1100 sq ft Porcelain Floor Prep

[topperge]

Hey all,
We're just about to close on our new house with my dream garage. 45x24 with a 4 car garage and 15' ceilings to put a couple car lifts on. I've decided to go the porcelain tile routes and have some great Daltile Lodge with the rough pool side texture on them.

The house is brand new, not a car has been driven on it and so far there are no cracks or stains and I plan to keep it that way before starting the tile job. I've looked at Dakota00's awesome install and some of the others but I'm still not straight on the best thing to do to prep the floor.

Do I need to think about using the aquapel from Mapei? Since the floor is new do I need to think about grinding it at all? I seem to see conflicting information based on the threads here so I'm hoping to get a clearer picture of what exactly I should be doing.

Matt

 

[dmeadow]

Hey all,
We're just about to close on our new house with my dream garage. 45x24 with a 4 car garage and 15' ceilings to put a couple car lifts on. I've decided to go the porcelain tile routes and have some great Daltile Lodge with the rough pool side texture on them.

The house is brand new, not a car has been driven on it and so far there are no cracks or stains and I plan to keep it that way before starting the tile job. I've looked at Dakota00's awesome install and some of the others but I'm still not straight on the best thing to do to prep the floor.

Do I need to think about using the aquapel from Mapei? Since the floor is new do I need to think about grinding it at all? I seem to see conflicting information based on the threads here so I'm hoping to get a clearer picture of what exactly I should be doing.

Matt

As long as the slab is fully cured (at least 30 days, probably more) and you are not getting seepage from underneath there is nothing special you need to do to it. I suspect that if the house is new then the slab was poured several months ago and you are good to go. I'm not familiar with the aquapel product and a Google search does nothing to enlighten me.

 

[topperge]

Thanks dmeadow, I meant the AquaDefense product found here:
http://www.mapei.com/US-EN/product-detail.asp?IDProdotto=1005593&IDTipo=182&IDLinea=102
It's supposedly used for pools and such. We're in Michigan and plan to heat the garage through the winter which means tons of pooling water, salt and slush on top of the tiles.

 

[dmeadow]

Thanks dmeadow, I meant the AquaDefense product found here:
http://www.mapei.com/US-EN/product-detail.asp?IDProdotto=1005593&IDTipo=182&IDLinea=102
It's supposedly used for pools and such. We're in Michigan and plan to heat the garage through the winter which means tons of pooling water, salt and slush on top of the tiles.

I see. Maybe that's something you'd want in a pool to keep it from leaching water out, or something you'd want under a wet area in a house to ensure you have a watertight seal. They mention a shower pan, for example.

However, I don't see the necessity for covering a slab with it and then tiling over that, unless your garage is on the second floor. Porcelain tile shouldn't allow seepage through it and you can seal the grout to prevent water from getting under it, if you are concerned about getting frost heaves in your garage. If that is even possible. I live in Houston so I wouldn't know!

 

[Dakota00]

The house is brand new, not a car has been driven on it and so far there are no cracks or stains and I plan to keep it that way before starting the tile job. I've looked at Dakota00's awesome install and some of the others but I'm still not straight on the best thing to do to prep the floor.

Do I need to think about using the aquapel from Mapei? Since the floor is new do I need to think about grinding it at all? I seem to see conflicting information based on the threads here so I'm hoping to get a clearer picture of what exactly I should be doing.

Matt

Hey Matt,

Thanks for the compliments!!
I know you want to tile the garage floor right away, my opinion is to wait at least one year so that the slab can go through a freeze/thaw cycle. See if any cracks and/or settling occurs over the year. As for prep there's not much to do, treat any oil stains (which you don't have) wash out the garage floor, let dry and you can start tiling.
You don't need to use AguaDefense, I used it because I have a cold cellar under my garage floor and a few cracks in the slab. AquaDefense is also a crack isolating membrane.