Question- Help needed...VCT/tile job

[FastFinish]

We usually don't clean VCT tiles so pardon the question/s.
We have a customer who want us to strip/ clean/ seal and wax a small 200sq ft section of really old (30 yr old tile) floor. Apparently the contractor who did a remodel sealed a dirty floor before cleaning all thecuff marks he made while working. Here is my plan and let me know if I am missing anything. Also the wax needs to be a commercial non-slip wax... Lastly what is a typical price for doing all those steps? It is an insurance job but want to be fair at the same time. Is there anything that is excessive? Advice appreciated....

1. Apply liquid floor stripper -Dwell time
2. Agitate with 175 and - some type of pad? What color and type (___________)
3. Extract with my tile spinner while neutralizing
4. Dry out floors apply sealer, dry then wax?
5. Apply ____________(fill in the blank) Sealer and wax? Combo? Separate?
6. Buff out?
7. collect check and Angie's List testimony

 

[Cleaning Concierge]

Buy stripper from a janitorial supplier.

1.Apply stripper let dwell
2. Scrub with a black pad.
3. Pick up with a wet vac with a floor squeegee.
4. Rinse with clear water.
5. Pick up again with wet vac.
6. Dry air movers.
7. Apply 3 coats of a quality finish - no sealer needed.
8. Collect check

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[David A]

Barrett is exactly right. I will just add that if there is rubber cove base and it has been waxed or sealed, you need to remove this as well. Here a can of baseboard cleaner and a doodle bug will work. Just make sure that once cleaned, you keep the new finish off the baseboards. Also, you will want to use a doodle bug and putty knife or razor scraper for cleaning your edges and corners. Nothing says crappy strip-job more than build-up and/or residue on the edges, corners and baseboards.

 

[Cleaning Concierge]

Nothing says crappy strip-job more than build-up and/or residue on the edges, corners and baseboards.

David is right on with this statement! Edge work will make or break a floor job.

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[FastFinish]

It has painted baseboards, so I am assuming I need to tape them off while scrubbing? And since I don't normally do this type of floors I was just going to use product from HD. Zep stripper, sealer, lastly the high gloss floor finish with a no slip coat of wax afterwards.. ( because she requested non- slip coat?


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[Paul Selby]

Most floor finishes are an acrylic non- slip anyways. The HD stuff sucks IMO. Hit up a local janitorial distributer and see what they have. Depending on the percentage of solids the finish you purchase is, you will need at least 4 coats. Most finish has a coverage rate of 1600-2000 sq. ft. per gal. I actually burnish the floor with a hog hair pad after it has been stripped. this really shines the tiles so that the wax just deepens the look. Just make sure its not asbestos tile (usually black and fibrous). If it is asbestos, putting stripper on it will release the asbestos and that's a headache you don't want.

 

[Paul Selby]

BTW, you don't need sealer unless the customer asks for it. The finish will seal the floor after the first coat.

 

[FastFinish]

Can you see the asbestos while stripping ? What does that look like?


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[FastFinish]

I have a black, red and white pad for the job not hogs hair...


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[David A]

Go to your local janitorial supplier for you floor care items. Stay away from HD crap. You are going to want to use extreme caution with that black pad and the painted baseboards. Floor stripper can also do a fine job at loosening that paint; add a strip pad to the mix and you can be repainting baseboard.

Stripper will not remove asbestos from the floor tile unless it is already friable. Now a real aggressive strip pad is another story (if it's run dry - some stupid ass must have done it once and caused the creation of a bunch of laws). If the tiles are 9x9 there is a good possibility of it being VAT. If they are 12x12 you are probably ok and it's VCT. Asbestos when friable in something such as floor tile is invisible to the naked eye and is only a problem when airborne. But it would mean hanging out in a cloud of it. The mastic used to adhere the VAT to the substrate is often a bigger issue than the tile itself.

 

[FastFinish]

Any suggestions on a final shiny but non slip finish? I was going to use tree wax product since they make a non slip finish.


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[David A]

Any suggestions on a final shiny but non slip finish? I was going to use tree wax product since they make a non slip finish.


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Every finish I have used or demoed is non-slip. I would think that any manufacture making a slippery finish would be loading themselves up for hefty legal bills.
never heard of "Tree Wax" products. But any good product will work. I like Diversity, Buckeye, Betco, Spartan & 3M. If it's a 20 - 25% solid product, three even coats will give you a respectable gloss. I don't like to put down more than three coats at a time. Read the manufacturer's directions. Any more than three at a time can cause curing issues. You would be better off waiting a couple of days and coming back to polish and top-coat.

 

[David A]

OK, so I just went to this website for "Trewax." If this is the stuff you are talking about, you better get yourself to a jan-san supplier.

 

[FastFinish]

I was also going to use air movers to help dry quickly on the sealer...


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[FastFinish]

I just found a local jan supply that carries multiple sealers and waxes... Including 3m


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[David A]

I was also going to use air movers to help dry quickly on the sealer...


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That is a good way to mess up a days work. With all due respect, you really need to do some reading on this subject, or go out with a company doing floor work and see how it's done.

 

[FastFinish]

No time for that... It's only 200 sq ft and she need it done tomorrow.


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[David A]

I just found a local jan supply that carries multiple sealers and waxes... Including 3m


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Good! Meet with them, look at your product options and follow their recommendations. Remember, you get what you pay for (most of the time).

 

[FastFinish]

It's also over 100 degrees so if we are not supposed to utilize air we won't. No big deal.


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[FastFinish]

Air was more for me than the floor I think.... Building temp will be high.


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