re serious about the car detailing business, you should buy these tiles for your garage.
Most brands make these tiles from polypropylene copolymer. It’s durable and resistant to various spills, such as oils, soaps, acids, and other chemicals.
How Do They Work?
The open-profile floor tiles are built to keep water (and other spills) and dirt on the surface.
They have a self-draining system that will let the water and dirt through, so you can work on a nice and clean surface.
A clean floor is one of the most important things when it comes to car detailing. You’ll finish with the exterior, and then you should do the interior – how will you do it if the floor is all wet and dirty?
Where Do The Water and Dirt Go?
Water, other spills, and dirt will go through the tiles on the garage floor.
Now, depending on how you built your garage, it can go either to:
- The drainage system in the garage
- Out of the garage (if your garage has an outward slope).
If you have neither of those, you should think about renovating your garage and making it suitable for auto detailing tasks. The water and other spills have to go somewhere. Of course, my advice is a drainage system built somewhere on the floor or at the garage door.
Is It Hard To Install Them?
Installation of all plastic tiles is straightforward and easy. It’s more like a puzzle.
They are all interlocking tiles, and they snap together. That way, you don’t need any professionals to do it. They’re great for DIY installation.
So, you can save some money by doing it yourself too.
Even better is that you don’t need too many tools:
- Rubber hammer
- Vinyl tile cutter
- Measuring meter
- Some string to make the draw lines (the ones with powders are great because you can draw the line on the floor)
These are the essential tools you’re going to need. Check out the video below and see the installation process.
Are These Tiles Durable?
Yes, they’re very durable. Copolymer tiles are all impact-resistant. So, they’re resistant to all kinds of chemicals, liquids, dirt, etc.
Depending on the brand, these tiles can withstand anywhere from 60,000 to 80,000 pounds of rollover weight.
That’s enough strength for buses and trucks, so you’re going to be completely safe with detailing all types of cars.
3 Tile Brands I Recommend: And The Exact Tiles
There are tons of different brands that you can choose from. However, many of them won’t offer you the quality and the specs I mentioned earlier (such as rollover weight…).
When it comes to garage tiles, I’d only choose between those three brands:
- Racedeck
- Swisstrax
- IncStores
So, let’s see what these brands can offer you.
1. Racedeck Free-Flow Garage Tiles
These Racedeck free-flow tiles are my number 1 recommendation for you. They’re high-quality tiles made in the USA.
These tiles have a self-draining system that allows maximum drainage. Not only will the water go, but air will flow too, which will prevent molding. That’s going to leave your working area dry and clean.
Every tile has 16 PowerLocks. These power locks are used to snap the tiles together. When everything is engaged, you’ll get a very tough substructure.
Racedeck Free-Flow Tiles can support up to 80,000 pounds of rolling loads.
These tiles are also resistant to UV and heat. If you live in warmer areas, don’t worry, they won’t fade or crack because of the sun.
There are many colors available, so you can customize your garage and get a unique look.
| Size | 12″x12″x0.5″ |
| Weight | 0.62 lbs per tile |
| Material | Copolymer |
| Different Colors | Yes |
| Warranty | 15 Year Manufacturer’s Warranty |
PROS
- Compatible with all RaceDeck garage flooring, which gives you the option to mix and match styles for a unique garage floor
- Easy installation. You can update the whole garage in one day.
- UV and Heat resistant
CONS
- Some colors may not be available
2. Swisstrax Ribtrax Modular Flooring Tile
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Swisstrax is another high-quality brand for garage flooring tiles. Ribtrax is their product of vented tiles.
They’re open-profile designed tiles with drainage channels underneath. Also, they’re resistant to chemicals and are non-slip.
Every Ribtrax tile has 24 connectors (6 on each side). When snapped together, they create one solid and durable flooring.
They can withstand up to 70,000 pounds of rolling weight and a compressive pressure of 3120 PSI.
There are many different colors available, so you’re able to customize your car detailing garage look.
| Size | 15.75″ x 15.75″ x 0.75″ |
| Weight | 1.47 lbs per tile |
| Material | Copolymer |
| Different Colors | Yes |
| Warranty | Lifetime limited warranty |
PROS
- They offer you a lifetime limited warranty.
- Great price and size (one tile covers 1.72 square feet)
CONS
- The same as the Racedeck – sometimes not all the colors are available
3. IncStores Vented Nitro Garage Tiles
The third brand I recommend is IncStores. As the first two brands, these tiles also have a self-draining system. They’re slip-resistant, leaving the flooring surface dry and clean. If you’re on a tight budget, this brand may be for you.
Each tile has 16 connectors (4 on each side), making them very easy to install.
These tiles are also resistant to most chemicals, so they’re great for washing your car where you use different soaps, acids, etc.
Also, you can choose from many different colors and customize the garage look however you want.
| Size | 12″ x 12″ x 3/8″ |
| Weight | 0.62 lbs per tile |
| Material | Copolymer |
| Different Colors | Yes |
| Warranty | 3-year warranty |
PROS
- Great price
- Many colors available
CONS
- They’re not as strong and durable as the first two brands.
- People complain about some broken tiles and long order delivery time.
- Not heat resistant as Racedeck and Swisstrax
Frequently Asked Questions
Here I’ll put some frequently asked questions about hard plastic open-profile garage floor tiles.
No, it’s not necessary. However, I highly recommend that you have a floor drain. The most important thing is that the water goes out of your garage. The standard slope is 1/8″ per foot slope to the door opening.
The floor jack won’t damage any of the three brands I mentioned, especially the Racedeck and Swisstrax.
All brands are making open-profile tiles that have slip-resistant properties. That’s the reason why I’m recommending you this type of tile. You can wash your car without any fear of slipping and falling.
Well, it’ll mostly depend on your knowledge and experience. But generally, you can finish the whole two-car garage in one day.
The material used to make these tiles is some softer plastic. However, you could see that I said “hard plastic” a few times. That’s because I wanted to emphasize their hardiness.
Conclusion
Car detailing garage floor tiles are essential for your detailing business. Besides that, they look amazing and will improve the overall look of your garage.
I explained to you why I recommend open-profile (vented) tiles to all of you. Again, the most important reason is that water will drain through them, and you’ll have a clean and dry surface all the time.
As I already said, the Racedeck Free-flow Garage Tiles are my number 1 recommendation. You also won’t make a mistake by choosing Swisstrax.
The reason why I recommended the third brand (IncStores) is because they’re much cheaper. So, they’re for all of you on a tight budget. IncStores tiles are also great, but not even close to the Swisstrax and Racedeck.
