VCT & Garage Organization - Finally!

[intrepidtek]

Well, my wife seems to have a problem that we have a finished garage but the inside of the house has plenty to be done. At least everyone here can understand me...

We just bought a new construction home in Dec 07 here in PA and the garage was my first project to tackle and I think I'm finally done. When we closed on the house, the builder left the garage drywalled and the seams mudded, so I had to sand and paint the walls. Then, I decided to go with an 8' Gladiator workbench and some Gladiator shelving units for organization.

From there, I waited til about 2 weeks ago when it was warm enough to lay the vinyl composition tile (Armstrong VCT). Thanks to Jason B, I used his instructions and advice to lay the flooring. I am not a professional by any stretch, and this flooring was quite easy to do with nice results. I went with Earthstone Beige for a nuetral color so if/when we sell the house in a few years. Also, I've since tested the durability by working on the cars in the garage (jacked up on all fours with no problems, just put a block of wood under the jack stands to prevent indentions).

As most of the members on here, I am an avid reader, but this is one of my first posts! So, thank you everyone for your help....

Enough rambling, I'll post some pics so you can see for yourself.

Here is the link to the pictures, the flooring is more gray than beige, but appears tan in some of the pictures from the bad lighting and cheap camera.

http://www.countrypeddlercrafts.com/gj.aspx

 

[scofo]

Very nice lookin' garage and welcome.

 

[intrepidtek]

Thank you. Some day I hope to have a larger garage, but for now it will do the trick. It's been really enjoyable taking the garage and making it into something functional and aesthetically pleasing. I did it because I enjoy projects, but I also did it with the mindset that it will add value to the house when we sell in a few years. When the neighbors in the development would walk past, they would make comments how the flooring, shelving, etc looked good.

 

[Jason B]

Looks great!!!!!!! Glad I could help you.

 

[intrepidtek]

For anyone wondering, I used Zep Sealer (2 coats) and mop on Zep High Traffic Polish (4 coats) from Home Depot. I think it's 20% solids. I was happy with the results and it's held up well so far. I waited about 30 minutes between each coat and I just used a $1.00 mop from Home Depot to apply it.

 

[PoorOwner]

Looking good!

How do you like those gladiator wall cabinets, which store did you buy them from? I was about to buy one,
are they easy to assemble and any problem with everything come out square?

could you measure the height of the opening in the shelf and also for the doors? I want to get an idea what kind of things I can place in the shelves.

 

[intrepidtek]

I bought them at Lowes and I'm very satisfied. You can buy the fully assembled Gladiator ones for more money, but these ones were very well packaged and went together rather easily, and came out square. I looked around quite a bit before deciding to go with Gladiator. I'll get the measurements for you tomorrow.

 

[joecaver]

the place looks great

 

[dcjredline]

Man I am really wanting to do the VCT I just am not interested in waxing it every so often. What a pain to move **** for that. It looks so nice though!!!

 

[Bevis]

floor turned out good.

 

[348guy]

Way to stand your ground on the garage and finishing the most important room first.

The floor looks awesome. How is it standing up to hot tires?

 

[intrepidtek]

Thank you. I installed it when it was slightly below the recommended temperature, but the tiles seem to have bonded just fine.

 

[intrepidtek]

It's been unusually hot in PA the last few days (mid to high 90s) and I haven't had any problems with hot tires yet. I'll let you know if I notice anything though.

 

[Garage Guy]

I think that you are to be commended. It looks great.

 

[kool55]

Hi, neighbor. Nice job on the garage.To say it's been hot the last couple of days is an under statement. I am up the road in cochranville.

 

[intrepidtek]

Indeed, you are right down the road (I had to find you on Google maps since I'm still getting used to the area). I moved to eastern PA from the Pittsburgh area (Go Steelers).

 

[myers212]

Very nice! Can you use the tile on the sides where the foundation is exposed or would the cut edge of the tile present a problem?

 

[roger55]

Looks nice, I hope it works out for you.

I used VCT for a garage I had about 12 years ago and the dang things moved when I parked the cars on them.
I hope you don't have that problem.

The house after that one, I went with epoxy. It was all right but I used U-Coat-It and I don't think their epoxy is very good.

I am building a new workshop right now at my present house and haven't decided what to do for the floor yet.

 

[PurdueSD]

How is the VCT when wet...?

How do you keep your wife from hitting the brakes and sliding through the wall when enter the garage with a wet vehicle?

Ive been considering this for the attached garage, but the thought of that scares me to death...

 

[kbsouers]

I like that floor ....

 

[intrepidtek]

It is slippery when wet and you need to be cautious when walking, not driving. I haven't had any problems with the wife jacking on the brakes and taking it through the garage into the kitchen! However, if that does happen....well, I guess we'd cross that bridge when we get there.

 

[roger55]

I had no issues with it being slippery when I had it in my old garage.

However, there are the other factors that would keep me from using VCT again.
The issue of the tiles moving over time with cars parked on them is the biggest problem.
Also, they are just not heavy duty enough for the guy who does a lot of work on cars in the garage. It's a pain to always put something under the jackstands when raising the car. Light color tiles will also stain from tires and oils and other spills. Those stains penetrate the vinyl and can't be removed.