# Laminate or vinyl on a concrete basement floor?



## J187

Although I cannot answer all of your questions, I can comment on the leveling compound. I'm surprised to find people saying that it is easy to screw up and makes a mess really deters you from it. That could be said about lots of things. I used floor leveling compound after owning my first home for only a month and nevre having done a DIY project in the home before. I found it was pretty straight forward stuff. Messy - sure, but ever work with thinset? Or Drywall mud? Or even concrete for that matter? Same kinda messy. Easy to screw up? Maybe, but it worked great for me and didn't take much effort. I was careful and took my time. I found just the opposite. It took an annoyingly long time for mine to dry - more than over night in fact. It sets up fairly quickly I guess, but it levels itself before it does. You may wanna give it a shot. 

Let others chime in here as well, i'm not a pro by any means.


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## Floorwizard

self leveling may be the way to go.

Vinyl will require great leveling as it will show alot. Lam will require less leveling unless your just talking about a slope, and then vinyl will slope right with it.
If your area is large then Vinyl is not DIY friendly because of seams.
Lam however can be DIY friendly ESPECIALLY in large areas.

I would need to know more specifics on your floor to decide which to go with.
Humps?
Lumps?
dips?
slopes?


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## pjpjpjpj

*Thanks - more info*

Thanks for the comments.

J187, what type of leveling compound did you use (if you remember)? Was it just from a HD/Lowe's place, powder that you mixed to make the compound? When you are putting it down, was it thick enough that it "stayed put" where you put it, or is it thin enough that it "runs around"?

Florcraft, the area is about 14x14, but seems to bulge in the middle - there are no really visible ups or downs standing in the room, but when I "scree" it with even just a 48" level, there are dips/bulges such that the floor drops away from the level in the middle nearly 1/4". I have read things that say laminate should not even have a drop that big over 10', much less 4' (again, do you think they are exaggerating to cover themselves?). The offset is fairly smooth - as I said, you really don't notice it just standing in the room - but I would think that it would be a problem with laminate because it's not a straight slope, but a bow. There is also a drainage system under one side (previous owner had installled) which was topped with newer, lightweight concrete, which is about 12" wide, and while it doesn't really affect the floor situation, the "newer" concrete really drops off even more, in just that last 12".


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## J187

The compound I used was from HD. Not sure of the brand. By nature the stuff is not going to be too thick, otherwise it wouldn't self-level. But for me, it really wasn't all that tricky. I levelled a pretty good size section of floor too.


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## AtlanticWBConst.

Hi,
Be prepared, Floor leveling compound is not cheap. I think it goes for about $28.00 - $ 30.00 a bag. 
It takes alot to do just a 12x12 room dependant on your pitch and level issues. You are talking about doing a whole basement? 
Spend some time figuring out the costs in detail. Compare that cost to bringing in a company to pump it in. We have done both. The product that they use when pumping it in is mixed on site and called Gypcrete.
You should allow plenty of time for drying. At least 48-72 hours. The flooring leveler will push out excess water to the surface as it dries. So you may also want to run a dehumidifier and open up windows to speed the process up.


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## J187

Wow, I swore I mentioned the cost in my posts, but reading back I guess I didn't. I definitely intended to. Atlantic raises an excellent point, I found leveling compound Shockingly expensive for the amount of coverage - that said, its hard to put a price on these types of things. I gladly paid the price, but he's right, if you are talking about a large area, just be ready to pay.


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## Suzie Homemaker

Did you go with the pergo by any chance? I am considering it and I would like to hear what some others think of it.


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## dougrus

FYI
I have installed both Pergo and more "off brands" as well...I found Pergo to be worth the extra money for three reasons:
1. The tongue and groove was solid and much easier than other to get right and lock in without breaking.
2. Much more resistent to chipping at the corners...
3. in general, Pergo, the Pergo I installed anyway, feels more "solid and secure" to walk on.

I have had Pergo in my kitchen for 5 years and it is still in excellent shape.

I have had a more generic brand "dream home" in the playroom and it seems to be chipped in a few areas and is more sensitive to various kinds of cleaners. Mind you I have two young boys so the chips may have something to do with the Tonka trucks and such...but they "play through" the kitchen as well and I have seen a couple of accidents that I was certain would do some damage and...nothing.
The brand I installed in my neighbors house was an also an "off" brand and I had the same issue...even being very careful I occasionally would break the tongue on the board...was very frustrating ...at times I also had trouble getting the planks to lock up tight with no gaps. I had none of these issues with the Pergo...

