Garage floor tiling advice / thoughts

[irish44j]

This summer if all goes as planned I would like to tile the garage floor (with 12x12). I've done a lot of reading around here as well as the johnbridge tile forums and GRM, but would like to wrap everything together and get some advice on some outstanding questions that seem to have differing opinions depending on who you talk to.

First: it is an in-house garage, the house is from the early 1980s. The floor overall is very level (with a very slight slope toward the driveway and a bit of slope along the edges away from the walls). It has some cracks, but nothing deep or wide, and I don't think any of them have grown in the 7-8 years we've lived here.

Surface doesn't appear to have ever been sealed but has some oil stains and such (I work on vintage cars in here and do maintenance on our daily drivers). When water is on the floor, it absorbs after a while. On really humid days the floor looks like it absorbs water as well.

No daily drivers park in the garage, just an occasional e30 or WRX getting an oil change.

This is in Washington DC...so it does freeze here.

So the questions:

1. None of the cracks are deep, and there are basically about 3-4 of them that go most of the way across the garage. Should I use something on them, or just fill them with quickset when I lay tile?

2. Tile: The plan is for porcelain, but any downside to using ceramic? I will use PEI 4 or 5, preferably ADA compliant, Impervious. I'll be looking for something on closeout at Lowes or HD most likely - I'm not looking for a bling flashy floor - just something functional.

3. Tile edge: rounded or rectified?

4. For prep, doing a full power-scuff or power-wash would be difficult, as tiling the garage is going to be quite the dance of moving stuff around one area at a time (I can't just put all my stuff in the driveway for a week). The plan will be just to do a good mop job with some degreaser or Dawn or something and clean water rinse. I figure once the tile is laid, it's not going to come up from a few oil spots, yeah?

5. Any suggestions on other places to look for inexpensive tile (~$1.50 sq. ft, the cheaper the better)?

5. saved for other things I think of...

Thanks guys.

 

[irish44j]

example: this is semi-vitreous, but it seems to fill the bill for most other categories. Would it be a bad idea?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficM...PH3003/202933699?N=5yc1vZarszZ1z0tni5Z1z11cvn

 

[Johns12]

I'm not sure how best to treat the cracks. I think they should be dealt with in some way. Procelain is best but others have done ceramic and it has worked out fine. Be sure to check the slip resistance on the tile. A clean and grease free floor is a must. I did abrade mine with a Dima wheel.

Home Depot or Lowes seems to have good deals on closeouts from time to time.

 

[rsanter]

Then I have seen tile,done over concrete that has a crack, they will put a mesh over the crack to help prevent the crack from then cracking the tile

Bob

 

[Track t-4]

Irish44,

I live in Maryland so my floor project has similar weather conditions to you in DC. I also kept stuff in the garage during the project so similar there too. There are several experienced/expert tile people on this forum and they will be helpful with suggestions as they have been for me.

For what it's worth, here are some of my experiences:
1. Check around at tile stores and ask if they have any deals they can offer, they sometimes have a small batch that is too small or that has slight issues that will work fine in a garage.
2. Through-color tile works good in the event you get a chip. I don't think this is available in ceramic so porcelain probably works best.
3. Rectified edges works in a garage if you plan to roll stuff around such as creepers, etc.
4. If your cracks are minor and stable you can get a product such as Red Guard from Home Depot that isolates the tile from the concrete in the event there is any more minor movement. It's also a waterproofing membrane.
5. I used FlexBond mortar from Home Depot that is a crack prevention mortar that "protects against cracking caused by minor in-plane surface movement." I used a 1/2” grooved trowel.
6. Cleaning and prepping your floor before tile is important. Even though you are keeping stuff in your garage while working, try to prep parts of the floor at a time and make sure all the oil and grease is removed. Water should not bead when finished.
7. Mapei Ultracolor Plus grout was suggested to me and that's what I used. It is "an ultra premium, fast-setting, polymer-modified, color-consistent, non-shrinking, efflorescence-free grout. It reduces surface absorption to help repel water, dirt and grime from penetrating grout joints for joint widths from 1/16" to 1".
8. I jockeyed two cars, cabinets, tool boxes, a work bench and alot more while tiling and grouting the floor in sections and that worked fine. Just make sure you allow enough time for the mortar and grout to set before moving stuff onto finished areas.
9. There are several helpful videos on Youtube.

I am not an expert in tile laying - this is my fourth tile project and the first big one (for me) on concrete - I am still learning. The products mentioned are the ones I used although there may be others that will also work for you. And I'm open to opinions of others on the forum.

Here is the thread for my project if you want to check it out.

www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=269793

Here is a thread for one of the people on here who have been very helpful with recommendations:

www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=212509

I hope that helps.
Bruce

 

[irish44j]

Thanks Bruce, that's good stuff - exactly what I was hoping for. Yeah, this is going to take some planning for sure! Will definitely check out your thread.

Any suggestions on particular tile places in the DMV area that would be good to inquire with other than the usual ones that come up on google search, HD, etc? I have a big trailer so hauling the stuff isn't an issue, thankfully.

 

[Track t-4]

Mo real good suggestions on where to go, it's just trial and error finding a place that has tile they can offer at low price. The place I went to had a bunch of tile from Italy. There was a very difficult to see flaw in some of the tiles (not noticeable by most) and they couldn't come to an agreement with the manufacturer. Remember to negotiate if you can. BTW, others on the forum have found good deals at Home Depot and Lowe's.