The durability of decorative concrete has made it a popular flooring choice in commercial spaces. Consider the move by many grocery chains from VCT tile to polished concrete floors. The cost savings might not be immediate, but with an indefinite lifespan, and similar maintenance costs, decorative concrete pays off in the end. The problem faced by many owners of older buildings is that the VCT tile that was installed to offer a durable surface also contained asbestos to aid in fire resistance. Removing and disposing of these tiles properly ensuring that the asbestos doesn’t become airborne and a health risk, is costly, and often makes these projects impossible in an investment environment. However, asbestos abatement isn’t the only answer.

Today, there are overlay products that can be applied directly over VCT that will bond extremely well and successfully encapsulate the asbestos. These products offer an extremely cost effective solution to the asbestos problem, as well as the ability to transform the VCT tile floor into decorative concrete floor that can be integrally colored, stained or dyed. If the more traditional flooring choices are what you are after, the overlay is fully functional as a sub-floor for carpet, tile, or hardwood and still cheaper than hiring an abatement company.

We got a call the other day from a local builder doing a tenant improvement. They were considering polishing the concrete in the space, but were exploring other options while waiting on the asbestos abatement contractor to remove the existing VCT tile. We discussed encapsulation as an option and a micro-topping with an epoxy coating to provide a similar look to that of polished concrete. Unfortunately the abatement was scheduled to start the following morning and what could have been a tremendous cost savings was lost.

If you have a VCT tile floor with asbestos, or without, a concrete overlay can be an extremely cost effective solution. The install process is usually faster than abatement or demolition when asbestos isn’t present, making it ideal for quickly returning retail spaces to use with beautiful new decorative concrete floors that didn’t break the bank.

We would love to hear from you. Feel free to contact us for more information on this or any of our other great products.