Tile Floor Help

[jerry ACC]

OK, I'm a hard surface virgin. This job is one of my property management units. I would like to show them that I can handle all of their floor jobs regardless of the floor covering, and I need the money. There are 25 units in this building that will require a cleaning eventually and I don't want to miss the opportunity. I cannot afford a 175 right now so I will have to rent one. I will be happy just to break even on this first job to get the experience for the next time one comes up. The tile is throughout the apartment about 850 square feet. It is Armstrong floor tile just like the crap in the local convenience stores. SO:
What will I need for chemicals and pads ?
What are the steps involved ?
Is 65 cents per sqft a good figure ?
Please help me out I'm starving here !!

 

[Mikey P]

Cleaning is one thing, stripping and re coating is another.

What do they want or is it up to you?

 

[jerry ACC]

They just want it to look better

 

[Mikey P]

For .65 you can Spray Buff and white pad it for a real nice profit.

Rent a 300 rpm machine if you can.


Wait for Fon to give you more advice here too.

 

[ronald pantelas]

Yes I would say its a good price. 3 gal. wax $45, 3 gal. stripper $37.50, 175 rental $20, black stripping pad $5, finish mop head $15, standard mop head $10, Around $132.50 cost without labor. 8-10 man hours labor. If they are not going to buff/burnish use high solids finish. Align yourself with a janitorial supply house. Buy High solid finish in 5 gal. buckets 80-$90, no rinse stripper 5 gal. bucket 50-60 dollars( remember you still need to rinse, no rinse stripper). Then you have a little for the next job. The counter people will help you. Remember its all labor, so buy the best chemicals out there. Apply stripper, let it dwell, read the label. clean edges with putty knife,scraper,scrubbie,doodle bug pad holder. Suck it up with shop vac or mop and bucket. Change mophead to a clean one and start rinsing with cold water. Rinse floor twice at least changing mop water often. Wax in a figure eight, let dry as label suggests. The other way in addition to Mickeys way, would be a red pad scrub with a 175, and follow that with 1 coat of finish. Hope this helps, Ron

 

[Larry B]

Spray buffing with a low rpm machine is a waste of time.


If finish is not damaged use a red pad and scrub the tile good. After it dries apply 1 to 2 coats of new finish to the tile and stay about 1/2" from the wall. The floor will look like new.

If you do need to strip the floor you will need everything listed above but I would like to add the following.

If you have never done this work save yourself some time and purchase a "RubberMaid floor finish system". It a microfiber pad that looks like a dust mop. You can apply finish alot smoother with this than you can a mop. It will also help you to keep finish off baseboards and trim. It makes the trim look shiney but most customers hate finish on trim and will replace you for it. Mops are hard for a new person to get the finish even and without streaks. The microfiber system will also save you alot of time.


If there is no finish damage dont strip just scrub and recoat get the same money with less work.

 

[floorguy]

Damn glads you guys werent around when i was a virgin :shock: :shock: :shock: who knows what hole it woulda gone in...


look at the pics guys...its a bit beat up, but it may be saved by a scrub and a recoat, if those black marks can scrub off...


hell I hate typing, call me if you want i can run you through it a bit...

801-898-6210

Doug

 

[Fon Johnson]

You might be able to make it look ok with a scrub and recoat. A strip will get it as close to new as possible. If you choose to scrub and recoat, please don't bother with a red pad. As a tile newb, you will slit your wrist after the first hour.. You need a good strong alkaline cleaner, and a blue, green, or brown pad (depending on brand.) If you can remove the black marks, and make it look clean enough to please them with a scrub and recoat, a couple of coats of I-shine should make it look nice. I don't really have the time to go through the whole procedure for stripping right now, but I would be glad to walk you through it over the phone. You WILL want at least one helper for your first stripping job. At .65 psf we would make pretty good money. If they are empty, not a bunch of tiny rooms, and the base is rubber cove, it is pretty straight forward. If you can scrub and recoat for that price, you can really make some good easy money. The biggest thing is to NOT try to pick up the stripper slurry with a mop (lot's of old timers did/do that.) Your biggest problem will be getting the floor perfectly clean without a auto scrubber. The best way to make sure it is clean is to vac the stripper slurry up, flood with with a clear water rinse, then vac that up, then rinse with the mop. That will eliminate the hair and left over stripper boogers that a lot of people cover with floor finish..

I would be willing to go over it with you on the phone. We would just need to set aside 30 minutes to an hour for a call.

Good luck!

Fonster

 

[jerry ACC]

Thanks for your help - Cleaned Update

Went to the local Hillyard location who also helps to fix my TM issues. They rented me a 175 for $20. I bought a Doodle Bug, pads, Cleaner, finish mop and handle, blue floor pad and high solids finish. The total bill was $115 including rental. Job took 4 hours. 490 sqft. Job Gross $515. More than $1 per square. Customer was thrilled and offered me his other commercial business work.
I mixed 8 ounces to two gallons of water in my pump up. (Leaves me with 120 ounces of cleaner yet).
Stripped or cleaned with blue pad.
Vacced up slurry with shop vac.
Rinsed with clear cool water.
Dried it up, and rinsed again.
applied first coat of wax thin with finish mop.
Went and cleaned 1 room and stairs in neighboring town ($125)
Came back and applied 2nd coat.
Dried with air mover tilted up, so as not to create ripples in the finish.
Applied 3rd coat and finished.
This was actually enjoyable, I might even like it more than carpet cleaning. Just have to save up for my own Orbot.

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[Mikey P]

What ended up being your hourly take?

 

[jerry ACC]

Nearly $100 hr.
Better than my usual $50 / hour carpet cleaning.

 

[floorguy]

dont look to bad....

hey how old is this place???

watch it and make sure you keep it wet...if its old, might be asbestos tile...no issues if kept wet

see floors arent all that bad to do....and when you get the right equipment, makes it slick

 

[esquireservicesinc]

We never spin buff. Always strip and reapply wax. We use nothing but a good quality wax and stripper and f those pads. We spend the money and use a bristle pad for stripping.

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