Preparing to tile the garage, need some feedback on products

[brent_strong]

So, I've all but decided to do porcelain (PEI V) tile in my garage. I figure, if nothing else, it will be good practice for when I do our kitchen and bathroom(s).

First off, someone please stop me if this is a bad idea or if I should be looking at a different solution! My garage is 20x20 and has a concrete slab in good condition - no cracks, gouges or anything else. I use it a decent bit as a weekend warrior and my wife and I park in it through the week. It's a wood shop some weeks, a Jiffy Lube other weeks and hopefully this winter it'll be a bit of a custom shop as I pick up a project car. So, it will definitely be seeing spills, dust, dirt, OIL, gas, ATF, diff fluid etc.

Since I have a bunch of tile projects coming up, I'm going to spring for a nice used wet saw and then sell it when (if) I finish everything.


So with that said...

These tiles seemed to be a decent deal from Lowe's (PEI-5,COF of .6 when wet):
http://www.lowes.com/pd_239480-4760...orcelain+tile&Ns=p_product_price|0&facetInfo=


For grout, I haven't done a lot of looking at products, but I think I've decided on standard grout in a pretty dark color, rather than epoxy grout. Sounds like the epoxy is just miserable to work with.


For the transition, the current concrete slab has a bit of a lip down to the driveway. I was thinking of using something like this to step the tile down to the level of the concrete and leave the current transition from concrete to driveway alone. Make sense or should I try to lay tile to the edge of the slab and then transition down to the driveway?

http://www.schluter.com/1_2_reno_ramp.aspx


Any and all suggestions welcome!

 

[Drev]

Tile is an excellent choice! I did my 22'x24' attached garage in porcelain last summer and couldn't be happier. It was a lot of work on the install, but the finished product is strong and looks great. I used my garage just like you...sometimes I'm doing an oil change and then sometimes I turn it into a wood shop. In regards to grout I used a product from TEC called "XT" and it has a sealer already in it. It's a bit more expensive than regular sanded grout, but cures rock hard and doesn't appear to stain. It's a great alternative to epoxy grout and holds up better than standard sanded grout from what I can tell so far. The transition from tile to the driveway was a big question in my mind too and I was also looking at reno ramps, however, I found them to be a bit pricey so I went with a smaller version (also aluminum) that the tile store had in stock. I think the run is 1" and it finished off the edges nicely. After a Canadian winter everything has held up perfectly and it was unaffected by road salt too. Just some food for thought and good luck with your floor!

 

[brent_strong]

Thanks for the feedback, Drev! Definitely going to look into that TEC XT stuff - sounds perfect. I'm also hoping to find a cheaper alternative to the Reno Ramp...probably whatever is in stock, like you did.

 

[Dakota00]

Drev, have any pics??

Brent go for it man!! I've done a few garages and my opinion, tile is the best route to go when it comes to a weekend warrior that wants a durable floor that looks great all the time.

 

[FleaDog]

sounds good brent ive got the same ideas, and a 20x20 attached also. I was in lowes today and they had similar tile for $.78 I almost sprung for it there. good luck. I am in SE PA - is it best to wait until the weather is above certain temps to start?

 

[brent_strong]

Wow! Also, FleaDog, check into getting some 10% off Lowe's coupons. Not sure if they work on clearance stuff, but another 10% off that tile and all the supplies would be AMAZING!

I picked up some coupons on eBay for super cheap.

 

[SteveP1001]

Wow! Also, FleaDog, check into getting some 10% off Lowe's coupons. Not sure if they work on clearance stuff, but another 10% off that tile and all the supplies would be AMAZING!

I picked up some coupons on eBay for super cheap.

If you need the 10% off Lowes coupon grab a change of address pack from the post office. There is always one in there, free for the taking.

 

[brent_strong]

Oh cool, will do!

 

[FleaDog]

The cheap stuff I saw was grade 4, not sure if thru body, I think 8mm thick. It was a light beige.

your choice - the GBI tile & stone looks like a good and affordable option at $1.38/sf

heres same stuff in slightly different color for $0.98/sf - i think I might go for that one:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_239474-4760...=gbi+tile+%26+stone+12+x+12+sienna&facetInfo=

Some other stuff at lowes I like - the del conca 12x12 grade 5 thru body 10.5mm thick, is $2.28/sf. I would ideally like a dark tile like a black or dark grey and matching grout, the del conca doesn't come in those colors. There are some darker browns available though.

Once question I had though is those (del conca) tile doesnt come glazed/finished, so it would need to be sealed, right? Do you do that first - before laying it or after, and further more what does that process entail?

 

[brent_strong]

Wow, that's a great deal! for some reason it won't show up when I browse the site, but I'm going to bookmark that link!

 

[FleaDog]

Did you figure out your thinset and grout?

 

[brent_strong]

That TEC XT sounds good. Seems like it's getting good reviews elsewhere too.

Still not sure on grout.

And then, a pattern. I should just lay them straight or in the offset brick style, but I never seem to do things the easy way...

