Ceramic Tile on Garage Floor in Northern Climates?

[Nightshift]

Guys, I've been reading up on the flooring threads for those of you who have put ceramic/porcelain tile in the garage, but so far I haven't concluded if this is a wise choice in northern climates where the floor will go thru freeze/thaw cycles each winter.

I'm planning to do my garage floor in southern Ontario most likely with a porcelain tile I can get for under $0.75/sqft. Not as cheap as Jack Olsen's deal, but still reasonable in my view. I've laid ceramic tile before in a kitchen and bathroom, so I understand the process. I'm planning to keep the grout lines narrow (ie 1/8") and use a dark grout as I don't want to be bothered sealing and re-sealing grout every year.

My only question really is whether ceramic tiles are a durable choice in northern climates? From the threads of members here who have installed ceramics ... are any of you in northern areas, and what has you experience with freeze/thaw cycles been with the tiles? Many members don't show their location, so I can't tell if you deal with winter or not. Thanks in advance for you comments. Cheers, Bill

 

[Drev]

Nice to see a "local" on here too! I'm from Chatham and I currently have 500 sq.ft of porcelain tile sitting in my garage waiting to be put down. I initially tried acid stain with a clearcoat and the clear failed horribly after one winter's worth of road salt. I should have just tiled it from the beginning, but hindsight is always 20/20, right?! With the proper installation you'll get a VERY durable floor (porcelain...not ceramic) and you won't have to worry about scratching it or having it peel up on you after a couple years of use. You should seal the grout, which is a bit of work up front, but once it's all said and done you'll be happy. The only issue I thought of was sourcing an edging for the tile at the garage doors, but I found a product from Schluter called "Reno Ramp" that I plan to use. In the end I think it's going to work out well and the floor should stand up to any abuse I or Mother Nature could throw at it. Keep us posted on how you make out!

 

[Nightshift]

Nice to see a "local" on here too! I'm from Chatham and I currently have 500 sq.ft of porcelain tile sitting in my garage waiting to be put down. I initially tried acid stain with a clearcoat and the clear failed horribly after one winter's worth of road salt. I should have just tiled it from the beginning, but hindsight is always 20/20, right?! With the proper installation you'll get a VERY durable floor (porcelain...not ceramic) and you won't have to worry about scratching it or having it peel up on you after a couple years of use. You should seal the grout, which is a bit of work up front, but once it's all said and done you'll be happy. The only issue I thought of was sourcing an edging for the tile at the garage doors, but I found a product from Schluter called "Reno Ramp" that I plan to use. In the end I think it's going to work out well and the floor should stand up to any abuse I or Mother Nature could throw at it. Keep us posted on how you make out!

Drev, where did you get your porcelain tiles and are they the standard 12x12 or larger? I saw some 16x16 porcelain "glazed" tiles at Home Depot this week on sale for $0.69/sq ft which is a great price IMHO. But I'm still looking as I'm a little concerned with a tile that's not the same colour all the way thru. Where did you end up getting your tiles from Drev?

Yes I will seal the grout initially, but the reason I will go with dark grout is because I don't want to keep cleaning and resealing it, as I know light grout will get dark once the dirt gets pressed down into the pores.

Thanks also for the "Reno Ramp" info. Where are you getting that from? And are you planning to tile the foot or so of floor pad that extends beyond the doors? Cheers, Bill

 

[Drev]

I ended up going to a placed called Crazy Carpet in Chatham (great bunch of guys) to look for something else and I mentioned my garage in conversation. I was informed of a discontinued line of full-bodied porcelain tiles that were normally $9/ft and they had the opportunity to buy a certain quantity and gave them to me for $1.50/ft. I snapped it up in a heartbeat! This stuff is thicker than anything I've purchased/installed before so I'm hoping it further adds to the durability of the finished floor. I'll be ordering the Reno-Ramp from the same place since it's not something that places like Home Depot would carry in stock. I think that stuff is $45 for a 8' piece so hopefully I'll only need 2 pieces. I plan to keep the ramp just inside the two garage doors, but I still have to work out the layout to make it work properly. With the doors closed you won't be able to see any tile. I want to keep it all out of the elements as much as possible. Hope this helps!

 

[Nightshift]

Thanks Drev. Looks like Reno-Ramp comes in 8' 2.5" lengths, and is available in either a 2.5" or 3.375" transition ramp, so 2 pieces would easily cover my 16' door opening.

They have a Cdn office in Quebec, but if you go here and punch in your postal, it will show you their local distributors.

http://www.schluter.com/dealer_locator.aspx

Bill

 

[MORETYCT]

Hi Guys and Thanks to both of you for the info.

A quick question: Did you guys use the regular mortar to set the tiles, or did you use something like the Mega-Lite Ultimate performance that allows movement up to 3mm?

Eric
Ottawa, ON

 

[Dakota00]

Use a premium thinset, that is not affected by the freeze/thaw effects.

 

[Denwood]

And then check out Dakota's ^^^ floor thread Any questions you had on cold weather porcelain are answered there.