Pocelain or stone tiles for garage floor

[ron in sc]

Has anyone used porcelain tiles of some other type of stone tile on their garage floor. I'll probably end up doing epoxy but I'd really rather have tile. I used porcelain tile in the garage bathroom and around the sink and for the sink counter.

 

[JohnZ]

May look great in a coffee-table book on garages, but not in the real world:

Very expensive
Poor load-bearing capacity (they crack)
Very slippery when wet
Very expensive

 

[mpraddict]

If done correctly they'd be fine. We used to design facilities for an oil change company that had glazed porcelain tile in entire service area. They used an expoy grout for stain resistance and durability. Plus, it was about the cheapest flooring (other than bare sealed concrete) they could do. If you do the install yourself, with inexpensive tile, you can get it done for under $1.50/s.f. ....or higher depending on how nice a tile you want. It's wise to put a metal strip at your slab control joints, as this is the most likely place you'd have problems with tile or grout cracking.

 

[ron in sc]

Poor load-bearing capacity (they crack)
Very slippery when wet

The Mercedes/Porsche dealer here has them and they have not had a cracking problem. Also I think they are less slippery than a lot of epoxy floors.

If you do the install yourself, with inexpensive tile, you can get it done for under $1.50/s.f. ....or higher depending on how nice a tile you want.

I need to see if I can find some less expensive porcelain tile. The tile I used for sink counter and surround, see photo, as well as tiny bathroom was over $5 a square foot. It is Daltile, made in Italy and through bodied and 3/8" thick.

 

[boiler7904]

The biggest problem that no one has mentioned yet is impact resistance from dropped tools - there isn't any. If you go with tile - buy a few extra boxes and plan on replacing a few every year. One of the local oil change places has a dark green and white checkerboard tile floor and it is littered with broken tiles - looks like ****. It's also real slick in wet weather or if they have a small spill.

 

[rburke65]

I'll second that thought about the broken tiles. We have ceramic tiles in the kitchen, no children, and every time I turn around there is another broken tile from "someone" droping something on the floor. I cannot imagine having ceramic tile in the average working guys garage floor. Of course,.......It's just my opinion!

 

[ron in sc]

I'll second that thought about the broken tiles.

I just don't like any other alternatives for a garage floor, as far a being attractive but I'll most likely end just doing a clear or gray epoxy.

 

[PoorOwner]

ron, this is what I came across

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product.../case+of+ten+16"+x+16"+ceramic+floor+tiles.do

Did I do this math right?

30,000 pound-force/square foot = 208.333333333 pound-force/square inch

Maybe it's not that great then?

 

[ron in sc]

They say those are ceramic so I would not think they are as strong or hard as porcelain, espcially the through body stuff I've used. Porcelain is so hard you have to use very expensive diamond type hole saws to cut holes, and even with that I was only able to cut 3 1/2 one inch holes before the hole saw was useless. That was with a US made Starrett using a 400 rpm drill keeping work wet at all times.

 

[Kevin54]

ron, this is what I came across

A lot of the tile not cracking depends on the adhesive, the amount of adhesive, and the way it is applied. Of course, dropping a hammer off of the bench would most likely crack the tile, but everyday use and being very careful would insure the longevity of it.
But running the math on Griots tiles.... a 22' x 24' garage would take 297 tiles which would be just shy of 30 boxes so it would amount to $4199.70 just for the tile not counting tax, shipping, and supplies to lay it One tile for $13.99 is a little out of my price range and if one of them did break, you'd probably just throw up.

 

[PoorOwner]

Yeah, I know, I worked it out to be about $9 a sq ft but it is not unheard of in flooring. It has to be targetted for the consumer who is more of a collector with lots of money than a actual shop environment. ceramic or porcelain would be real catchy in a display area though! Maybe he buys it from Lowes for $1.50 a tile to sell it for $13

 

[ron in sc]

ron, this is what I came across

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/...floor+tiles.do

Did I do this math right?

30,000 pound-force/square foot = 208.333333333

I have found a tile that tested at 15,000 psi or better for compressive strength and tested at 400 lbs or better for breaking strength with industry standard being 250 lbs. Not sure what that breaking strength test means or is supposed to simulate.

I need to find out what these tiles cost.

 

[snorky18]

Tiles are EXTREMELY strong in compression, they're just really brittle.

If you...

used good modified thinset.
used very hard tiles (prob. ceramic or porcelain), NOT travertine or any soft stone
had a good solid substrate (like a structurally sound garage floor)
were REALLY sure you had no voids under the tile (check your coverage periodically as you tile)

I think I would be fine. I hear everyone else's concerns about possible breakage, and yeah, it can happen, but have any of you ever TRIED to break a ceramic or porcelain tile that has been set in place in modified thinset? I had to when we did our kitchen b/c we set one little one in the doorway just a hair high.

