Armstrong floor tile in the garage?

crobinso, I was wanting to tile my floor as well, and I have all my vct, I was going to wait till spring because I was afraid the temperature was too cold. What are the temps up by you and are you haveing any problems with the adhesive? If your not haveing any problems I might tackle mine this weekend.



TIA



Eric
 
erok01 said:
crobinso, I was wanting to tile my floor as well, and I have all my vct, I was going to wait till spring because I was afraid the temperature was too cold. What are the temps up by you and are you haveing any problems with the adhesive? If your not haveing any problems I might tackle mine this weekend.



TIA



Eric
Click to expand...
Hi Eric,



When the workers applied my adhesive, the temperature was about 45-50 degrees, and a cold rain was falling. This week, our Maryland temperature has dropped to 21 at night! We're hitting 40 in the daytime. The workers experienced no problems with the adhesive for my job, and the floor has cured very nicely.



Charles
 
Thanks for the info Charles, that's what I wanted to hear. It looks like we might have some more garage floor pics in a couple of days:)



One more quick question, are you guys using any kind of floor roller when laying these or is it not necesary?



Thanks again for the help.



Eric
 
erok01 said:
Thanks for the info Charles, that's what I wanted to hear. It looks like we might have some more garage floor pics in a couple of days:)



One more quick question, are you guys using any kind of floor roller when laying these or is it not necesary?



Thanks again for the help.



Eric
Click to expand...



Roller use is mandatory...you can rent them.



Peter....in Denver
 
Peter Crowl said:
Roller use is mandatory...you can rent them.



Peter....in Denver
Click to expand...
I don't know what my workers did. It rained, I got cold, and I went inside. I told them to knock on the door when they were finished. So I don't know whether they used a roller or not...



All I know is, when I rolled my CAR onto the floor two days later, the floor was smooooooooth. Check out my link again for 4 new pics.



Charles
 
When you say it couls use a shine...have you sealed it?



Early on you said your contractor was going to seal and buff for $100 something.



You really need to seal it if you haven't.



Peter
 
Peter Crowl said:
When you say it could use a shine...have you sealed it?



Early on you said your contractor was going to seal and buff for $100 something.



You really need to seal it if you haven't.



Peter
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Okay, now I'm concerned. I'm not sure what you all mean by "seal". How do I do that, and what tools and chemicals do I use?



Would the buffing I talked about "seal" the floor? For that matter, did my workers seal the floor while I was inside?



I'm worried...



Charles
 
The tiles come with a finish on them from the factory. That finish is "temporary". Applied to prevent damage to the tiles during transportation...handling...installing. Once layed and after a week or so for curing they need to be stripped...which just involves a good scrubbing with a mop and floor cleaner...and then a few coats of sealer are applied using a lambs wool applicator. That sealer becomes the surface finish. One then strips the sealer and re-applies 2 or 3 times a year depending on wear.



I'd ask your installer what they did for you so you know...and then I'd go to a janitorial supply house and have them set you up. I did and I'm so glad. This is a lot of floor to maintain. I got a good professional string mop/wringer bucket setup along with a good squeege. The mop head is specific to this type of floor - what with the texture - and works great.



They have Cleaner/Sealer products as well. Take a piece of tile with you so they can match it up with the best sealer.



It's part of the process...and part of the fun. Mopping the floor is a good workout as well - and the results are very satisfying.





Peter..in Denver
 
Thought it would be a good time to update this thread with current photos of my floor after a winter and regular use.



So far I'm happy... I need to strip and re-seal..there are some hot tire marks but other than that it still looks pretty good.



Peter
 

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Peter Crowl said:
Thought it would be a good time to update this thread with current photos of my floor after a winter and regular use.



So far I'm happy... I need to strip and re-seal..there are some hot tire marks but other than that it still looks pretty good.



Peter
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Hi Peter! You've changed your avatar! Heh. My floor is showing some creasing and crinkling due to the original concrete not being level. But the tile is holding up well after 6 months. There are no tears in the vinyl, and I'll accept that as good. Perfectionists wouldn't be happy with it, though.



:hairpull



Charles
 
crobinso said:
There are no tears in the vinyl, and I'll accept that as good. Perfectionists wouldn't be happy with it, though.



:hairpull



Charles
Click to expand...



Well..this is a garage floor. I use the garage as a...garage.

Having a finish surface is so way better than bare concrete ...but it will bet dirty and have flaws. To those who disapprove I say.... get over it.



I have a friend who dod epoxy around the same time I did time..another board member also did epoxy and theirs is not faring as well.



Peter
 
Can you elaborate on the two that used epoxy and are not fairing well???? I plan on using an epoxy of some sort on my floor and would be interested on hearing about what others have used.



My floor has a floor drain in it and with the amount of slope that it takes to get water to drain, any kind of tile would have a hard time staying glued down, plus I'm afraid of the seams taking on water and lifting the tiles. I wash my car in the winter at least once a week and even with the heater going, it does take a while for the floor to dry out.
 
The epoxy has lifted in the traffic area...also not held up under heavy traffic...standard disclaimers...YMMV



My floor gets wet..can stay wet overnight..never a problem with tiles lifing.



Peter
 
Peter:



Nice job. I did my floor about a year ago and love the results.....................But one piece of advice to people that are considering doing this. LET THE ADHESIVE CURE before you put down the tile. There were a few places I put down my tile and it was not fully cured (30 min I think) and they are moving on me now. I have extra tile and when I popped the sliders up the glue was still wet. And that is after a year.



I re-glued them and the new tile is holding firm.



Also the Zep floor polish from Home Depot is AWSOME. When I first installed my floor I rented a buffer and went to town. This time I stripped the floor and just moped the floor finish on and it looks GREAT. My nieghbor actually thought it was still wet :)



PS: I am in Aurora!



Later
 
Wow, you guys go all out!



I'm poor so I just stained my garage floor.



shopfloor.jpg




Unlike an epoxy, this is touchup-able (is that a word?).



I just wanted the floor white so I can get more light in there for tinting.
 
My day job is working at sherwin williams.



That's the H+C Concrete stain. There's an oil based and a water based stain. I went with oil.



It's easy to touch up, it only took 2 gallons to do that area (2 coats).



I had to acid etch it before hand, but that wasn't hard. Acid etch one day, one coat the next day, and a final coat the 3rd day. By day 4 I was parking cars on it again.



It won't last forever, but it will last a decent amount of time. Unlike epoxies when one part goes the whole thing doesn't go with it.



I just taped off the bay and stained it.
 
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