concrete look tile? (actually ceramic)

[Vintage Veloce]

I have two concrete floor surfaces that I'm not satisfied with. One is the garage and the other is the front porch. I'm thinking I will experiment with the front porch.

The current front porch is about 20' x 5' with three steps down to the front walk. It's 100 years old and has some cracks and raised sections. I was thinking about trying a concrete resurfacing thing, like ardex, but I haven't found anyone around here who is familiar with that stuff and I'm afraid it might get done poorly and flake off or something.

But recently, I've seen this ceramic tile that looks like concrete, and that seems like a great solution. I've even seen this done with really large tiles, like 24 x 48! I might go for really large tiles like that in the garage, but I think on the front porch we would use 24" squares.

Does anyone have any specs that they recommend, or any specific tile? We want something durable, resistant to stains and non-slip. And we want it to look like concrete.

 

[daddyd]

I used Olympia 12”x24” tiles - definitely have a similar look.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

Those look great, but pretty shiny, are they slippery when wet?

 

[Toomanytools?]

This Old House did a recent episode with 4' x 4' Porcelain tile in concrete gray color. I looked on the website but only found 24x24.
https://www.porcelanosa-usa.com/products/deep-grey-antislip.html

This one is an outdoor antislip.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

This Old House did a recent episode with 4' x 4' Porcelain tile in concrete gray color.

Actually, that episode is what gave me the idea!

 

[Toomanytools?]

Vintage, Those tiles are crazy 80 pounds 4x4, two or more people to position them installing would be tricky. The finished product though would be very nice, I wonder what one tile costs? Good luck on the project keep us posted.

 

[Shiftless]

Seems to me that besides the weight, lippage would be a big problem with those huge tiles. Who among us has laser straight flat floors?

 

[Vintage Veloce]

Seems to me that besides the weight, lippage would be a big problem with those huge tiles. Who among us has laser straight flat floors?

Yup, that's a giant concern, as I doubt I'll be able to find someone who has done tiles like this before around here. I think I'd try a 24in x 24in on the front porch and see how that works and comes out.

What's lippage? Warp on the rile where the edge sticks up too high? Or just installation tilt where an edge is too high?

 

[The Cobbler]

lippage would be where the tiles meet, and edges are raised in relation to the tile beside it.
. the larger the tile the tougher it is to get them flat
even at a 24" tile you would need virtually perfect flat surface to start with

 

[Vintage Veloce]

Can I expect that tiles of any size could be used to flatten an irregular surface?

 

[The Cobbler]

the smaller the tile the easier it is to get a flat looking surface.

 

[Shiftless]

the smaller the tile the easier it is to get a flat looking surface.

to that ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I have done 4 or 5 showers and about the same number of floors in houses of mine and relatives. I’m far from an experienced pro but I’ve not laid larger than 12x12 because as the size gets bigger, the lippage issue becomes riskier. Also, it takes much more expensive tools to do the cuts on large tiles. My wet saw with the diamond blade can handle 12 inch tiles (but not diagonal cuts). You can free style with a dry diamond blade on an angle grinder but it’s risky if you are inexperienced.
Before I hired a pro to lay huge tiles, I would want to see some of his/her past installations and also have a very detailed contract specifying the tolerances for lippage and irregular uneven grout lines. Typical allowance for lippage is 1/32 of an inch.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

Great feedback with the lippage stuff, thank you.
I don't just want flat *looking*. I want actually flat, and I own a 6 foot straight edge...

 

[Shiftless]

Great feedback with the lippage stuff, thank you.
I don't just want flat *looking*. I want actually flat, and I own a 6 foot straight edge...

Sounds like this will be DIY
How much experience do you have laying tile? Will this be your first attempt at large format? Even the 24x24 is huge

 

[Vintage Veloce]

Sounds like this will be DIY

Definitely NOT going to do it myself. But I've learned to let the contractor know I'll be checking things.

 

[pbon]

I’d be more concerned about cracking the big tiles. Stuff happens in a home shop/garage.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

I’d be more concerned about cracking the big tiles. Stuff happens in a home shop/garage.

For the garage, I think I have been convinced out of the big tiles, because I won't be able to find someone who I would trust to install them all in a truly flat plane. I think they will require a flat substrate, and I don't have that: as the desire to fix the slight unflatness in my floor is the whole reason I'd do it.
I already have a great concrete floor that isn't perfectly flat, I don't need a new unflat floor. ;-)

That said, this still looks like a great idea for the front porch, and I'll still get to test it there. And if that doesn't come out "fantastic", it will still be good enough for a porch.

 

[Zippercat]

Do some research on tile leveling systems, like the QEP Lash one sold by Home Depot. https://www.homedepot.com/s/Tile%20leveling%20system?NCNI-5

Lots of good vids on YouTube. Pretty inexpensive way to get a flat floor.

I’ve used the HD Lash system on several floors with 12” x 24” tile and gotten very good results. If you use it be sure to get the special pliers to fully tighten them.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

Do some research on tile leveling systems, like the QEP Lash one sold by Home Depot.
Lots of good vids on YouTube. Pretty inexpensive way to get a flat floor.
I’ve used the HD Lash system on several floors with 12” x 24” tile and gotten very good results. If you use it be sure to get the special pliers to fully tighten them.

That's fascinating stuff, and something I will be sure to ask the installers I interview about!

 

[Zippercat]

That's fascinating stuff, and something I will be sure to ask the installers I interview about!

If you're talking with professional installers they'll probably either (1) claim they don't need no stinkin' leveler system, they can lay a perfect floor without that stuff; or (2) be using a much more expensive system that they'll believe is much better than that crappy stuff sold at Home Depot.

With group 1, be sure to see some of their work. Many old pros can lay large format tile without a leveler system and get good results. But some only think/say they can.....

With group 2, they're probably correct that they use a system that's better for them. They use it all the time and it is probably faster, thus saving them enough time to justify the much, much higher cost. But, again, be sure to see some of their work. Just because they own/use a tool does not guarantee that they actually know how to do a good job with it.

If you're going to lay the tile, find a system that you understand and is easy for you to learn to use. I found HD's Lash fit the bill, but YMMV. Good luck!