Thoughts on commercial Vinyl Tiles??

[dsmit367]

Has anyone had any luck with the commercial 12" x 12" vinyl tile that you can pick up at lowes/hd? I know that you see it alot in schools and cafeteria's and such. Not talking about the square versions of linoleum, but the thick (1/8" or so??) commercial, normally you see blue or white that has some sort of grey streaks in it.... I know that it gets glued down.

Just curious, because I have a small grage space that I need something down on to cover the 40y/o concrete. No cars park on it, however there is motorcycle work / painting / powder coating done there. (no hot tires, however, there will be kick stands, center stands etc....

I am mostly interested in something that will be easy to sweep up and wipe up liquids from that I won't cry too much about some overspray....

This is a sample...
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=89172-61-52514031&lpage=none

 

[JMURiz]

Do a search on VCT, many have used this in their garages. You can install and wax away for a shiny look like in your local big-box strore or a school hallway.

 

[mpraddict]

Two concerns I have about VCT. I hear rubber tires will yellow lighter tiles over time. Also, look at the floor in your local grocery store, the tiles will transmit any floor slab imperfections. If you have cracks, control joints, etc. they will eventually transmit through. On the plus side, they're easy to relace if one gets damaged

 

[IanF]

My concern about VCT would be about the same as epoxy: the prep and moisture in the slab.

 

[Jason B]

After MONTHS of debating what to use for my garage flooring, the decision to do VCT was clear. I'm on the east coast in PA and wanted something that would look great and had a shine. I found 3-4 guys that had the VCT here for over 5 years and theirs had held up great.

I thought about doing the race deck or moto floor, but once you see this VCT with the shine on it, you can't go back. The prep is super easy. No etching, just sweep the floor and clean it off.

I had epoxy in my last house and before I moved it just started to come up under the tires. There is nothing that checkerboard look.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

For any of you that want to do VCT tile, this is a great write-up to follow!

http://www.burtmanindustries.com/images/garage/vct_install.pdf - print it out and get started!

 

[IanF]

Interesting... looks nice... where are you in PA? I'd like to see it if possible.

 

[Jason B]

Thanks. Harrisburg. You?

 

[dsmit367]

Jason B, being that I live in Carlisle, I have to say that we have a winner..
I did have a question regarding the aluminum strip that you have in your photo.. is that to cover an edge over and expansion joint or what?

 

[jpicc]

I think this is the route I'm going to go with on my floor. Once the project in the garage is finished, I'm going to do the floor.

 

[Jason B]

Jason B, being that I live in Carlisle, I have to say that we have a winner..
I did have a question regarding the aluminum strip that you have in your photo.. is that to cover an edge over and expansion joint or what?

Cool. We can meet up sometime if you want.

The strip is just there to finish off the front. When you open the garage door, you see that alum strip, just for looks and to frame it. It may also help prevent cracking the edges of the tile.

 

[IanF]

Thanks. Harrisburg. You?

Near Philly... Hmm... I may give you a shout as we get closer to the Carlisle Import & Kit Car Show in May.

 

[Scottz5]

I am using pcv tiles that are used in bank vaults. they are a 1.5x1.5 each and black. Really nice stuff, but cost is high.

What i dont like about VTC is that they yellow, require maintence, and show imperfections in the cement.

What I like about pvc is they are very durable and cost me 225.00 for the 2.5 garage. The real cost was about 7000.00.

 

[Jason B]

Near Philly... Hmm... I may give you a shout as we get closer to the Carlisle Import & Kit Car Show in May.

Sure, let me know.

Scott, lets see some pics of this bank vault stuff.

 

[Scottz5]

Sure, let me know.

Scott, lets see some pics of this bank vault stuff.

I will very soon. Hope to start doing it tomorrow night. I am having the walls sanded today. It's like highend racedeck. The only thing is he only had black. I think it will look good with my future wall colors. White ceiling, med. gray walls, and a red and black stripe.

 

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

I'm doing the epoxy thing on the main floor and vct in the bathroom..

 

[OldCarGuy]

One 26’ by 38’ section of garage at my last house had 1/8” thick Armstrong industrial floor tile. I installed three four-post lifts in it and was temperature and humidity controlled year round. It was a show place that I stored mostly older cars (1910 to 1947) in. Antique cars are prone to water, gasoline and oil leakage. And after seven years it still looked great! Would I do it again? NEVER! A good grade of two part 100% solid epoxy is the only way to go.

There is far too much maintenance over an epoxy coated floor. The six month ritual of moving the cars out, then stripping and polishing was getting old. My new garages are all epoxy coated and all the maintenance I need to do is a quick wet mopping to bring them back to life.. And said good bye to my 20” floor polisher and twice a year full day's work.

BTW If you go with tile, I recommend Armstrong’s 1/8” thick industrial VCT. And purchase an additional 20% floor tile. To replace the ones that yellow from leaked fluids, tire marks and such....

 

[Scottz5]

Here are the pics of the floor I have. Sorry it is a little dirty.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii82/scottz5/100_3074.jpg

 

[6768rogues]

Commercial tile is intended to have finish applied over it. It needs to be coated so that the finish wears and the tile does not.
Typically 3 or 4 coats of good finish like Johnson's Vectra is put on. It provides the nice even shine. After a while, it is top scrubbed and recoated. Periodically it will need to be stripped and refinished, because too many coats will build up especially near the edges. The places with really shiny floors use a burnisher every day to bring up a mirror shine.

 

[villain2000]

Hmm. Looks great. How does it hold up when you wash you car or pull in a vehicle covered with snow and ice. Hot tire pick a concern?

 

[Mayor]

Very nice set up guys. How about a few more pictures of both floors. It's been a year and I still do not know what I want on the floor. What is missing in the below pictures???

 

[Jason B]

Very nice set up guys. How about a few more pictures of both floors.

Some more:

 

[Mayor]

You did a great job. Thanks for the extra pictures.