I can tell you that installing the Pergo was a dream compared to the other brands I tried...

In general, I like laminate but I think in the future, now that I have gained a new love for tiling, I think I would do that....at least in the kitchen anyway...for a basement it is good because it isnt "cold" and because it is floating it can move in temperture changes...

I think floorcraft is correct though...it is important to define what is going on with the floor before you make the final decision. SLopes, dips, etc.

If you have dips it can be tough to install the laminate and you can get lips which will really cause chipping.

Hope that helps


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## manoloK

*Have you considered Tiles?*

Hi PJ,

I know that this isn't what you ask, but, have you considered tiles?

Tiles aren't that difficult to fit (anyone can learn how to do it) and without any doubt will last longer than Vinyl or Laminate.

Remember that "cheap is expensive". Sometimes we try to save a few $$$ using certain materials and long term we end up wasting much more money than initially thought.

Besides if the floor isn’t badly unlevelled (shouldn’t be so bad being a concrete floor) you’ll save the self-level compound as the minor problems will be covered by the thin set (or whatever you’ll use to stick the tiles)

I believe that for a basement the best option are tiles.

If you want to know a bit more eMail me and I’ll send you a few url’s for some articles you may find interesting about basement remodelling. Since I’m new to this forum and I’m not sure if I can post urls (specially because they point to my own site and I don’t want the moderator to think I’m just trying to spam the forum).


Hope this helps 



Manuel :whistling2:


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## Colonel Hogan

*Basement Floor COvering*

Based on my recent experience finishing my 1100 sq. ft. basement, I would agree with MANOLOK. The main bar area is 12-18' w x 45'l and had a concrete floor in pretty decent shape with some random snots and dents; overall the floor slopes up into the foundation corners. The entire variation in the floor was about 1". After talking to several people who looked at it I decided to lay a QUALITY 12"x12" ceramic floor over QUALITY thinset finished with grout. I had one experienced guy leading and my self and another tyro helping. We did the entire floor in 2 1/2 days. The floor looks great with no trip hazards. I was able to literally cut the cost of the job by 2/3rds vs. using leveler and don't have any of the probelms expected with vinyl or laminate flooring.


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## horizon99

*Siken basement floor areas*



AtlanticWBConst. said:


> Hi,
> Be prepared, Floor leveling compound is not cheap. I think it goes for about $28.00 - $ 30.00 a bag.
> It takes alot to do just a 12x12 room dependant on your pitch and level issues. You are talking about doing a whole basement?
> Spend some time figuring out the costs in detail. Compare that cost to bringing in a company to pump it in. We have done both. The product that they use when pumping it in is mixed on site and called Gypcrete.
> You should allow plenty of time for drying. At least 48-72 hours. The flooring leveler will push out excess water to the surface as it dries. So you may also want to run a dehumidifier and open up windows to speed the process up.


 
My I ask how much did it cost you for the company or can you give me a company so I can get an estimate on floor leveling


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## rstanley

Response to the original question about putting floor down in wet basement. Using most laminate products will be a problem because the "wood look" is actually printed paper with a coating and it is normally laminated to MDF, which is a fiberboard that will expand and fall apart if it gets wet and it will also support mold. Not to mention that normally in the manufacturing process for MDF a glue is used which often releases formaldehyde. The product I do recommend was specifically designed for use in wet basements and other wet areas. It is called Forest Waterproof Flooring. Web site is Forestaflooring.com. I finished my basement and one bathroom with it last year. It looks great and I have had 3 floods in my basement since the installation. Each time we pumped out the water and the floor was fine, no change, no odor and no mold. Great product.


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## cgoll

The foresta product looks interesting. However, after looking through two pages of Google results, I still can't find a price.

Something tells me if you have to ask....


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## Wildie

One other option that you could consider are OSB tiles mounted on a PVC base. These are 2' square! Just flop them down, then put what ever floor you want on top. I believe that Home Depot will carry these!


