Garage Makerover w/VCT plan - Advice

[NIZMOZ]

Folks, I have decided to go the VCT route with our 30 year old garage floor. Due to costs, and prep considerations with this old house, it will make it easier to just go VCT.

I have decided on Armstrong VCT 51807 Textured, with Armstrong S-750. My only concern as this garage is used daily for storing the cars driving in and out, is care for the floor. I do not want a slick floor when wet. So WAX I think is out of the question. But I do want the floor to be taken care of and sealed in some way. I also think EPOXY is out of the question here. What have some of you guys done with typical garages with the same concerns I have? I don't want people falling is my main concern. Any advice in this area would be great. Thanks guys!

PS, we do not get snow or ICE here in South Texas. Rain is my only concern.

 

[chevelle67]

I did my garage in VCT last fall and even with the winters in WI didnt have a problem. I stripped and polished my floor with 5 coats of armstrong polish. Man did it get shiny so I was worried about it being to slick when wet or snow was an issue and if you have snow packed into your boots like a snowball it is very slick but if you wipe your feet is wasnt a problem. I honestly cant figure why people say that VCT is so slick when wet. Sure it is slicker when wet but its not like ice. If it was so bad in todays litigeous (sp?) climate stores and schools wouldnt be using it. I would think the textured would be even better as mine isn`t textured.

 

[TONE]

I think people associatte VCT with being slick is from all the visuals they see at commercial stores.

Many stores use VCT, and have done so for decades. As you must admit there are always "caution wet floors" signs set up when the weather is bad, or when someone spills something.

I worked at a hardware store chain when I was in high school. The floor was VCT and I remember people (customers and clerks) falling on it quite a bit. Especially in the winter near the entrance doors.

 

[mmhouse]

There is "non-slip" wax that works well on VCT. This is what most retail stores with VCT use nowadays. It may not be quite a shiny as regular wax but it makes the tile look good and is much less slippery than the regular stuff.

 

[NIZMOZ]

Where to get the non-slip wax?

 

[wjh0919]

I used Wolverine BondTite with a non-slip adder. Talk to Fred at Alpha Garage. He's a member here. I've got a 620 square foot garage - my cost was about $ 375 as I recall.

 

[mmhouse]

Where to get the non-slip wax?

Your best bet is probably a local janitorial supply company.

 

[AlphaGarage]

I used Wolverine BondTite with a non-slip adder. Talk to Fred at Alpha Garage. He's a member here. I've got a 620 square foot garage - my cost was about $ 375 as I recall.

wjh0919 probably used our BondTite 1101. As I noted in response to anther recent question about coating VCT BondTite 1101 was originally formulated for priming concrete and metal, it was one of the independent flooring contractors that first started using it as a coating for VCT. Since then it's been used a lot for both new VCT applications, and on older installs where the owner is tired of constantly polishing and waxing, an extra layer to help resist scratches or typical wear, or where they want to guard against spills leaking through the seam and undermining the adhesive.

The fact that there's a lot more demand to use epoxy on VCT has lead the lab to develop an even better coating for VCT, the new product is BondTite 1107, a 100% solids, 2 part cycloaliphatic epoxy.

It is an epoxy, so it may yellow with UV exposure, but a clear coat of our EnduraShield 2254 will add gloss, hardness, and reduce the yellowing. The BondTite goes down at 5 mils, and since it's a 100% solids epoxy you'll benefit from the whole 5 mils when it's fully cured. That's thicker than a lot of the concrete epoxy kits out there. With waste factored in 3 qt kit is good for about 215 ft2, a 3 gallon kit about 860 ft2.