Porcelain Tile flooring - spec recommendations

[CT2012]

Hello, new member here. Longtime lurker, first post.

Going to re-do my garage floor with porcelain tile.

My question relates to the specs of the tile. Having read thru many threads and so forth, it sounds like Grade 4 or 5, with a PEI of 4 or higher, and through-body color is the choice to go with, right?

I scoured nearby Lowes and Home Depot and they don't sell tile to these specs.

What can one expect to pay per sq. ft. from a specialty tile place for something like this?

Am I overthinking it and a glazed porcelain Grade 1 tile w/a PEI of 4 (which is about everything that HD sells) will be fine?

I'm not doing anything heavy duty in garage, moderate floor jack usage, storing 2 cars, that sort of thing. No bolting down of post lifts or anything of that nature either.

Thanks for any input & suggestions. This is a great place. Can be a major time **** too...

 

[Jack Olsen]

Welcome to the Journal.

I've never heard of this 'grade' you're talking about. Tiles are rated for hardness (PEI), coefficient of friction (slipperiness), and moisture content (for freeze/thaw cycles).

It's easy to overthink this, but any big-box-store porcelain that's PEI 4 or 5 will handle just about anything your concrete could handle, so long as it's correctly installed. And if a tile does chip, you just replace it. It costs a buck.

 

[CT2012]

Jack I've seen your garage build on this forum and am amazed.

When I asked "am i overthinking this?" I specifically had in mind your basic ceramic floor done on the cheap and all the abuse it's gone through, yet holding up just fine.

The "grade" discussion I found here:
http://www.ehow.com/about_5373454_different-grades-porcelain-tile.html

 

[6t7gto]

CT2012,
I tiled my garage with Lowe's tile about 6 years ago now.
Holding up just fine.

 

[CT2012]

In other words....I'm overthinking it!

Thanks.

 

[bdamico]

depending on where you are, you might be able to find some badass tile on craigslist. I got $9 tile for $2.

 

[Angelfire]

It all depends on how far you want to take it. CoF is important to me as I have little kids and the last thing I want is to see them get hurt when they slip on the floor (or me for that matter!). You may also want to look into having tile that has been rectified as they are flatter and dimensionally more accurate (and I believe the edges are square). Of course, this brings the price up.

If you're just looking for something to go down on the floor and aren't all that concerned with through color, etc... it's not hard to find PEI 4 tiles for $0.65/ft. I'm currently trying to source my tile and have a few calls into places to keep their eyes out for closeouts that are PEI 4 or 5, good CoF when wet, rectified, through color, smooth (ie. no major topography on the top but not glossy smooth), and rectangular in shape. I'm in no hurry to purchase so figured I'd shoot for the stars to see what comes up. If when I get ready to put the floor in, and I haven't located the above spec'ed tile, I'll lower my specs and go from there. See what you can find and adjust from there.

 

[Angelfire]

depending on where you are, you might be able to find some badass tile on craigslist. I got $9 tile for $2.

Yes you did, damn you! The tile you got is pretty much what I'm trying to find now. Not much luck so if you stumble on another batch, let me know! You got a helluva deal.

 

[slickgt1]

I got mine PEI 4 and PEI 5 at Lowes for under a buck each. Not rectified. Rectified would have been a budget breaker. It is a working garage, I don't want to dump more money into a 440sq ft area than in my living space. In the end, everyone who sees it, wants to live in it. lol.

CT2012, yes, you are over thinking it.

 

[bdamico]

Yes you did, damn you! The tile you got is pretty much what I'm trying to find now. Not much luck so if you stumble on another batch, let me know! You got a helluva deal.

MMMM. So yummy.

BTW. I had to remove some tile from the back stemwall to put in my new wall of steel cabinets and work bench and I was hitting the damn tile with a hammer pretty darn hard repeatedly, and nothing. So damn strong. Ended up prying them off the wall with a crowbar.

 

[ct71rr]

Check Lowe's or Home Depot online. They have way more options online than the stores have. That's where I got mine from.