I said I would report back on how the fitment of the
Duramat Floor Tiles went so here goes.
After my new 6m x 6m Garage was completed in July, I was on the lookout for something better to cover the Concrete Floor, I don't rush into things and always spend far too much time researching materials and processes, my ocd
I trawled the net looking at the many companies selling Floor Tiles and other Materials, that and along with the many useful threads on the Garage section of DW I was almost ready to order the Duramat Tiles, however just by chance Duramat had a Trade Stand at the 'Glasgow Ignition Festival of Speed', which I attended in August, I spoke to the Reps and examined the Tiles, took away their leaflet with prices which included a Show Discount code, the Tiles are 12mm thick and made from recycled pvc cable, hence the tiny coloured fleck you may see on some of them, they also came with free Ramps to cover the Garage Door opening width. I did my calculations and ordered 144 - 500 x 500 Tiles which duly arrived a week later.
A lot of people have been asking about the durability of these Tiles and after fitting them I have no reservations about their ability in coping with...dropping heavy items, using Trolley Jacks and even stones stuck to Tyres
Top
Bottom
I started at the Door with the Ramp Tiles trying to get them as near as possible equidistant between the goal posts, it didn't really matter about the main Tiles, because of the interlocking system each row would need a cut Tile at either side of the Garage anyway, the cuts would all be different due to the many Blockwork Piers within the Garage, the Tiles have a sort of arrow which needed to be placed top left of every row, (depending on whether your Ramp Tile had Male or Female interlocks) it also meant that the cut Tiles would only fit one way, hence only by luck were you able to use a cut Tile for the other side, which is where it pays to order enough Tiles.
First Batch Done
I probably did too much the Night I started, up and down on the kneeling pad took its toll on me, however I was on a roll and enjoyed laying them, in retrospect I wish I had got hold of a bigger Rubber or Wooden Mallet as the Tiles were a real tight fit.
Might Just See The Arrow Shape Above The Mallet Head
For cutting the Tiles I used a Black & Decker Scorpion Electric Saw and sometimes a Hacksaw, the Stanley Knife was useless as the Tiles were far too hard.
Last Bit To Cut
Completed
(Skirting is the B&Q Soft Foam Floor Tiles, used this to hide the ugly rear of the Facing Bricks between the Piers)
The One Bit I'm Not Happy With
The Ramp Tiles are 12mm but the Main Tiles are definetely not 12mm as stated, they are really only 9mm and 10.5/11mm at the raised Disc, I took this up with Mark of Duramat who said they had not come across this difference before and would look into it, I suggested they might be able to supply me with some kind of undelay which would lift the first row of Main Tiles to the same level as the Ramp Tiles, however this would need to be cut in the shape of the interlock. Over 4 Weeks have now passed since I spoke to Mark and I have heard nothing. Of course this would not affect anyone not using the Ramp Tiles and It does not deter my willingness to recommend these Floor Tiles.
Ramp Tile On Top Of Floor Tile
Doug.
October 2017 edit... one year on and really pleased with the Floor Tiles, spoke to Duramat MD at this years Glasgow Ignition Show, he admitted there was a difference in thickness between the Ramp and main Tiles, he showed me the new Ramp Tile they had introduced to alleviate this, he offered to supply me these FOC, it was the right thickness, However it was much softer and what I would call floppier, I thanked him and said I would stick to what I had. Doug.