My Porcelain Tile Install
- Thread starter bdamico
- Start date
no more slippery than anything else
KPSquared
Well-known member
Jazzman442
Well-known member
I know this is an old thread but your garage is the bomb. it looks fantastic.
Is there a difference in porcelain tiles? Also what cabinets and bench are those?
Is there a difference in porcelain tiles? Also what cabinets and bench are those?
Thanks. Just click on links in sig
motofool33
Well-known member
looks great
Thanks. I've had epoxy and I just love this. It's just like part of the house. All I do is blow it out once a month and mop it once or twice a year. It always looks great.
Denwood
Well-known member
Bd, time for some 2015 shots 
I know the floor is likely looking the same as day 1, but any comments/pics you have would be great.
To the gent who commented on slippery tiles, they are rated for both slip resistance and hardness. For climates like ours where temps hit -35C, you ideally want a PEI 4 or 5 hardness porcelain tile, and slip resistance (COF) of .6 or greater for shop use. The porcelain wood look 6"x24" tiles that HD sells were a few I found that fell into that category. If your shop is unheated at times in a cold climate, those ratings will generally include a "suitable for outdoor use" designation.
Shop floors like Jack's using ceramic longer term in the warm climates...look to hold up very, very well. It makes sense that a PEI 4 or 5 floor will perform better than any other floor coating alternative as it is harder (or equally hard) as the concrete itself.
I know the floor is likely looking the same as day 1, but any comments/pics you have would be great.To the gent who commented on slippery tiles, they are rated for both slip resistance and hardness. For climates like ours where temps hit -35C, you ideally want a PEI 4 or 5 hardness porcelain tile, and slip resistance (COF) of .6 or greater for shop use. The porcelain wood look 6"x24" tiles that HD sells were a few I found that fell into that category. If your shop is unheated at times in a cold climate, those ratings will generally include a "suitable for outdoor use" designation.
Shop floors like Jack's using ceramic longer term in the warm climates...look to hold up very, very well. It makes sense that a PEI 4 or 5 floor will perform better than any other floor coating alternative as it is harder (or equally hard) as the concrete itself.
Bd, time for some 2015 shots
It really looks better than day 1 but now is unfortunately not the day for pics due to current messes from other projects.
That being said, the tile and epoxy grout has withstood my sticky tires (obviously duh but a potential issue in diy epoxy), oil spills, continual coolant leaks, hammers and an impact wrench falling off my ladder, jacks, and I don't even maintain it--other than blowing it out once in a while and cleaning up spills. It ain't slippery when the cars come in dripping with water and mud. I don't worry about the puddles. They just sit there until they dry naturally. It may be the best thing I've done to my house.
The only frustrating thing is that I have 3000sqft of Jerusalem stone inside downstairs that I am having continual problems keeping clean (and I've been putting off grinding/polishing for other projects) so my garage floor looks cleaner than the inside. Much of that has to do with the dark slate color of my tile--so that is what I would recommend if you want to get away with a durable floor and no maintenance. I will never put natural stone flooring in anything going forward.
As I've said, I've had a diy epoxy floor from before I found this forum. And today I would do much better research and a better job and definitely use Legacy. But this is such a no brainer for a permanent solution that is just as nice as what you've got in your house.
Denwood
Well-known member
There is no question in my book that porcelain tile (PEI >3, COF >.5) is the best possible garage floor. Because I have to deal with a real mess of snow/salt/sand in winter, the perfect solution for my shop would be tile, but with drainage "slots" in the car park area for Racedeck freeflow. This just hides the puddles, and keeps the floor surface dry. If when we do a shop addition it will be porcelain and drain tiles. Basically this floor in tile, but with a 1/2" dropped area where the cars would sit, filled in with the drain tiles. Best of both worlds, and easy to clean by lifting out the Racedeck tiles in spring.
Denwood
Well-known member
Thanks Bd for the kind words. I didn't want to mess with your thread mojo with a pic, however I've yet to see a drainage tile/ceramic project. Maybe there's one out there already.
duneslider
Well-known member
Stone is certainly a lot of upkeep. As technology has gotten better stone has become more affordable and more popular. Back in the day, natural stone was reserved for the wealthy not only because it was expensive but because the care was so much work they were the only ones who could afford full-time house staff to care for it. People are now finding that natural stone isn't all it is cracked up to be, sure it is beautiful but most don't have the time to care for it properly. Jerusalem stone is beautiful though!
HiWind
Well-known member
would any of you guys consider a POLISHED porcelain tile for a
home 2 car garage where simple servicing (oil changes, services, track day prep etc..) is done?
Pros - Looks amazing, lots of refelction
Cons - would be super (readly ouch!) slippery with even a smidge of oil, all dirt and tire marks show up, needs to be cleaned often
.... or am I being too conservative?
home 2 car garage where simple servicing (oil changes, services, track day prep etc..) is done?
Pros - Looks amazing, lots of refelction
Cons - would be super (readly ouch!) slippery with even a smidge of oil, all dirt and tire marks show up, needs to be cleaned often
.... or am I being too conservative?
Not I. One of the things I love is that it looks great with me doing nothing at all in maintenance. I can't recall the last time I cleaned it other than blowing it out. The other thing is that your polished tile would not be throughbody; if it ever got chipped you would see the chip underneath [edit this is wrong as pointed out by duneslider]. Although I have yet to get a chip, if it does, it will look the same all the way through the tile.
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duneslider
Well-known member
Actually, polished porcelain would be through body and would not have a glaze on it. It would be porcelain that would be polished. Like stone is polished, concrete is polished, etc. It is a fairly durable surface but in a garage environment it would scratch up and eventually NOT look polished but probably not everywhere. It would get scratched up in the wear areas, tire tracks, walking paths, tool cart paths, etc. It can be re-polished in place but that isn't generally a DIY option.
Yes, the polished porcelain would be slippery when wet and when covered in oil. I wouldn't want a polished floor in my garage. Even just saw dust on the floor would make it pretty slippery.
Typically, polished porcelain will also be rectified and as near perfect as you can get and that means you go with almost no grout joint (1/16 or so) and it is very tough to install a polished floor and have it look perfect. All your flaws stand out big time!
HiWind
Well-known member
:thumbs up: for those reality based replies
Whoa. Just learned something. Thanks as usual! When we were recently shopping for porcelain tile for another project, the polished (what I thought was glazed) looked so nice but I wondered how that polish would be last, whether it would scratch up, and how it would be maintained to keep that polish--so we went with a matte finish. For the rest of my stone floors, time to break out the swing machine again...
duneslider
Well-known member
The polished porcelain is actually extremely durable and in a house setting will last WAY longer than a polished stone.
I am sort of over stone flooring. I am slowly removing all mine and putting something else in its place. (mostly porcelain and epoxy grout) I am lazy and its too much work for me.
My child vomited on some of our slate in the basement a few weeks back...sealer doesn't block acids very well! Unfortunately the basement slate isn't on the short list to be replaced.
XabuJr
Well-known member
I know no one has commented here in forever, but this was the most informative thread I've read about flooring. I can tell just joining this site that it is going to be spendy for things I want to do.. Amazing looking floor & garage setup.
Thank you but search for the thread by Dakota. He's the real deal and has a great thread on installing (and he actually knows what he's doing). There are others. If you really want to know all about porcelain -- just search "porcelain" in title only in the flooring forum and you'll hit all the good ones. I can say that I have since titled some other smaller areas and wish I had had the time to do this one myself as well.