Porcelain, what have I done?

[Spam16v]

Well, need to start on my floor soon. 2 car, 22x21' 2 pads, one new, one old, and a repair/upfit for my lift in the middle. There is a lip I need to level or grind a transition into. It's about 5/8 at the worst, and over the course of 10' it tapers to flush at each wall. Pics to follow.

Also, the joint running down the middle of the floor, what kind of material should I fill that bad Larry with? And I heard of some mesh or crack isolation membrane I should use over the small cracks I have. I think I'm going to chisel a few of the small repairs done, and re-seal those with some new material before I go to it.

Second, I snagged these for what I thought was a deal. They're porcelain tile, 12x12" and paid $0.44 ea and snagged almost 500 of them. I took a picture of the tile, and the box, other than that... Let me know what you think. Teach me, mold me, I take direction well, and have not purchased anything beyond the tile. Thank you all.

 

[JimVonBaden]

I would grind the transition a few feet from the lip to smooth it out. You can make up the difference with appropriate back buttering. The tile you chose will look great, though maybe not ideal for a garage that sees spills. They should still work just fine. Might be a bit harder to clean is all. It depends on how smooth they are versus how smooth they look.

Looks a bit like my porch tile:

These clean up easily for a porch, but would work in a garage.

 

[Jess]

I did the non workshop spaces in my shop building, hallways, stair landings, bathroom and laundry area. They were smaller spaces of plywood subfloor and some self poured concrete sections. I had the main 1200 sq ft floor placed by a cement contractor and power trowelled but wanted a bit nicer finish on the other areas. On the plywood subfloors, I used Ditra under the tile with a modifed thinset. The concrete areas got regular thinset and the uneveness was taken up by the thinset. I used tile strips for the base around the walls in it looks decent.

In your case, I would get the most of the differences between sections chipped or ground down, chip out and clean the other spots and use the thinset to make a smooth transition over these areas. You can build it up in stages. Thinset will fill quite a bit but make sure you get the right consistancy and practice on smaller areas to deal with setting the tile level. I used a sanded grout for the most and flexible grout in doorways and areas I worried about cracking due to expansion and contraction. You might want an opinion about putting in flexible grout joints in a larger floor. Hopefully some tile guys will chime in on this. Try this site for tile expertise: http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/index.php?

Mine was my first and I learned a lot about tile cutting and setting. I bought a good snap cutter and borrowed a wet saw. I'd consider doing some in the house after the shop experience. It should make a nice floor for you. Good luck and have fun doing it.

Jess

 

[Spam16v]

Agreed a less busy tile would have been better, but beggars can't be choosers for less than 50 cents ea.

 

[Spam16v]

Going rental shopping for floor grinders tomorrow at lunch. Next item is thinset selection...

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Custom-B...0-lb-Fortified-Thin-Set-Mortar-FB50/100122448

Would this be a reasonably sound purchase to go with? Or consult a local tile/flooring supply for name brand action. I do not mind spending a few bucks more for a quality product.

 

[Shea]

I don't think the FlexBond is needed for what you are doing. If you were tiling to something other than concrete then maybe it would be a good choice, but since your tile is going down on concrete I would recommend the VersaBond. It's a good thinset for your needs and is half the price.

 

[Spam16v]

Doing ~500sq ft. Reality check, how much thinset should I expect to use in the real world?

 

[Dakota00]

Using a 1/2" notch trowel, with 50lbs bags of thinset. Looking at roughly 13 bags.

 

[Spam16v]

Next budgetary inquiry. Epoxy grout, 500sqft of 12x12's... How much 2 part & sand to mix with? Thank you again.

 

[Dakota00]

I would advise not to use epoxy grout unless you have worked with it in other tiling projects and/or have money to burn.

I'd recommend using a grout like Mapei Ultracolor Plus which has similar properties like epoxy grout, but it's so much more user friendly and way cheaper and yet it's still waterproof, stain proof, acid, oil and chemical resistance as well.

 

[Spam16v]

Tile outlet, or home store source-able? Thank you for all the replies!!

Also, the big V shaped expansion joint? What method should I use to fill the void? Leave a grout line over that after filling, or center a row of tile over it? Thank you.

 

[Dakota00]

A good tile shop should carry the grout, if not Lowes should have it as well.

You can fill the expansion joint with thinset. Then place the grout line of the tiles on top of the expansion joint between the new and old slab which would be best.

 

[Spam16v]

Pic soon, dustless grinder from a flooring friend made quick work of the ledge/lip. Going to tile place tomorrow to talk grout & maybe source thinset as well me thinks. Mother loves to tile she says, so I've got some capable helping hands.

 

[Spam16v]

well, slight fly in the ointment... Friend who ground the floor is trying to talk me into quartz epoxy flooring. He took me to his friend's house he installed it in, and there was a 1ton dualy up on metal stands, torches out, slag everywhere on the floor among sledge hammers. Grabbed a hose proud of his floor, and rinsed away the winter's salt and sand and the floor looked amazing. He installs for a living, and said he'd collect extra and do it for cheap. Surface grind, prep and such. I'd be happy to use the tile in my basement, I'm torn.

http://www.duracoatinternational.com/en/products/quartz.html

 

[stage20]

I would advise not to use epoxy grout unless you have worked with it in other tiling projects and/or have money to burn.

I'd recommend using a grout like Mapei Ultracolor Plus which has similar properties like epoxy grout, but it's so much more user friendly and way cheaper and yet it's still waterproof, stain proof, acid, oil and chemical resistance as well.

tec power grout is a decent product as well, but its in between the mapei and the epoxy as far as dealing with it. the mapei is very easy to work with.