School me on porcelain tile.

[protegeV]

Been going through YouTube and doing a lot of googling.

If you take out the labor cost (confident that a team effort with my neighbor and brother in law will be successful) and go with a >$1 sq/ft tile, the cost doesn't appear to be prohibitively greater than epoxy.

Here are the things I'm unsure of:

Slab will be about 6 weeks old when flooring is ready to be done. Any reason to wait longer?

What should I fill the control joints with?

Is some special thinset required for porcelain on a heavy use garage floor?

Is epoxy grout really necessary? It's expensive as hell.

For reference, the space is 2400sq/ft and will be seeing a good bit of heavy use. More than homeowner/hobbyist, less than full-time commercial.

 

[rustyjames]

You might want to check out the John Bridge website. All your questions will get answered, accurately, there.

 

[protegeV]

You might want to check out the John Bridge website. All your questions will get answered, accurately, there.

Thanks for the tip

 

[foodie]

Hopefully Dakota will answer, he is an awesome member and tile expert. John Bridge forum is good, but I have read threads were they actually discourage tile on garage floors.

 

[Dakota00]

Slab will be about 6 weeks old when flooring is ready to be done. Any reason to wait longer?

Wait at least a year. Settling could occur and stress cracks can appear months later.

What should I fill the control joints with?

You can use epoxy, have a look at this link. https://allgaragefloors.com/concrete-floor-repair/

Is some special thinset required for porcelain on a heavy use garage floor?

Use a premium thinset. When you are ready to lay the tiles, I can recommend a specific thinset for your needs.

Is epoxy grout really necessary? It's expensive as hell.

No it's not necessary. There's other premium grouts that have similar benefits like epoxy, that are easier to use and cheaper.

 

[protegeV]

Wait at least a year. Settling could occur and stress cracks can appear months later.


.

Ok, lets say I wait a year. I probably wouldn't want to leave the concrete completely bare. If I just do a sealer what kind of prep would I be looking at for tiling? Grinding necessary or could I just strip/etch the sealer before tile?

 

[rustyjames]

I wouldn't seal it, best to leave it alone. No grinding is necessary, just clean it before tiling.

 

[rsanter]

I would not tile over the expansion joints
I would align the tiles with the joints to have a grout line on the expansion joint and use a flexable filler on that line.
the rest of it I would go ahead and grout and then seal the grout to prevent it from adsorbing gunk and crud

 

[protegeV]

I wouldn't seal it, best to leave it alone. No grinding is necessary, just clean it before tiling.

If I'm waiting to file for several months to a year it seems like a bad idea to leave it totally bare. Theres gonna be a cheap ton of oil stains and other spots in that amount of time

 

[Radix2]

If I'm waiting to file for several months to a year it seems like a bad idea to leave it totally bare. Theres gonna be a cheap ton of oil stains and other spots in that amount of time

Pretty much 0% of new houses built on slabs wait a year to get tiled. It is a nice to have thing, not worth it if you are going to be doing costly and time consuming work arounds for a year.

From the time your slab is poured till the rest of construction is finished is how many months?

Good enuf.

If your slab is settling and cracking for a year, it probably will for two years..or more.

 

[protegeV]

Pretty much 0% of new houses built on slabs wait a year to get tiled. It is a nice to have thing, not worth it if you are going to be doing costly and time consuming work arounds for a year.

From the time your slab is poured till the rest of construction is finished is how many months?

Good enuf.

If your slab is settling and cracking for a year, it probably will for two years..or more.

Good point. I really didnt understand the concept of waiting a whole year. Who waits that long to tile the interior of a house, like you said.

Pour to finish construction? About 6 or 7 weeks.

 

[Angelfire]

Good point. I really didnt understand the concept of waiting a whole year. Who waits that long to tile the interior of a house, like you said.

Pour to finish construction? About 6 or 7 weeks.

Houses are climate controlled. Garages often are not. I ended up waiting nearly 5 years before tiling (not by choice) but still would have given it a bit of time if I had been here to tile. The floor had been down for about a year when I was sent overseas....when I came back 3 years later, there were some very small, new hairline cracks (not climate controlled, it is now). Nothing serious but still.

Point is, go with a good thinset designed to move a bit and wait as long as feasible before applying. A roll-on membrane would also be beneficial.
Cheers.

 

[protegeV]

Houses are climate controlled. Garages often are not. I ended up waiting nearly 5 years before tiling (not by choice) but still would have given it a bit of time if I had been here to tile. The floor had been down for about a year when I was sent overseas....when I came back 3 years later, there were some very small, new hairline cracks (not climate controlled, it is now). Nothing serious but still.

Point is, go with a good thinset designed to move a bit and wait as long as feasible before applying. A roll-on membrane would also be beneficial.
Cheers.

It will be climate controlled, albeit not right away.

 

[rustyjames]

From what I've read, parts of Texas has a lot of expansive clay, and consequently problems with slabs cracking. Also read post tensioned slabs are pretty common.

 

[protegeV]

From what I've read, parts of Texas has a lot of expansive clay, and consequently problems with slabs cracking. Also read post tensioned slabs are pretty common.

We have expansive clay and keeping the foundation moist(by watering it) is a must during dry summer months. Cracking is still inevitable.

 

[rustyjames]

I would consider using something like Racedeck if that's the case.

 

[protegeV]

I would consider using something like Racedeck if that's the case.

That junk is WAY too expensive. Trying to keep total costs to $2/sq or less.

 

[AP514]

I would listen to Dakota00......