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## Greytguy

I agree with what Manolok said. I am leaning toward ceramic tile for my basement remodel because thet definitely would add value down the road if/when I sell, although I am also considering Konecto tiles because they are dog-friendly and I have seven of those to consider.


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## tonya499

If you decide to go with large (18-20") tiles flatness is very important. That is my experience. The smaller the tiles, the more leeway you have in flatness.


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## onlinehandyman

After having installed many floors, vinyl, tile, laminate and wood I would have to say that your best bet would be VCT, vinyl tiles. The problem with laminate as has been mentioned here before is that should it get wet it will be ruined. Being that we are speaking about a basement, I would not take the chance. The problem with the sheet goods vinyl is that you are correct you will see the imperfections in the concrete, that is unless you do level out the floor. Not really a big deal, but it can get costly and is kind of annoying. You also have to deal with seams and cutting takes a good deal of skill. One of the nice things about tile is that if you should make a mistake while cutting you can just throw away the tile and replace it with the new one.


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## Nestor_Kelebay

1. How you'd do this with VCT tile:

A) If you use a floor finish:

I probably have more VCT tile experience than most people, and even thought the previous posts are correct in that it will last longer than most other floorings and will conform to a contoured surface, it simply isn't practical for residential purposes unless you're willing to maintain it.

Unlike most other flooring materials, there is a definite technology associated with maintaining VCT floors. There are different ways of maintaining them, but the most common one is called "scrub and recoat".

In the "Scrub and Recoat" method, you apply MANY coats of acrylic floor finish to the VCT tile floor after you install it. For a 14 by 14 foot floor, I'd probably apply one gallon of sealer followed by a gallon of finish. That'd work out to be about 7 or 8 full coats of each (not counting the coats applied running the mop out with water).

Then, once every several years, you use a floor machine (or hire a janitorial service with a floor machine) to scrub off the dirt embedded surface layer of floor finish. This is done with an abrasive plastic pad (like a giant 3M Scotchbrite pad) and a liquid cleaner on the floor so the stuff that's scrubbed off remains suspended in the liquid. You then vaccuum up that dirty cleaner with a wet/dry vaccuum, and then go over the floor a second time with clean water. This is what a floor machine looks like:
http://www.mercuryfloormachines.com/machines/hercules.htm

Then you apply several coats of new finish to bring the floor back to it's original appearance.

Therein lay the secret to the longevity of VCT tile floors. Shoe leather SHOULD never come into contact with VC tile. It only comes into contact with acrylic floor finish, which you continually replace. So, a properly maintained VCT tile floor will outlast grandma. It's like asking how long a floor will last if you keep replacing the carpet. Almost indefinitely.

And, it's that business of removing all the furniture from the room and scrubbing the floor and recoating it that makes VCT tile floors somewhat impractical for residential applications. Businesses with VCT floors will hire janitorial firms to come in and do this work at night.

B) If you don't use floor finish:

The requirement to remove all the furniture, scrub the floor and recoat with more finish only arises if you apply acrylic floor finish.

Instead of using 1 gallon of sealer and 1 gallon of finish, you can also choose to apply 2 gallons of sealer and NO finish.

Sealer is VERY MUCH HARDER than acrylic finish, and dirt doesn't get embedded in it the way it gets embedded in finish. Instead, acrylic sealer will just gradually be eroded off the floor by foot traffic without ever looking "dirty". It's only when the dirt starts to get embedded in the VCT tile that the floor starts to look dirty. Sealer is also very much harder to remove than finish.

Once the VCT tile starts to look dirty because dirt is becoming embedded in it (cuz the sealer is worn off), you simply clean that area with a Magic Eraser (to remove the dirt embedded in the surface), then scrub any scuffs or scratches with a soapy steel wool pad (to scrape the dirt out of them and make the surface of the tile smooth there). Clean up the soap with water, allow to dry and apply more sealer only in that area. Thus, you maintain only the high traffic areas as necessary, and you do it by hand.

I installed VCT tile in my sister's kitchen with sealer only on top about 10 years ago now, and I cleaned and applied the first coat of sealer as a repair to a high traffic area of her floor yesterday (Christmas Day) when I was at her house.

