Durablity and VCT tile

[Square2.0]

Hello all

I am closing on my house this week. Before the floor gets messed up I want to put down some kind of flooring system. I want an epoxy floor from epoxy-coat, but money is tight and I’m having to looking at cheaper options. The floor looks brand new (its 12 years old) and is level and clean.

VCT tiles look like they might work but I’m a little concerned about there durability. I picked up a few tiles from HD today and decided to see what would break them. Well as it turns out, if you drop almost any tool from 4' or more the tile will crack or otherwise brake. Not quite as strong as I was hopping for. I was using an old 3/8 ratchet from 4’ as a test weight. I would say about 75% of the time the tile would crack. On the last full tile I had I stepped it up to a ½ ratchet and the tile never had a chance.
I know my testing was a bit extreme but for a garage floor I don’t want to have to worry about the floor if I drop something.

Here is were you guys come in.

I was testing these tiles with them just taped down to a friend’s concrete floor. I also put my weight on the sides when I was droping the ratchets to simulate the tile being really stuck to the floor. No glue or wax coatings like most people use. The tiles were also all by them selves with No other tiles around them. I think that when installed correctly these tiles may be a lot stronger but with out trying it out my self I have no (legal) way to test them. I could go to a wall-mart and start dropping some of there tools on there floor but don't really think that would go over so well.

My question to you guys is:

Do these tiles stand up better after a full correct install?
Pics of your floor are always welcome

Thanks


p.s. here is a link to the tiles Im looking at.
http://www.armstrong.com/commflooringna/products/vct

 

[rwhite692]

I have never manage to crack any of my VCT tiles. When bonded to the substrate they will dent when something really heavy is dropped on them, but dropped ratchets, etc? No damage whatsoever.

If VCT tile was anywhere near as fragile as your testing indicates, I think most supermarkets and hospitals would not be capable of using it as successfully as they are.

If you have a daily driver garage with cars in-out every day, wet cars, road salt, etc, Then I would go with Epoxy or Porcelain tile.

 

[Square2.0]

I have never manage to crack any of my VCT tiles. When bonded to the substrate they will dent when something really heavy is dropped on them, but dropped ratchets, etc? No damage whatsoever.

If VCT tile was anywhere near as fragile as your testing indicates, I think most supermarkets and hospitals would not be capable of using it as successfully as they are.

If you have a daily driver garage with cars in-out every day, wet cars, road salt, etc, Then I would go with Epoxy or Porcelain tile.

Thanks for the infor rwhite692. Im not going to lie. I just read your garage build thread from start to finish. I will be doing the same black and white checkerboard pattern with gray outline on my own garage floor. I also like the dark gray light gray with the stripe. Think I would do blue though but thats just me.

You have one of the best looking garages on GJ.

 

[G-force]

Have not cracked any of mine, but I feel if I dropped anything over 10 pounds and it landed just right, it would be possible to crack. The beauty though is that to replace a single tile is reasonably easy.

I personally would not install VCT in an area that I planned on doing any serious work in. It's just not the most resilient surface. Impact, welding slag, jack stands, ect. All things that can severely damage the floor. I personally prefer bare concrete for my shop floor. It may not be the prettiest, but I put function over fashion in my shop.

 

[motodavid2000]

If you have a daily driver garage with cars in-out every day, wet cars, road salt, etc, Then I would go with Epoxy or Porcelain tile.

I agree with this statement 100% as I have both types of floors - VCT in my garage in the north and epoxy in my garage in Florida. In my seperate dirty workshop I have bare concrete.

My black & white checkerboard VCT floor is in the sig line if you want to see it. The VCT will stain easily from warm tires sitting on it and it dents. I have in-floor heat also. Works great.

Can you do a mix of epoxy for daily drivers and VCT for the "show" area?

Good luck - Dave

 

[Square2.0]

Can you do a mix of epoxy for daily drivers and VCT for the "show" area?
Good luck - Dave

After reading your garage thread I have a great amount of respect for you. Your cars are amazing and you've built a garage that is bigger and more expensive then the homes of most of the people on this forum own.

The home I’m buying is a whopping 106,900. About 1/3 of what some of your cars cost I think. I would love a "show area" but at this stage in my life (I’m 22) its not going to happen. My garage is around 600 Sq so not much space for anything else other then a high traffic work area. As it stands right now the only floor coatings that would stand up to me and what I do in my garage are out of my price range.

Heres hoping I win the Epoxy-Coat giveaway contest.

Good job on your collection. Like someone said in your thread. If you EVER need a car boy to help keep your cars dust free. Hit me up.

 

[ScaldedDog]

What about clear epoxy over VCT for a working home garage? Nothing but concrete will survive welding, and even it will look like **** with burn marks on it, so welding blankets on the floor are pretty much required, anyway. I'm thinking that epoxy over VCT would handle most everything else, while requiring less prep, covering minor surface imperfections, and at a lower cost than pure epoxy.

Opinions? (Which will hopefully help the OP, too.)

Mark

 

[azcactus]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[motodavid2000]

After reading your garage thread I have a great amount of respect for you. Your cars are amazing and you've built a garage that is bigger and more expensive then the homes of most of the people on this forum own.

Thank you kindly for the nice compliment and good luck with your flooring coating / treatment decision. Always remember there is no perfect solution, only a solution with limitations.

Dave

 

[James E]

As others have said, VCTs are easily breakable when they are not stuck to a floor. Once they have been bonded, they are way more durable. Without the backer, they break easily so your testing procecure is flawed unless you actually glued the tiles down to concrete or wood.