This is a hot topic: Readers are hearing from floor sales people that they need to polish and buff their newly installed vinyl composite floor tiles like the professionals do in office buildings.
Dotty from Columbus writes:
Dear Pam, as I have come to terms with the sad new about the Fritztile I wanted…and as I have come to the end of the flooring road… I thought I would settle with sheet vinyl. I was checking out the day on RetroRenovation, I clicked on your kitchen. I have looked at it hundreds of times and yet failed to look at your flooring. Okay, around to my question. I have always wanted Armstrong/Congoleum tile but have been talked out of it by flooring salesmen. It all seems to swarm around the buffing and polishing. They have recommended buffing 3 times per year by a professional to keep the dirt out of the surface to prevent staining, including stripping? How do you maintain your flooring and does any of this sound familiar? Oh, any exactly which product did you decide on? Commercial/Residential? Thanks from Columbus. Dotty
And reader Dee writes:
was wondering – can a vct floor be put in kitchen – high traffic – does it have to be buffed and waxed like they are telling me or can I just mop? what are the consequences to that?
My experience:
- My floor is Azrock Cortina Autumn Haze -12″ tiles – installed at 90-degrees to each other (important detail!). It is commercial tile, I believe – as are most other brands like this including Armstrong’s Imperial Excelon, the Congoleum tile, etc. In fact, it’s often hard to find online because you must remember to go to the Commercial section.
- See my Kitchens/Flooring Category (above) for all current flooring recommendations.
- Reader Meredith – whose kitchen is in the lead photo — installed the same floor. She says that she brought in a pro, at least initially: “I’ve already installed the Azrock Cortina Autumn Haze into my kitchen and laundry room. I absolutely love it! I had someone come out and put about 5 coats of polish on them so they are really shiny.”
- I have had these kinds of floor twice now. Both times, I simply used an Armstrong floor polish from Home Depot. I cleaned the floor really well – then put on a few thin coats drying well between. In my last house, I had the floor 6 years, it never aged a bit. This floor is looking kind of scratchy – but I didn’t put the polish on for a year, and I really don’t have many coats on. It’s so neutral – gosh, I don’t notice the imperfections a bit.
- I do strip it occasionally — like once a year — which is a real pain — and repeat the process to get the virgin-ish shine again.
- I do not buff my floor. But, I’m kind of interested in doing that sometime, and I am on the lookout for a vintage, estate-sale buffer including the pads. Back in the 50s, they really pushed these on housewives, there seem to be a lot out there.
- As far as “high traffic” goes — these are Commercial floor tiles. Our kitchens do not come anywhere near the traffic levels these tiles are designed for.
- Perhaps the sales people are trying to talk you out of these – because they want you to buy a floor that will wear out and which costs more?
All that said – this is just my opinion. I know that other readers have put in these floors — some have indeed had pro’s come in to polish them up.
RetroMeister says
I wax and polish all floors using either a liquid wax or a paste wax and the best floor buffer ever built, the Electrolux triple head machine, always availble on Ebay. The wax makes all floors shimmer and shine, beware, damned slippery too!
VacationBarbie says
Dotty…I live in Fresno, CA.
Speaking of wood floors I’m happy to report that the ones in the house I just bought (Closed today…yippee skippy!) are in FANTASTIC shape, or will be once we pull out the zillion or so staples and carpet tacking. I’m going to check out that Bona product.
To The Brick House….are you on a cement foundation or raised sub floor? I have a raised sub floor. My BBF went with me on my final walk though and has deemed my kitchen floor, “Disgustingly gross.” LOL I didn’t think it was that bad! Dirty, yes. Nothing that a little bit of bleach won’t cure….until I can decide what I want.
Femme1 says
John Q, regarding the hardwood floors refinished with poly: we had the same thing done, but now, 14 years later, the polyurethane coating is looking pretty scuffed. Up to now, all I’ve done is damp mop them and they’ve always looked great.
I recently found a product called Bona Hardwood Floor Refresher that makes poly-finished floors look like new again. The Bona Company makes a bunch of products for cleaning and shining wood floors. A friend of mine bought the whole “system” (special mop, various cleaning products) and she loves them too.
John Q says
Hi All, I’m new to owning a home. When I bought my 1959 ranch I had the wood floors sanded and sealed with 3 coats of oil based poly by a professional. I assumed all I had to do was dust them as they are sealed. Am I WRONG about this??
Thanks, Q
the brick house says
We installed black Armstrong VCT in our kitchen and bathrooms. It was pretty easy and very cheap to put in. The only issue with keeping them unsealed is that the tiles will stain VERY easily. We spilled a bit of paint on one before they got sealed and could not get it totally out…
It was about $200 to have all the tiles waxed and sealed by the pros – and totally worth it. The VCT is super easy to maintain and clean, and once a year we need to have them stripped and resealed.
Could not recommend them enough. Way easier to care for than my wood floors, but the black does show a lot of dust.
dotty says
Vacation Barbie, stylist to stylist where are you located? Stay sane through the X-mas hair…..and thx to all for your input on the flooring!
Beverly Sills says
No, it isn’t hard, and no, you don’t have to seal it. In fact, you may prefer the unsealed look, you know, more of a matte finish. Armstrong VCT is easy to install…we didn’t seal it, because the tile itself really didn’t need any additional shine. Later on, if you change your mind, you can seal it. But I would DEFINITELY not let upkeep issues keep you from installing a simple VCT tile floor in a residential kitchen.
Palm Springs Stephan says
I remember from my childhood those times of year when my mother, always an obsessive cleaner, stripped and polished the kitchen floor. It happened at least twice per year, and involved moving the kitchen table and other furniture out of the room, and an entire day of on-your-knees stripping and polishing. And she had a Sears two-head floor polisher/buffer that she used at the end. Then she would repeat the whole process with the hardwood floors in the rest of the house. The smell of Johnson’s Paste Wax for wood floors still gives me the warm and fuzzies.
My theory is that authenticity comes with a price … and for kitchen floors the price is stripping and polishing. Why hire a pro when you can do it yourself and gain the personal satisfaction that goes with completing the task?
Elvis says
For what it’s worth, my brother-in-law put VCT tile in his bath and kitchen and DIDN’T SEAL IT AT ALL! He and my sister-in-law didn’t want to set up that maintenance requirement headache.
I haven’t seen it in several years, but by their accounts it is wearing well and cleans up nicely with detergent and water.
VacationBarbie says
You know…I was wondering about this same thing. I wanted Marmoleum, until I saw the price (about $10 sq. ft. installed and I need about 250 sq. ft.). As the saleslady was showing me some other options she passed by the commercial tiles….I said, “That’s it..that’s what I want.” She dismissed me with a “Oh that’s commercial tile.” and went on with her pitch. The commercial tiles were about $3 a sq. ft. (Not sure if that was installed or not.)
I work in a Salon and we have gray commerical VCT tiles and I think the floor is about 20 years old. We have in professionally cleaned, waxed and buffed about once a year and believe me…with 15 stylists…it really takes a beating. The rest of the time it just gets mopped.
Can you install this yourself, or do you really need a professional installer. (The hubby is really good at the DIY stuff.)