2) How I'd do it if I wanted to install sheet vinyl:

Forget about the price of floor leveler being high. It might cost $27 per bag, but you should be able to do a 14 by 14 foot concrete floor with no more than half a bag. Remember, you don't pour floor leveler on and let it find it's own level to form a perfectly flat floor; you trowel it on with a plastering trowel. You can buy self leveling floor cements, but they're not often used even by pros.

If it wuz me, I would have a bright light laying on the floor to exagerate the roughness of the floor and make the dips look like Meteor Crater and all the bumps look like Everest. Just fill in the dips with the floor leveler slurry, and use a cold chisel to chip off any bumps.

I've used Mapei Planipatch over concrete. At the time they said it was OK to use it over concrete without adding any of the "Planipatch Plus" additive. Now, installers are telling me to always mix the first coat with a solution of Planipatch Plus diluted with 3 parts water over wood or concrete. That Plus "additive" is best thought of as an "adhesive". It makes the Planipatch stick better, gives it a bit of flexibility and makes it dry harder. But, it costs about $30 per quart too.

After the first application of Planipatch is dry, I'd put my bright light back on the floor and scrape off any Planipatch sticking up with a paint scraper. Planipatch shrinks as it dries, so you'll probably need to go over the floor a second time just to fill in the shrinkage.

I wouldn't "float" the whole floor; just the depressions in the concrete, or the depressions you create by removing anything sticking up with a chisel.

And, for an even smoother floor, you can sand down the Planipatch instead of scraping it.

Once you've gone over your concrete floor like that, if you can't see anything with the aid of a light shining at a critical angle, there's no way there'll be anything on that floor that will show through the sheet vinyl.


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## jamiedolan

Nestor_Kelebay said:


> The requirement to remove all the furniture, scrub the floor and recoat with more finish only comes about if you apply acrylic floor finish.
> 
> Instead of using 1 gallon of sealer and 1 gallon of finish, you can also choose to apply 2 gallons of sealer and NO finish.
> 
> Sealer is VERY MUCH HARDER than acrylic finish, and dirt doesn't get


Do you always use a sealer & acrylic? I just use acrylic on VCT, is this a bad practice? I put down about 350sqft of the Armstrong commercial VCT this summer, I still need to clean up and apply polish to half of the room - it looks pretty miserable right now I might have to get out a black pad. The other side of the room I applied like 4 coats of a arcylic to it, but again no sealer.

I did appear to damage a couple VCT's on the side with the arcylic on it. I spilled some "purple PVC primer" on it. I tried scrubbing it off by hand with several detergents (Buckeye workout, bleach, etc.). I was kind of supprised it got right through the acrylic. No big deal I will just replace the tiles if the Advance can't get it off. Just kind of intresting, sounds like sealer would have helped, unless something in the purple prime breaks the bond in the sealer as well? 

Jamie

p.s. All of your posts are a great read, lots of wonderful technical information. Thank You!


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## patty k

*Flooring Over Concrete*

I Am Also Looking To Put Flooring Over Concrete. I Have Researched Many Products. Kardean Is A Great Product, Although It Is A Glue Down. Possibly That Would Be An Option For You. I Am Looking For A Floating Floor. I Have Looked At Konecto, However I Am Not Sure After Reading The Horror Stories. I Am Now Researching Foresta Flooring And Flexitec. 
I Do Not Feel Laminate Wood Is An Option Over Concrete.


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## Nestor_Kelebay

jamiedolan said:


> Do you always use a sealer & acrylic? I just use acrylic on VCT, is this a bad practice? I put down about 350sqft of the Armstrong commercial VCT this summer, I still need to clean up and apply polish to half of the room - it looks pretty miserable right now I might have to get out a black pad. The other side of the room I applied like 4 coats of a arcylic to it, but again no sealer.


In my building, I ALWAYS put a gallon of sealer down in every apartment I install VCT tiles in before putting a finish down.

It's standard practice for contractors to simply apply acrylic finish over VCT tile floors, but they're going on the normally wrong assumption that no one is ever going to spill anything worse than milk, orange juice or water on the floor, or at the very worst, the dog have an "accident" on the floor. If that's the only kind of stuff you might spill on the floor, then you don't need a sealer.

