VCT Tile Question

[Garage Flooring]

The problem I see with a garage flooring business selling VCT is the cost of shipping and the ability to be able to make enough of a profit over the local Home Depot pricing. There are a wide selection of colors available, but custom colors come with a custom pricing and as always, it's full cartons @ 45sq. ft. per case. That just makes custom borders and inlays tricky to be cost effective at times.

There is some truth to that, although everyone has freight costs. I Actually stopped in Lowe's the other day and looked at their selection. We can't do it because it would be unethical. It would be like selling you a wood stove for your garage knowing where you are going to put it. Lots of people do it, they work great and rarely cause an issue BUT by code (for good reason) they are illegal. So we could not sell you one for that purpose.

Lowes and Home Depot don't know where you are going to put it so it is really not a concern for them.

 

[azcactus]

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[azcactus]

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[jav]

I guess I'll be the voice of dissent. I installed VCT in my garage about 5 years ago. I live in the northeast but my garage is heated. Even with heat, the floor near the doors gets below 55 in the dead of winter. If I were to do it again, i'm not sure there's a perfect product but I wouldn't do it again without exploring other options.

What I like:
* looks great when clean.
* easy/cost effective to install (my floor was pristine - new construction concrete)
* easy to sweep
* color layer is thick (supports razor scraping of paint/glue drips )

What I don't like:
* Stains easily (oils, tires, solvents, fuels etc seep into tiles)
* Can't support concentrated loads - floor jacks/jackstands will dent and crack tiles)
* Frequent wet mopping- chemical cleaning (for stains) attacks bond (tiles lift)

I work in the garage alot and not being able to jack and support without pads is a pain. The stains aren't a small issue either. I like a spotless floor and I have an industrial floor buffer...once stained, "spotless" is not possible.

 

[Chuck W.]

I guess I'll be the voice of dissent....

All great and valid points. Also, to have it look good, if you use your garage a lot, you have to be willing to put is some maintenance time in.

I installed mine just over 4 1/2 years ago and would do it again.

 

[jsraaf]

Would using a clear epoxy top coat over the tiles alleviate some of those problems?

 

[jav]

Chuck-

your floor looks great. In your top picture (lower left corner), I do see tire marks though and it looks like your even more religeous than I am about cleanliness/waxing.

I even bought an industrial floor polisher and my marks are way worse... but again- I work out there a lot.

 

[Chuck W.]

Chuck-

your floor looks great. In your top picture (lower left corner), I do see tire marks though and it looks like your even more religeous than I am about cleanliness/waxing.

I even bought an industrial floor polisher and my marks are way worse... but again- I work out there a lot.

Thanks. Yeah, I just bought a box of white tiles and I am going to replace 31 tiles. I use 18 inch square pads to park the cars on now. A tad late. There are also several tiles that are flawed because I didn't do a perfect job prepping the floor.

In the first photo you can see my 2500 RPM high speed burnisher parked in the corner.

 

[38D]

I have VCT in my 2 car detached garage. Floor has been in for 3 years. I live outside Boston and had no heat the first 2 years. I've had zero cracking issues and overall has held up way better than the epoxy floor I had in my prior house. I took me a looooong time to install, largely because of the complex pattern I did. But I would do it again in a heartbeat.

The tiles will gouge if you drop something really heavy on them (like a brake rotor) and they will develop dents from really heavy shelving. But you can easily chisel out the old tile and pop a new one in (I've done this with 2 tiles so far).

 

[Garage Flooring]

I think that is exactly the type of example people need as it deals with almost all objections posed by the manufacturer. Who's adhesive did you use?

 

[38D]

I just the normal VCT adhesive they sell at Lowes. I think it was Armstrong brand, but I honestly don't remember.


I've attached a picture of the pattern. The way I got around having any black marks on white tiles from car tires was to have this pattern. It took a ton of cuts, which greatly added to the install time.

 

[bglad]

Guess from reading this thread VCT isn't that bad of an option. What is CYA?

 

[JimVonBaden]

Guess from reading this thread VCT isn't that bad of an option. What is CYA?

CYA=Cover Your ***.

Jim

 

[robortiz59]

I recently joined the VCT Club. I installed red and black Armstrong VCT in a diagonal pattern a couple months ago. Actually, I paid a tile contractor to do it. I hope this doesn't disqualify me for membership. I just don't have time for DIY projects lately. I did build the garage myself a little less than 2 years ago.

So far, I love the floor. I'll post pictures when I get home tonight.

I'm located in Northeast Pennsylvania. So, winters do get cold. The garage is very well insulated, but not yet heated. On the coldest days it doesn't get any colder than upper 40s(f). But I am a little concerned about how it will handle the winter.

I have a couple of questions for some of you guys who already have VCT:

Floor care: Right after the floor was installed I mopped it clean with some detergent cleaner, then "waxed" it with Mop and Glo. I didn't really know what to use. But this didn't work very well. It never really got glossy. And I now get white spots on the floor every time it gets wet. For example, pulling the car in when its raining leaves white stains. I think its the wax reacting to the water. I'm pretty sure I need to find a better wax and/or sealing solution. So, what does everybody else use? On my last trip to Home Depot I saw something called Zep vinyl floor sealer. Has anybody used this? Based on the label it seemed to suggest the tile is pourus, and this product would prevent it from absorbing other liquids. It was supposed to be applied before waxing. How about waxes. What do people use? Do you mop? Or do you use a polisher?

 

[JimVonBaden]

Mine was installed in January, when the outside temps were below freezing. I have zero insulation. The garage has gotten well below freezing, and well over 100°. The tiles have not moved at all.

I never did anything but mop mine until recently. I stripped the floor, but have yet to seat it.

You need to strip the factory finish off. You can use the Armstrong stripper, or a number of other strippers. Then put on a sealer, again Armstrong or similar made specifically for VCT.

Though the VCT is vinyl, it isn't like a vinyl floor in your bathroom. It is a different material, and needs different chemicals. You do not necessarily have to polish it either, but you should seal it before it stains. Removing stains means removing a very thin layer of tile.

Jim

 

[robortiz59]

Here are a couple of pictures of my floor:

 

[swiss]

Just had to chime in here. 12 years of vct experience here. Once installed rolling then sealing are the most important factors. Prior to laying the tiles I always let the adhesive. Tack up for 3 hours or more! Try to avoid lighter colors, they always yellow. I'm in the process of a 450 sqft build and will definitely use vct. It will take 2 hrs prep to finish not including dry time for adhesive. I'm located in Ontario Canada.

As a side note I would not use it in a shed with a wood floor.The extreme temperature fluctuating wreaks havoc on them.on concrete tile away!

 

[02chuck]

Find your local commercial cleaning supply house. They will have the tools to clean with, the experience to set you in the right direction and the strippers, sealers and polishes to get the floor looking like Chuck's. They probably rent scrubbers and polishers also.
If you get really obsessive like Chuck you can buy your own buffer.

 

[slickgt1]

VCT looks nice but needs maintenance. For a little more work, real tile, porcelain or ceramic can be had for similar prices. The tools are a bit different. But the durability and no maintenance far outweigh VCT.

Surprised that Armstrong did a CYA. I am guessing the tiles are a fire hazard. Has anyone tried to light one up?

 

[bpk]

Can I assume the permanent self adhesive tile would not work well for a garage application vs mastic?