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My Porcelain Tile floor project

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ChicagoKid

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Hi All,

I joined the forum in 2005 but this is my first post, LOL!

I just had my porcelain floor done and it came out just as I envisioned. In my previous house, I had the MotoFloor from Costco

I didn't want to go the same route as my old garage. I'm going to install some trim along the bottom of the drywall (builder didn't finish it neatly) so will take a ton of pics when I'm done.

I was going to post a pic but I guess I can't until I have 5 posts, doh!



Jim
 
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ChicagoKid

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Old garage:

Garage.jpg
 
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Mighunter

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Looks awesome! I just ordered the Racedeck Tough shield tiles which should be in tomorrow. I think i would have gone with porcelain but for the grout. I can't keep it clean in my kitchen, i can't imagine how you can keep it clean in a garage!!
 
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Shea

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Great job! Get ready for all the compliments and questions from people :beer:

Mighunter said:
I think i would have gone with porcelain but for the grout. I can't keep it clean in my kitchen, i can't imagine how you can keep it clean in a garage!!
Click to expand...

Epoxy grout and the newer blends that you can also seal work fantastic. There are many porcelain garage floors without grout staining issues.
 
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marsh1

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Looks great!! I have been looking at the same tile. Did you order from builddirect.com?
 
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RSr

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Very nice looking!

Could you share some pictures/details on how you stopped the tile when it reached the door opening with the drop down?
 
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ChicagoKid

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Shea said:
Great job! Get ready for all the compliments and questions from people :beer:



Epoxy grout and the newer blends that you can also seal work fantastic. There are many porcelain garage floors without grout staining issues.
Click to expand...


Thanks!

The ground my tile guy used was Mapei Flexcolor CQ. It is stain and chemical resistant. It's also used for exterior applications.
 
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Cairo94507

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Your floor looks terrific. I did porcelain tile in my garage too and love it. I had a 2001 NSX but sold it after 6 years- loved it BTW. I really like the new NSX too. I have other cars residing in the garage now. Cheers, Michael
 
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ChicagoKid

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Cairo94507 said:
Your floor looks terrific. I did porcelain tile in my garage too and love it. I had a 2001 NSX but sold it after 6 years- loved it BTW. I really like the new NSX too. I have other cars residing in the garage now. Cheers, Michael
Click to expand...

Thanks! Oh yeah, you are on NSXPrime too right?
 
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ChicagoKid

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SGKent said:
looks great. what happens if you drop a hammer or chisel etc.? Run a floor jack across it - do the edges chip?
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Nope! Trust me, this is super dense stuff and has the highest PEI rating. Actually, when I got sample tiles to pick colors, I took screwdrivers and everything else I could find to scratch the tile and couldn't put a dent in it. This is thicker and way more dense than the tile you might find on a bathroom floor. My whole shipment of tile weighed a staggering 2800 lbs!!!! I had to help the FedEx Freight guy push the pallets up my driveway!!!!
 
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ChicagoKid

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Mustang415 said:
Forget the floor. Tell me more about the NSX!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Ha!

Well, it's a '94 with 100k miles on it. I bought it in 2000 and I'm the second owner. I've had it so long I just did the timing belt last month for the 3rd time under my ownership.

Looks mostly stock but it has BBS LM DBKs, ARC titanium exhaust, ARC intake box, ARC oil cap, titanium shift knob, HID lights, custom wrapped alcantara steering wheel, custom front side markers, replica NSX-R engine cover, OEM JDM tail lights, Zanardi grill inserts, Kenwood double din w/navigation, S2000 start button, Difflow rear diffuser, full Honda badging including OEM JDM airbag, Dali A/C grills. It's lowered on Bilsteins.

In my 20 year ownership, it's been mostly maintenance. Nothing major has really broke on it. Just minor stuff due to age (master cylinder, ignition switch etc).

14612331108_8450600b90_c.jpg
 
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ChicagoKid

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jkeyser14 said:
Looks nice. And I am glad to see that you actually drive that car. Far too many people buy nice cars just to stare at them.
Click to expand...