But, in the real world, where you may spill Easter Egg dye, liquid shoe polish, PVC primer, alcohol based wood stain, ink jet printer ink, wood end cut preservative, and stuff like that, then I'd definitely put down a sealer first. I wish I had a nickle for every time I removed a stain from my floors by stripping off the floor finish. The sealer stopped the stain from penetrating further. Without that sealer, the stain would have penetrated into the tile.

The problem, however, is that retail floor stores charge so much for Armstrong and Mannington acrylic finishes that people tend to skimp on how much they use. And, it's entirely because the retail store knows that their customers down't know what else to put over their Armstrong or Mannington vinyl floors, so they're pretty well over a barrel, and the retail stores charge as much as they think they can get. That just encourages poor floor maintenance. The customer would do MUCH better by using any sealer and acrylic finish from any Janitorial Supply store. That's cuz the sealer and finish would cost 1/2 or less of what Armstrong or Mannington products cost, so the customer will put PLENTY of sealer and finish over his new floor to protect it properly.



> I did appear to damage a couple VCT's on the side with the arcylic on it. I spilled some "purple PVC primer" on it. I tried scrubbing it off by hand with several detergents (Buckeye workout, bleach, etc.). I was kind of supprised it got right through the acrylic. No big deal I will just replace the tiles if the Advance can't get it off. Just kind of intresting, sounds like sealer would have helped, unless something in the purple prime breaks the bond in the sealer as well?


If removing the finish doesn't remove the stain, then remove the tiles. Do this with a heat gun to warm the tile. Use strips of 3 inch wide by 1/8 inch thick steel strapping to protect the adjacent tiles from the heat. As you heat the stained tile, gradually pry it up. When it's hot, the adhesive under the tile will let go of the tile easily. If you don't heat up that adhesive before pulling the tile off, then pieces of whatever floor leveler you have under the tile will come up with the tile, thereby requiring that you get that floor smooth again prior to replacing the tile.

Buckeye makes good products. I'd strip off the finish you have on your VCT tiles and put down a gallon of Buckeye FirstDown sealer and a gallon of Buckeye CastleGuard acrylic finish. Keep the finish mop wrapped tightly in a clear plastic garbage bag (for leaves) between coats so the finish in the mop head doesn't dry.




> p.s. All of your posts are a great read, lots of wonderful technical information. Thank You!


Oh, heck, I don't really know anything about this stuff. But I've never let my not knowing anything about a subject stop me from speaking authoritatively, and often at considerable length, about it. Thanks for taking the time to read my posts. Otherwise it woulda been a complete waste of my time.

PS: just kidding.


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## onlinehandyman

Nestor, 

First I have to say that I have been working on vinyl tile for close to 20 years and that was one of the best explanations that I have heard to use sealer. Although I do use it, many don't and probably should.

I got to disagree with you though that vinyl is impractical for a residential basement. Yes, it does need to be maintained and getting the machine in there is challenging, but how much traffic do you think that it is going to get. Personally I like ceramic, but cost wise vinyl is your best bet. Laminate or ANY floating floor is a no go in a basement.

Scott


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## jamiedolan

Nestor_Kelebay said:


> In my building, I ALWAYS put a gallon of sealer down in every apartment I install VCT tiles in before putting a finish down.




First off, thanks for all the great information. It sounds like I do need to have a sealer down on this floor. 

Are there products other than buckeye that you like? I think buckeye stuff is great, the problem I have is that the closest distributor is about 60 miles from me and like to sell at full retail price. 

I've used the acrylic called Proforce from Sams club and the Rubbermaid one as well. The finish is never quite as hard as I think it should be, but maybe that is because I am not using a sealer, and I tend to put it down on stuff that isn't designed for polish like inlaid vinyl and vinyl tiles. Do you ever use a sealer on things like inlaid or vinyl tiles?

The acrylics are easy to get at a good price, as mentioned the Proforce is about $25 for 2.5 gallons. I wish I had a good cleaning products distributor around here. I might have to order some products one of these days, (I use a fair amount of Big-d Enzyme-D which isn't the easiest thing to find) but no one seems to sell buckeye online.

