Armstrong floor tile in the garage?

**crobinso** · 12-18-2004, 08:23 PM

Originally posted by Peter Crowl

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

Peter....in Denver

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

**Peter Crowl** · 12-18-2004, 09:46 PM

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

**crobinso** · 12-19-2004, 08:10 AM

Originally posted by Peter Crowl

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

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

**Peter Crowl** · 12-19-2004, 09:06 AM

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

**crobinso** · 02-22-2005, 07:14 AM

Peter,

Check out my thread http://www.autopia.org/forums/showth...291#post497291 , where I herald the completion of my garage renovation!

Thanks to you for the motivation and the insight to redo my garage.

My wife and I are very pleased with the result. We still have a little clutter, but it will NEVER become the storage bin it used to be!

Charles

**Peter Crowl** · 06-26-2005, 07:35 PM

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

**crobinso** · 06-27-2005, 07:13 AM

Originally Posted by Peter Crowl

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

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

**Peter Crowl** · 06-27-2005, 07:47 AM

Originally Posted by crobinso

There are no tears in the vinyl, and I`ll accept that as good. Perfectionists wouldn`t be happy with it, though.

:hairpull

Charles

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

**tonysandiego** · 06-27-2005, 09:20 AM

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.

**Peter Crowl** · 06-27-2005, 11:47 AM

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

**twasmer** · 06-27-2005, 10:00 PM

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

**darkdan** · 07-04-2005, 01:22 PM

Wow, you guys go all out!

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

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.

**awdirtdrifter** · 07-05-2005, 09:44 AM

darkdan: Nice! Where did you get the stain? Is that acid stain?

**darkdan** · 07-11-2005, 05:31 PM

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.