My first attempt was a few swings of the 1 LB claw hammer swinging as hard as I could down onto the edge of the tile. It didn't even chip.

I eventually graduated to a 4LB hammer and a masonry chiesel, and even then, it took some considerable work to crack it, let alone break it to the point any piece could be removed.

If you do tile, remember wider grout lines=more friction for your feet, less chance of slipping. Using smaller tiles also means there is more grout surface area, so more traction, but I'm not suggesting you tile your garage floor w/ 0.75" mosiacs

 

[ron in sc]

0.75" mosiacs

That's exactly what I had in mind. Except I was going to use glass tiles since I have some left over from the tiling of the master bedroom suite's bathroom.

 

[EdNJ]

We have porcelain tiles in our shop. I've dropped tools (hand and air) and no cracks. Drop something heavy like a brake rotor and there's a chance it'll crack or chip,but so would a concrete floor dropping that same rotor.
The tiles are textured so they're not extemely slippering when wet,then again my workshoes have a treadsafe/safetytrax type sole so I can walk on oily floors without worry.

 

[snorky18]

0.75" mosics is exactly what you had in mind for your whole garage?

Wow Ron, you're must be one wild and crazy man

I like the way those glass tiles look, but wow that would be a lot of work.

In my ~500SF garage, that would be approximately 72,000 of those little tiles, each hand laid and lined up individually. I would have to budget appropriately for the counseling I would need to regain my sanity after installing all those, but to each his own

One thing to remember with the glass tiles is, the old phrase, "slick as glass"....

 

[nissan_crawler]

My problem with tile would be how it held up under a floor jack/jackstands.

 

[ron in sc]

0.75" mosics is exactly what you had in mind for your whole garage?

That was a joke.

 

[DJFaninTN]

Like mentioned above you need a really GOOD thinset that is modified. I suggest either Mapei UF2, Laticrete 254 or Hydroment PM. Don't go out and buy a good porcelian and then go cheap on your thinset.

Using a larger tile means less grout lines plus it WILL make your area appear larger than it actually is. Might try laying it on either a brick pattern or a hop scotch pattern.

 

[snorky18]

I'm glad you were joking

There may actually be people on here that crazy about their garage, I wasn't sure if you were one of them or not.

 

[WolverineCoatings]

Porcelin vs. Ceramic

This is the 'Readers Digest' version of this. THere will be some conclusions at the end. There are MANY different types of ceramics! One ceramic formulation is just not the same as another. Ceramics are made by first making a slurry of various ceramic particles, dispersants, water, binder... etc. There are TONS of factors that affect the hardness, integrity (brittleness), and the flexibility. If you reduce the particle size too much or not enough you can affect the 'green' density or even the final density. Once the slurry is milled it must be spray dried. Again... there are variables in this process that can affect it too. After the slurry is spray dried into a powder, the powder is pressed into parts (like a ceramic tile). Last, the part is going to be baked at a really high temperature.

It is difficult to correlate hardness to strength. There are plenty of materials that are very hard, but brittle... like glass. In addition, just because something is hard doesn't mean that it has good impact resistance. In general, ceramics usually contain higher concentrations of materials like Wollastonite, Talc, Mica, and other fiberous and platey minerals that contribute to a stronger more impact resistant part (like a tile).

 

[Jaguar Fan]

For me, the issue isn't the tile -- its the grout. I like clean grout... I think in a working garage it would get pretty dirty and would bug me. Just my $.02.

 

[DatacomGuy]

What about sealing the grout?

 

[wachuko]

Go with the tiles... look for a special in Lowes or HomeDepot or your favorite tile store... just make sure you don't get the red clay tiles with the baked color coating... those break just by looking at them... get porcelain tiles, solid color

Make sure your floor is level, no protrusions (if so, break those to make it flat), and get a good thinset...

Not hard to install those yourself, just make sure there are no air pockets when you install the tile (the groves the trowler makes will let the air out as you install the tile and press on it).

Worried about grout getting dirty, plan ahead, either seal the one you select or get a dark color (and seal it as well) that will hide traces of spills or stains. Worst case scenario, redo the grout after a few years, it is very easy to do.

Need to see how is done... here is a website I found just now doing google on tile installation: http://www.thetiledoctor.com/

 

[scotw]

If you are worried about the grout, try the following Exoxy Grout:

http://www.laticrete.com/DoItYourself/Products/EpoxyGrout/tabid/224/Default.aspx

 

[WolverineCoatings]

Back in my consulting days I did ALOT of work for 'the big boys' on epoxy grout. At that time (8-9 years ago or something like that) Laticrete had WAY better technology than anyone else. It is probably a safe bet that they still do!