Jamie


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## Nestor_Kelebay

Onlinehandyman:
In my humble opinion, using finish over VCT tile in a residential setting is inapproprate cuz few, if any, homeowners have a floor machine to maintain the VCT tile with. In a residential setting, the more appropriate way to maintain the VCT tile floor would be to use sealer ONLY on the floor, and not top coat with finish. Sealer is much harder than finish, and won't get embedded with dirt, and therefore won't need a floor machine to scrub that dirt embedded surface layer off. Sealer just wears off gradually underfoot without ever looking "dirty" because of the dirt embedded in it. If and when you see part of the floor looking dirty, it's cuz the sealer has worn off, and dirt is starting to get embedded in the surface of the VCT tile.

In that case, remove that dirt by cleaning with a Magic Eraser, and scrub out any scuffs or scratches with a wet soapy steel wool cleaning pad. Rinse clean, towel dry, and apply another dozen coats of sealer to the area with a rag or mop (depending on the size of the area affected).

But, if the Jones's have to remove all their furniture and machine scrub the floor down to remove a dirty surface layer of floor finish, and then mop on another few coats of floor finish, it's just simply never going to happen. They won't buy a floor machine. If they rent one, they're as likely to smash it into a coupla walls before they figure out how to use it, and then they won't know what kinda mop to use to put what kind of finish back onto the floor. There's just so many things the Jones's won't know how to do in that scenario, that they simply won't maintain their VCT tile floor, so it's impractical for them to choose that kind of flooring if they're totally lost on how to maintain it. If they do choose VCT tile flooring, my recommendation is to he11 with putting finish over it, just put twice as much sealer and maintain the traffic areas by hand as described above.

JamieDolan:

It doesn't have to be Buckeye. The only company's sealer that I've tried and don't like is ZEP. Don't know if they're available in the US. I like Johnson's Wax "Technique", which is highly stain resistant and dries very hard. If Swish is available in your area, then their "Dynasty" sealer contains resins made by Rohm & Haas Co. Ltd., and it's even more stain resistant than Technique, but not by much, and I expect it would depend on what you spilled. Buckeye First Down is great, too.

Here's a web site that caters to the Janitorial sector of the economy:

http://www.cleanfax.com

ANY company advertising it's products on that web site is well respected in the Janitorial Service Sector, and you should have no problems with their products.

Be leary of any local Janitorial Supply company that seems to sell it's own brand of products. Often these janitorial supply stores will buy the concentrate resin off of the chemical companies that make the resins and simply mix, dilute and bottle their own sealers and finishes in a back room. Often they don't clean their equipment properly between batches, and you get "blobs" of partially dried sealer or finish in the jug of sealer or finish you buy, and those "blobs" that show in the glossy reflection on your floor make it look like you waxed over a dirty floor.

But, if you go to any of the Janitorial Supply outlets in your area, and they're selling a name that's sold nation-wide (as evidenced by them advertising on the Cleanfax web site), I think you won't go wrong buying their products. They might very well be buying their resins concentrate from exactly the same chemical company as Buckeye, so you might be getting First Down, only sold under a different name.

As regards putting sealer down on other flooring, I put sealer down on every sheet vinyl bathroom floor in my building. Since I started doing that, I no longer have stains on my sheet vinyl bathroom floors, and I recommend it for everyone. Both VCT tile and sheet vinyl will stain if you spill the wrong stuff on them, and I feel that a protective coat of sealer over both kinds of flooring is cheap insurance against stains. That is, I put sealer over my VCT tile floors and my sheet vinyl floors in my own apartment block, and if I owned a house, I'd do the same. So, I'd recommend multiple coats of sealer on any vinyl or VCT tile floors in your house, too. Who's sealer you use is much less important than the fact that you've got a sealer on that floor to protect against stains. My guess is that the differences between the various sealers available is small, and all provide good staining resistance.

PS: Also, in my last post in this thread, I suggested storing the mop in a garbage bag between coats so that it doesn't dry up. That would be a CLEAR garbage bag... the kind used for leaves so that anyone dealing with those bags can see that there's just leaves inside it and no household garbage. The coalescing solvents in the sealer or finish can dissolve any ink on any plastic bag you store the mop in, and that will tint the colour of the finish you're applying to the same colour as the ink that was dissolved off the surface of the bag. So, try and get a clear bag, or one with no printing on it, or clean any printing off the bag with acetone before using it.


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## Wildie

Oh my lord! Why not use a laminate floor, such Mannington makes. Its not that expensive, and in the event of the remote possibility of a flood, its easily replaced!


