VCT | Garage Installation - My Procedure

[Jindi]

Greetings and Salutations!

I'm installing VCT in my garage (~400 SQ FT). Since I live in SoCal I'm not too worried about the elements

I was originally going to just sweep the floor, remove any surface obstructions (surface concrete, etc), apply the recommended adhesive and the lay the tile.

This morning I spoke to a very knowledgeable fellow who really impressed me with his expertise\experience. He said that I must execute the following steps if I want to do the job correctly with long-lasting results.


1. Scrub and degrease bare concrete floor.
2. Etch floor with muriatic acid.
3. Let dry - thoroughly.
4. Apply moisture vapor barrier.
5. Apply VCT manufacturer's recommended adhesive [I'd like to use a waterproof adhesive]
6. Lay the VCT.

He said step 4 is critical b\c most garages don't have a vapor barrier underneath and water will seep up and through...eventually.

This is a lot more work than I had originally anticipated but I am convinced that this will give me the results I want. As many of you have said in other posts "it's all about the prep".

I'm hoping those of you who have already installed VCT will chime in and let me know what you think of my approach.

I know some of you who have installed VCT simply swept, applied adhesive and laid your tile. Do you think your results would have been different had you taken the steps I outlined above?

Comments\suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Thanks...

 

[admactanium]

I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure you can't add a vapor barrier to the top of your concrete. A vapor barrier is a sheet of plastic that usually goes under the concrete pour or on the sides of houses. You can't really put a sheet of plastic on top of your concrete and then lay tile over it unless there's some sort of liquid vapor barrier that I've not heard of.

 

[ThePeaceKeeper]

I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure you can't add a vapor barrier to the top of your concrete. A vapor barrier is a sheet of plastic that usually goes under the concrete pour or on the sides of houses. You can't really put a sheet of plastic on top of your concrete and then lay tile over it unless there's some sort of liquid vapor barrier that I've not heard of.

I am curious about this also, the only vapor barrier know goes under the slab.

 

[dlewis]

I believe he's talking about a sealer/primer.

 

[Jindi]

I believe he's talking about a sealer/primer.

Sorry for the confusion guys - I barely know what I am talking about. dlewis is right. I was talking about a vapor barrier applied in the form of the sealer\primer and NOT plastic.

 

[aqr81]

If you know how the approximate age of the slab, you should check with your local building department and see if the code requires the plastic moisture barrier under the slab. In my area a sand bed and plastic sheeting moisture barrier are code requirements.

 

[Jack Olsen]

You can also test to see if moisture is likely to be a problem by duct-taping down a 2'x2' sheet of plastic for 24 hours and seeing if moisture accumulates underneath it.

 

[35mastr]

Being in Socal I dont think you are going to have any issues with water seeping up through the concrete. Unless you live right on the beach where the water table is high.