I really like this pattern that I saw from a member here. I'd probably add borders on the sides as well.

 

[scottwood2]

I like the idea and it looks good. What about cold Michigan winters? Do you need special mortor for a garage with water, snow, road salt etc?

Thx

 

[brent_strong]

I think you would just want to be sure you use a good product to seal the grout.

 

[FleaDog]

I was thinking of renting a grinder to roughup my surprisingly in good shape 20 yr old slab to remove debris and help with bonding of the mortar (wash/etch after).

I was planning to go with lacticrete polymer-modified mortar for the thinset.

Still not sure about the grout. First thought is to go with something easy - a cementuous plus an boost/additive/sealer.

But, I am also thinking using a DIY/beginner level epoxy like spectralock - definetely not going to consider a pro-level product like 100% solid.

Urethane grout?

 

[FleaDog]

Been reading a bunch of threads over on johnbridge.com. I thought renting a scarcifier would be a must but apparently not according to folks there.

Thinking to clean the slab well with TSP and then use lacticrete 254 platinum polymer fortified thinset
http://www.laticrete.com/Portals/0/datasheets/lds6770.pdf
lowes has it for $65/50lb (grey)
http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay...elshp=req&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1#BVRRWidgetID


leaning towards lacticrete spectralock pro grout.

Another thought - lowes also has a gbi tile & stone 18" grade 5 thrubody porcelain... too big?
http://www.lowes.com/pd_350828-4760...L=/pl__0__s?Ntt=gbi+tile+and+stone&facetInfo=

 

[brent_strong]

I'm worried more about epoxy being hard to work with than regular grout getting stained...especially if I get dark stuff with some additives.

As for 18", I'd say stay with 12". I've heard things get harder a lot quicker. Harder to get the 100% coverage we need, harder to deal with any slope or surface variation and harder to keep lined up height-wise.

 

[Drev]

Drev, have any pics??

Brent go for it man!! I've done a few garages and my opinion, tile is the best route to go when it comes to a weekend warrior that wants a durable floor that looks great all the time.

Surprisingly, no, I don't have any pics yet, but I will post some as soon as I get a chance to clean the garage and snap some good shots. The floor needs a good cleaning and there is a thin layer of wood dust over everything since my garage has become a weekend wood shoppe lately.

 

[FleaDog]

I bought a box of the gbi tile & stone (Surface source) grade 5, $0.98/sf i linked above from lowes. Didnt realize but the specs say "NO" to chemical resistance... whats that mean exactly?

Oh, and the lowes only had TEC brand thinsets/mortar even though laticrete shows up on there website thats all special order stuff.

 

[Dakota00]

For exterior work ie: driveways and garage floors I've always used Mapei Kerabond thin-set and Keralastic latex. Impact, vibration, water-immersion and freeze/thaw resistance.

As for grout stay away from epoxy, it's overkill and lots of work involved!! Go with regular grout with a sealer if you choose. Darker grout will hide more. I use Mapei Ultracolor Plus for the exterior, very user friendly.

 

[FleaDog]

I got a 72" level and went over several areas of the floor to find its not very level/ flat at all. So, I am abandoning the tile idea. Oh well. Back to lowes goes the tile, ordering epoxy-coat tomorrow.

 

[Dakota00]

Can you not patch the floor to fill some of the imperfection?? I wouldn't give up on the tiles so easy yet.

 

[Jack Olsen]

What?

Look at how wavy my floor is. You can see it if you look at the bases of the green cabinets on the rear left side.

Tile worked on it when nothing else would.

 

[FleaDog]

When I really think about the floor (and after staring at that tile for some time) I dont want a beige/tan color, with dark grout lines in b/w. I want a grey/black or taupe - a dark color. I ve checked a bunch of places near me for comparable tile in that color and that doubles my tile cost. ($2/sf +) Then add the modified thinest and grout that I want and the cost goes up some more. I have ~425sf.

I can order a full (2 car) epoxy-coat base kit, and a full clear kit, and extra flakes to go on top from lowes for under half of that price. For proper surface prep, I can rent an edco grinder locally for another $150 for the whole day.

I can knock out the prep in one weekend day. I need to fix some damage spots where the surface cream has chipped-off from the aggregate with an epoxy patch kit, surface grind whole thing, and will use the included myriatic acid etch (even though probably dont need to), neutralize (baking soda), clean & dry. My bro and I can bang out the coating in half another weekend day.

Another factor for me is I have a 2.5 yr old son, and another son on the way due mid June so I need to get this done.

 

[ScaldedDog]

When I really think about the floor (and after staring at that tile for some time) I dont want a beige/tan color, with dark grout lines in b/w. I want a grey/black or taupe - a dark color. I ve checked a bunch of places near me for comparable tile in that color and that doubles my tile cost. ($2/sf +)

I've noticed the same thing. If you want a beige tile floor, it's cheap. If you want grey - not something with grey in the name, but tile that's really grey - it either doesn't exist or is way more expensive.

Mark