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## Nestor_Kelebay

Cuz the original poster is concerned that the basement floor isn't flat enough to install laminate.


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## jamiedolan

Wildie said:


> Oh my lord! Why not use a laminate floor, such Mannington makes. Its not that expensive, and in the event of the remote possibility of a flood, its easily replaced!


Don't a lot of these laminate floors still have problems with moisture? It seems to me like some damage to these in a basement would be more than a remote possibility.

I installed a laminate floor in my first floor bed room 2 years ago and just from dog accidents and light clean up of the floor (no flood mopping) there are multiple areas where the edges of the laminate are damaged. It was not a dirt cheap laminate either. Around $1.80 /sqft. The only laminate that I have been somewhat impressed with was some of the old pergo from years ago that was glued together at all seams. 

I will eventually switch my bedroom to Konecto Prestige, It has been holding up well to abuse. Only thing I have seen is some small scuff marks where a dining room chair went back and forth on it and they don't want to buff out for some reason. I was even thinking maybe I should put a sealer and acrylic on my Konecto.

Jamie


P.S: The easy way to clean the heck out of your floors; My Floor Machine:


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## onlinehandyman

Nestor Kelebay,

First I have to say that I am extremely impressed with your knowledge of flooring. I have been servicing VCT for many years and guess I just take the attitude that when it gets bad, you just call in a pro. I also do not think and this is depending upon the tile itself that there will be that much wear on a residential floor. i also never realized that you could just use sealer like that.

Personally I like porcelain tile on the basement floor, but that can get costly. My other choice would be glued down low level loop carpet. VCT is not the best answer, but knowing that there will be maintenance it is an OK choice. NO way would I ever consider using laminate with any chance of water. I know water can happen anywhere but the chance of it in a basement is always greater.


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## Nestor_Kelebay

Advance is a well respected name in janitorial equipment. That's a well built machine you have there.


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## yesitsconcrete

i'm appreciative of all the posts - we run hild & advance,,, obviously we're not fans of vct :laughing: preferring acid-stains & overlays on conc yet there's not always only 1 solution,,, thanks for the knowledge based on real experience :thumbup:


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## jamiedolan

Nestor_Kelebay said:


> Advance is a well respected name in janitorial equipment. That's a well built machine you have there.


Thanks!  The guy sold it to me for $75. I would have gladly paid more for such a fine machine. We repainted it and put new grips on it. The motor sounds great and it runs quite smooth. It saves so much time! I now have over 2,000 sqft of washable floors in the house and with 4 dogs, that machine saves hours of work. The gunk I would have had to soak off or scrub on my hands and knees just gets lifted right off with the machine. 

Thanks again
Jamie


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## rstanley

cgoll said:


> The foresta product looks interesting. However, after looking through two pages of Google results, I still can't find a price.
> 
> Something tells me if you have to ask....


They have a new floor available.


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## rozer2012

dear sir,

i will send you the suitable answer soon

thanks

Floor levelling


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## ttr13r

I would suggest Allure product for your situation. But use the original, its easier to install. If you need to level the floor try a product (it in a red colored bag, 50lbs), called Levelquick. Self-seeking leveler, but make sure use a wood block or something if you need to "stop" it because it will just keep going and going. (oh, Allure is found in Home Depot) It's water-proof, durable, resilient too. Good for a busy family. Read directions to install. No underlayment needed, do not glue it, it's a floating floor. Make sure you leave about 1/8" space near walls, etc, otherwise it will buckle or separate. Halstead makes it for Trafficmaster, look for Customer Service number for further questions.


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## floored

*Allure LVT*

Be careful of this product. It's a dumbed down version of the better quality Konecto products solde through flooring stores. Also, on self leveling products such as Levelquik or Ardex, the product does have to be moved around to seek it's level. You can't just pour it out and be done with it. Best bet is to get advise from floor covering stores, not the big boxes. You get what you pay for.


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## Awoodfloorguy

Just thought I would give an idea for another possible flooring solution. Have you considered acid staining the concrete? This is cheaper than most any flooring type, will not require leveling, is probably more durable than any other type of flooring, and it can be scored to look like expensive tile or stone. Anyway, just something to consider.


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