Vct or something like SupraTiles for garage floor

[cojlucas]

Hello all. Been trying to level my 40yo (2 car attached) garage floor for the past couple weeks in order to eliminate low spots for proper water drainage. Still working this process which is a total PITA. I’ve realized this floor is too ugly for polyurea coating, so I’ve switched my focus to either vct or some other pvc-type floor tiles. Living near Chicago, my concern is water drainage out the overhead door. I wash my cars in the garage on occasion but do the ‘ol squeegy method now. Any advice on which flooring option would be best? I’ve read a ton of posts on these and might be leaning toward vct, assuming I can get the slope corrected and smooth.


Corey

 

[cojlucas]

Here is a pic after several coats of a polymer modified resurfacer



Corey

 

[cojlucas]

From years of parking cars in the same spot...



Corey

 

[mikec35]

I have Supratiles and really like them, but I don't wash anything in my garage. I think both Supratile and VCT would work for your floor, VCT would have the edge if using a lot of water but it requires periodic stripping and waxing to look good, plus I think it would be slick with water on it. My Supratile has really tight joints and water seems to sit on top of it, if you are squeegee'ing it out it would work. You could also consider waterless car wash.. I love that stuff.

 

[cojlucas]

Thanks for your reply Mike. I read your post awhile back about your shop. I think it looks awesome. What did you do for the edges? Just cut the tile or did you purchase separate edging tiles from Armorpoxy? I think VCT would look the best in terms of options and I don’t mind the upkeep, however through all the threads I was reading, I haven’t come across any that talked about people that wash their cars in the garage and how well the tile held up (I would remove the water after washing). I typically only wash cars during winter to get salt and snow residue off my daily driver and my Jeep. I do waterless washes like Ammo Frothe but nothing beats the lubricity of water.


Corey

 

[Armorpoxy]

Hi
Both types of tiles will conform to the floor so best you make your repairs first. Use of a cementious skim coat will make the floor level so your tile choice works properly.

Tiles or a coating won't fix your puddling issue.

 

[cojlucas]

I’ve been resurfacing the floor in layers while attempting to maintain a proper slope. Much more difficult than it seems! Doing one side at a time. Should be just about done though(about as good as it’s gonna get). Then I will sand and re-clean to prep for whichever flooring I end up with. Wondering, should I put some sort of sealant over the patches areas?



Corey

 

[Armorpoxy]

When our Installation Division levels floors we use lasers and measuring things and put height pins in the floor so we know how much material to lay in each area. You are correct, it’s not easy!

 

[Jason B]

I've had VCT for 12 years and that would work perfect for what you are doing. YES, you can wash cars on it, but you'd just want to make sure you wax it first. See my first post here and the last page of posts, that I just updated after 12 years.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11812

 

[cojlucas]

Thanks for your reply Jason. I actually read your whole thread a few weeks ago prior to your 12 year update. The one question I wasn’t finding an answer to was regarding car washing and my concern about the tile adhesive potentially weakening if constantly exposed to water. I appreciate that you addressed my question. I’ve been on the fence on whether to do the vct or spending the extra money on garage tiles (cheaper is better as I have the upcoming expense of opening my pool for the summer).


Corey

 

[mikec35]

Corey - VCT will lift if water sits on it too long, if you wash a car then squeegee it off I don't think you'd have a problem. Worst case scenario if it did lift -you let the area dry and reapply adhesive and tile. I thought about VCT as well but I really didn't want the upkeep. You need to scrub and buff to keep a shine and will have to reapply wax periodically. Both of those actions would require removing your stuff or at least moving it out of the way to properly work the floor. Not sure about how slick wet VCT is, maybe Jason could answer. I really like the black and white checkerboard VCT pattern but the older I get the less time I find I have and didn't want the maintenance aspect of VCT. With my Supratile I just use a dry mop every once in a while and if the dry mop doesn't clean it a damp mop will. I have spilled oil a few times (plus I think my QuickJack is leaking,) I just wipe the oil up with a rag, don't even have to use any cleaner. Maybe the smooth Supratile would work, you could wash a car and with the tight joints hardly any water would penetrate. I bet most of the water would stay on top(especially if you didn't go hog wild with the sprayer) so you could just push it out the door. You could order a couple of squares and pour some water on them and see what happens. I have the coin pattern, it would be tough to use a squeegee on it.

 

[mikec35]

I didn't use edging at the walls, I just cut the tile 1/4" short to allow for expansion as this stuff does expand and contract. I used ramp edging at the doors.

