Supra tile w/Liner

[River Runner]

Alrighty, here's a rather different potential cure to my issue and I'm curious about others thoughts. Long story short I did a 1/4" to 1/2" overlay on my 2500 sq foot shop floor to fix slop issues to the drain. The good news is I got the slope issue resolved but the unfortunate part is the overlay is rather weak/soft. It adhered well but has poor compressive strength and scratches easy. That's for another story but is the current situation.

I have essentially two options I think. One is to attempt to densify the overlay and skim Ardex CD Fine over the aggressive grind I have on the current overlay, then densify again and seal. I'm not sure if it will work or how much strength I will actually achieve but I think it could have merit. Cost would be about $4500 in materials plus many days of labor.

Two is to leave the floor as is and put a floating floor over it. I have some samples of the Supratiles and it is pretty good stuff. The only thing I don't like is that I have a very porous floor and the shop will have vehicles washed in it and lots of melt from snow, etc. Water will get through the joints in the Supratile and I don't want it getting nasty underneath. My thought is what if I put down a EPDM pond liner (45 Mil) as a waterproof underlayment then laid the Supratile on top? It seems to make sense to me but is perhaps unconventional. Cost would be about $12,000 but provides a very durable/cleanable surface with no worry about skim coat chipping away over time. I'd rather not spend $12k and I like sealed concrete floors but I'd even more rather not spend the money and time to have the skim coat fail.

Shop will mostly be used for auto repair work and will have lifts. I don't see any reason why lifts can't be installed over the Supratile as they can bear significant weight. I'd probably go with the 4.5mm vs 6.5mm due to costs and because I'm not driving forklifts or heavy machinery inside. Anybody with experience or helpful knowledge is appreciated.

 

[River Runner]

Another potential option is to apply an elastomeric coating instead of a pond liner. With the aggressive grind just about anything will stick to the overlay as long as it has some flexibility. A self leveling epoxy would adhere great but I think any impact would cause the epoxy to chip because the overlay is soft and epoxy is hard.

 

[River Runner]

After talking with the guys from Legacy Industrial it appears that a densifier isn't going to really help strengthen the overlay enough. I think I am going to go the Supratile route. I think I might go with this coating vs using a pond liner to waterproof the concrete floor prior to laying down the tiles as it seems less cumbersome than trying to lay out and cut a 700lb liner.

BLUE MAX® Original Blue

BLUE MAX® Original Blue is a liquid rubber waterproof sealant that is a water-based, strong & adhesive elastomeric coating & sealant with 1200% elongation.

amesresearch.com

I will update with pictures as the project progresses.

 

[Armorpoxy]

Hi, the joints on the Supratile are very tight and don't leak water, if you put a paper towel under the joint and pour water on it the towel will stay dry. If you need full size tiles to test this contact us at below.

In firehouses (we have sold over 1,000 of them) since they often flood the floor when washing them down we recommend a special epoxy adhesive we carry which creates a 'dam effect' to prevent water from migrating under the tiles in the unlikely event that it tries.

 

[River Runner]

Hi, the joints on the Supratile are very tight and don't leak water, if you put a paper towel under the joint and pour water on it the towel will stay dry. If you need full size tiles to test this contact us at below.

In firehouses (we have sold over 1,000 of them) since they often flood the floor when washing them down we recommend a special epoxy adhesive we carry which creates a 'dam effect' to prevent water from migrating under the tiles in the unlikely event that it tries.

I was able to get some samples and test them....if I poured water out of a cup over the tile joints it definitely Leaked through, they are not water tight, especially in the 4 corner joints. I decided to go ahead put down a waterproofing elastomeric membrane because I don't like the idea of permanently gluing the tiles down and the epoxy glue is extremely expensive and make the project cost prohibitive. The floor will flood with water in areas as snow drips and melts from vehicles.

I started laying tiles yesterday but stopped after an hour because I noticed the tiles at the bay doors began to severely buckle as the sunlight hit them. They buckled so bad that they began to come apart and it was an actual trip hazard. Tiles are dark gray.

I did some searching and it looks like these PVC tiles will do this in direct sunlight contact.

Air Temps were in the 40's but the doors are south facing, so there is a significant solar gain. If I closed the doors they eventually began too mostly lay down after an hour. This is a bit frustrating as I will have these doors open on nice days and during the summer months and we see significant temperature swings of 40 degrees here in the summer months

Looks like I will need to glue the tiles down at the doors.....not sure how this will work since the floor has an elastomeric coating on it. I'm sure that if I installed this floor in July when temps are the warmest it wouldn't buckle and lift as severely but waiting till then is not feasible.

I researched this product and tested samples prior to purchasing 2500 sf but I must have missed the part about them expanding so drastically in the sunlight, very disappointing as I was going to move everything into the shop this next week and hopefully be open April 1st.

In hindsight I should have followed my experience and used Porcelain tiles, I was trying a different route for a quicker and easier installation. I will call ArmorPoxy tomorrow to see if they have any ideas or if I can return the product.

 

[Armorpoxy]

Hi
Yes this is normal as we advise on our installation instructions that any tiles that get direct sunlight or could get very warm beat to use the adhesive under those tiles.

We also recommend leaving about 1/4” around the perimeter to allow the floor to expand and contract.

 

[River Runner]

I had not even made it to the edges yet so there were still several feet of space between the tiles and any vertical surface. Unfortunately during my conversations with Armor Poxy there was never any mention of this occurring. One can't be expected to think of of all every possible question to ask, my main concern was durability and ease of cleaning, which I tested with sample tiles and they worked well at that. I would advise that its clearly stated or explained when purchasing that this occurs under direct sunlight as anyone who has a garage will most likely have the doors open during certain times of the year. I missed this in the instructions.....had I known I would most likely not have purchased. Unfortunately for me the doors face directly south the temperature contrast is high. Hopefully there is a solution.

 

[Armorpoxy]

Use of the adhesive as indicated in the instructions will solve this problem. We sell hundreds of firehouses a year with this product which often leave their large doors open to direct sunlight exposure. In your application only the tiles that see the direct sun should need the adhesive.

 

[River Runner]

I will try the epoxy adhesive. Thank you