Sadly, I've only put 70k on in 20 years which is not a lot. Also, having a two seater car and a child now doesn't help..
 
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ChicagoKid

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SGKent said:
So you are responsible for the earthquake in California all the way from Chicago. :)

Is it slippery when wet or is the texture Ok when wet?
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Ha.

It is definitely not slippery when wet. The tile is not smooth, there is a bit of texture to it. When doing tile in places like garages where it can get wet, I think you have to look at the tile's "Coefficiient of Friction" rating. Mine has a wet rating of 0.81 and I think you want to be greater than 0.60.
 
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marsh1

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ChicagoKid said:
Around $9, it isn't cheap. I got quotes as high as $20. I also got lower quotes but from installers who didn't have quite the experience I was looking for.
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Is that $9 including the tile? Did the installer put down a moisture barrier/crack isolation membrane?
 
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Angelfire

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Looks Great. You'll really like the porcelain. Installed correctly, it will last longer than you (no offence :) ).

I too got a great deal through Build Direct on my tiles and they are similar to yours in spec. After levelling the floor, liquid membrane, setting the tiles, grout, a new blade for my wet saw, etc....I was into it for probably around $2.50-3.00 a SF. I did all the work myself and like I said, got a great deal on the tile (about a buck a foot).

It's been down about a year and very glad I went this route vs. some of the other options I was considering.
Cheers,
cc
 
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Arkive

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Attached 3-car (1400 sqft)
I'd love to hear the process on the install. What kind of floor prep? What kind of post-install prep (did it need to be sealed)? What kind of tile in terms of thickness/PEI/absorption requirements (I'm looking at a .4", PEI 5, 0.001% absorption tile that looks similar to yours)? I see you filled over the expansion joints and didn't factor that in your tile layout. Any concerns there? Is it the kind of project you could do piece meal over time? I only ask because I have a big garage (1400 sqft) and couldn't tackle it all start to finish.
 
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ChicagoKid

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Arkive said:
I'd love to hear the process on the install. What kind of floor prep? What kind of post-install prep (did it need to be sealed)? What kind of tile in terms of thickness/PEI/absorption requirements (I'm looking at a .4", PEI 5, 0.001% absorption tile that looks similar to yours)? I see you filled over the expansion joints and didn't factor that in your tile layout. Any concerns there? Is it the kind of project you could do piece meal over time? I only ask because I have a big garage (1400 sqft) and couldn't tackle it all start to finish.
Click to expand...

My tile specs: PEI: 5, water absorption rate: 0.001, thickness: 0.354" so very similar to the one you are considering. Crazy how thick and dense they are. Each tile weighs over a whopping 8 lbs! The grout used does not need to be sealed.

It took my tile guy (27 yr pro) about 85-90 hours to complete. It was very time consuming to do the concrete sides as the slab is slightly sloped front to back. My tile guy first installed the ramp. He said everything is laid out from that point.

I can't imagine doing a 1400 sq feet! That's 3x the size of my garage! Sure why not piece meal it? Due to some circumstances, my garage was done over a 3 week period.
 
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Arkive

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Attached 3-car (1400 sqft)
Looking at it mine is actually 0.354" as well. Pretty sure we're looking at the exact same tile located on builddirect.com (Salerno Full Body Porcelain Tile - Everest Series Light/Dark Gray).

It's definitely a big project, but I'm not as remotely intimidated by this as I am the epoxy project I was contemplating (mostly due to timing issues with needing to do before our move-in and potential install issues from high humidity/temps). Plus I genuinely believe this to be a lifetime solution whereas the epoxy under best-case scenarios is still a 15y-ish plan if everything goes perfectly. 15y sounds like forever, but this is a new construction forever home and despite this being famous last words, I'm not moving again until I need assisted living :p
 
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ChicagoKid

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Yes that's the tile I have.

I initially was going to go metallic epoxy route but as even the epoxy contractor told me, the metallic epoxies will show all the scratches..
 
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