 

[cojlucas]

Good info Mike. I finished resurfacing the low spots. Still have some slight craters from the way I troweled or attempted to smooth the mix. I figure I could go over spots with my angle grinder w/diamond cup. I’ve sanded with 40grit and just got done cleaning the inches of dust off of everything... not sure why I cleaned if I’m going to grind parts (must be my OCD). It’s definitely not perfect but it’s better than it was, so I will consider that a small win. If VCT needs to be applied to a perfectly smooth floor, then I know that option won’t work. I’m wondering if I should apply some kind of sealer over the floor now, perhaps to help with water absorption prior to me moving to the next step. I read that if I go with something like Supratiles, then a landscaping fabric could be put on the floor beforehand. Not sure how well that would work for any moisture that could seep through


Corey

 

[cojlucas]

This is after resurfacing.


Corey

 

[cojlucas]

Corey

 

[mikec35]

Looks great, I can't answer the sealer question with certainty but I don't think it would do anything but help. I didn't put anything under my tiles, I just laid them on concrete. The landscape fabric is for use if you are going with Racedeck type tiles to help quiet them down.

 

[cojlucas]

Gotcha. I saw these colors for vct and think they would compliment the brick on my house. That’s assuming I go the vct route.



Corey

 

[Jason B]

Gotcha. I saw these colors for vct and think they would compliment the brick on my house. That’s assuming I go the vct route.



Corey

Well? VCT!

 

[cojlucas]

Things got put on hold with the flooring. Have to continue my resurfacing efforts to grade the slope towards the garage door before I make a decision. Based on the amount of resurfacing product I have already applied, I’m a bit hesitant with installing vct for fear it won’t adhere well and may have to go with a free flow tile. Still debating which direction to go and whether I should apply a sealant before laying the tile (if I have to go the free flow tile route) to help with drainage.

 

[Jason B]

Rest assured. VCT will adhere to just about anything. I’ve seen people put that down on Dusty basement concrete floors, and the stuff is amazing, you just need to use the right arm strong glue that it calls for. This is the easiest stuff in the world to use, it’s super inexpensive, and it lasts great for years

 

[cojlucas]

That’s reassuring. If you were to lay vct again, would you still go with Armstrong S-750 as your adhesive?

 

[Jason B]

That’s reassuring. If you were to lay vct again, would you still go with Armstrong S-750 as your adhesive?

Yep

 

[cojlucas]

Update after much back and forth on how to handle my messed up floor. Resurfacing helped but I knew there were still going to be some issues with drainage out the overhead door, so I didn’t feel overly confident that vct would be the best fit, so I went with Racedeck tile (mixture of solid and freeflow). Painted ceiling, walls, trim, garage door, as well as using black concrete epoxy around all the edges to blend any gaps that would remain from leaving some room for expansion. It’s all finally done and applied the Racedeck tile coating after all tile was cut and laid. Lots of work from the start of my repair project til now, but I’m happy with the results. Hope y’all like it!

 

[BB767]

VCT In Old Shop

Just now seeing your thread. If it's helpful, here's a look at my shop before and after. I used Armstrong VCT on the old concrete floor. Parts of the shop were built in the 1930's.









The VCT flooring really transformed the old work spaces.





As you can see, with proper preparation, VCT can work very well.

For more on my shop restoration and the floor read here:

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51567

Your floor looks great BTW.

Thomas

 

[Jason B]

VCT for the win!

 

[cojlucas]

Wow! That is a crazy transformation of your garage! I bow down to you!! [emoji16]

 

[mikec35]

Update after much back and forth on how to handle my messed up floor. Resurfacing helped but I knew there were still going to be some issues with drainage out the overhead door, so I didn’t feel overly confident that vct would be the best fit, so I went with Racedeck tile (mixture of solid and freeflow). Painted ceiling, walls, trim, garage door, as well as using black concrete epoxy around all the edges to blend any gaps that would remain from leaving some room for expansion. It’s all finally done and applied the Racedeck tile coating after all tile was cut and laid. Lots of work from the start of my repair project til now, but I’m happy with the results. Hope y’all like it!

Very nice!

 

[mikec35]

Re: VCT In Old Shop

Just now seeing your thread. If it's helpful, here's a look at my shop before and after. I used Armstrong VCT on the old concrete floor. Parts of the shop were built in the 1930's.









The VCT flooring really transformed the old work spaces.





As you can see, with proper preparation, VCT can work very well.

For more on my shop restoration and the floor read here:

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51567

Your floor looks great BTW.

Thomas

Really cool! I hope you have some of the before pics hanging on the wall of the renovated garage!

 

[Jon1968]

Mike, what thickness do you have? I ask because I'm going back and forth between the 5.5mm Slate and the 7.0mm Leather.

 

[mikec35]

I have 4.5mm in my shop and 6.5mm in my garage. I wouldn't hesitate to use 4.5mm in my garage where cars park, I just used 6.5mm because I got it at a heavy discount. I'm sure the reps at Armorpoxy can advise what thickness works best. I think 6.5 is for industrial.

 

[Jason B]

I have to say I’m super thrilled with how this came out and the wax is the finishing touch, I shouldn’t have waited this long to wax it LOL I waited about 10 years to put the wax on a few months ago.