Tile newbie questions

[pgray007]

I've read just about every tile thread I can find, and am left with a few questions:

1) Is there any structural/quality difference between tile with similar specs at different price points, or is price more a function of fancy designs and odd sizes? I see lots of PEI 5 12x12 tile for less than a buck/sqft on closeout at Lowes. Is this a case of "ugly tile is cheap" or is a $2/sqft 12x12 somehow of superior quality?

2) I have "cross" shaped expansion joints meeting in a "t" in the center of my 20x24 garage. I've read that I need to "respect the cracks." This being the case, should I just do a checkerboard pattern so my joints all go over the cracks? Is the checkerboard easier than other patterns or do the long straight lines highlight mistakes?

3) I've seen varying opinions on floor prep, from "just sweep it" to acid etching and extensive work. I've got a 3 year old floor with a couple of minor oil spills. Should I just power wash it? I'm bare studs now but was thinking I'd do prep after drywall and paint to cleanup any spilled mud/paint, but it seems that might cause problems with power washer overspray. I could also delay drywall and prep/tile first. Thoughts?

4) What's the recommended product to fill in the expansion cracks? Silicon caulk? Any special type? I assume this is done after the wash?


5) For a complete newbie who has never laid tile, how many hours would you expect for a 20x24, assuming I can dedicate 4-6 hours per tiling session? I'm trying to mentally prepare the wife for the boatload of **** that's going to appear in "her" garage in the house, and how long it will take up residence.

5a) How soon should one grout, and can you "partially" grout a section before you've tiled another section of the garage? This is related to 5 since I might do part of the garage and move some stuff in before or after grouting. I assume you'd want to grout sooner rather than later so you don't get a bunch of dirt and **** between the tiles?

6) Would you get a wet saw or a snap cutter, assuming you were also going to tile a shower stall, bathroom floor, and kitchen/bar backsplash? I don't mind spending a couple hundred on a tool that will get some good use and then can be resold if it makes the job easier.

Thanks! I'm looking forward to learning a new skill!

 

[Cave Creek Ray]

1) My experience is, as long as its a porcelain tile that is "rectified" (has small grinding marks on corners to make sure its truly square after coming out of the kiln the last time) you are golden. Having bought high quality porcelain tile for my house, the stuff at Homey 'Po or Lowe's is not the pinnacle of tiling quality. But, for a garage its plenty good. Pick a color you like, not too busy, buy a piece for "hydrodynamic testing" (wet it and see how slippery it is) and then try to chip it to make sure the body of the tile is not white or a color that would stand out in a small chip. If it drives you nuts, you chip it out and replace it. My tile was HD porcelain made in Mexico and it had no engineering details at all on the box. Its worked out well.

2) I personally think checkerboard in a smaller tile looks too busy. My tiles were 12x24 and I staggered them. The 20x20 in my house is staggered and it looks great. Just cut a bunch of tiles in half before you start and then you can go to town tiling the center expansion joint. If your other joint is withing 2-4 inches of the tile grout line, you can ignore the expansion joint and any cracking should offset and pop up in the grout line between the tiles. Mortar and grout are not as strong as porcelain.

3) If your walls are painted with a good coat of semi-gloss, water shouldn't hurt them. Paint is waterproof so a little overspray shouldn't be a big deal. Use some heavy grease-eater on the oil stains and repeat a couple times, then let dry completely. I just used a hose and a squeegee.

4) Pro tilers will wince but, I used 50 year siliconized caulk. You can use RTV at twice the cost. You just want a little flexibility under the tile. And cracks should migrate over to the grout line. That is why I grout that joint with color-matched caulk matching my grout. It stays flexible.


5) Mine took two weeks of tiling at 4 hours a day. I had parking steps to do as well as baseboards so that took awhile.

5a) You can grout the next day. And, if you do small sections, your grout laps will be invisible. I did half my barn and grouted and then moved all the junk onto the new tile and did the other side.

6) DO NOT TRY A SNAP CUTTER ON PORCELAIN. They ****. Porcelain is too hard and the snap edge is all "chippy." Buy a Home Depot or rental saw used, get the job done, and then sell it on. Or, spend the $300 for a small RIGID type saw and keep it or sell it. Just remember to try your tile size as large format tiles won't cut on the smaller saws because the support gets in the way. There are ways around it but you want the widest saw table you can afford.

Ray

 

[pgray007]

1) My experience is, as long as its a porcelain tile that is "rectified" (has small grinding marks on corners to make sure its truly square after coming out of the kiln the last time) you are golden. Having bought high quality porcelain tile for my house, the stuff at Homey 'Po or Lowe's is not the pinnacle of tiling quality. But, for a garage its plenty good. Pick a color you like, not too busy, buy a piece for "hydrodynamic testing" (wet it and see how slippery it is) and then try to chip it to make sure the body of the tile is not white or a color that would stand out in a small chip. If it drives you nuts, you chip it out and replace it. My tile was HD porcelain made in Mexico and it had no engineering details at all on the box. Its worked out well.

2) I personally think checkerboard in a smaller tile looks too busy. My tiles were 12x24 and I staggered them. The 20x20 in my house is staggered and it looks great. Just cut a bunch of tiles in half before you start and then you can go to town tiling the center expansion joint. If your other joint is withing 2-4 inches of the tile grout line, you can ignore the expansion joint and any cracking should offset and pop up in the grout line between the tiles. Mortar and grout are not as strong as porcelain.

3) If your walls are painted with a good coat of semi-gloss, water shouldn't hurt them. Paint is waterproof so a little overspray shouldn't be a big deal. Use some heavy grease-eater on the oil stains and repeat a couple times, then let dry completely. I just used a hose and a squeegee.

4) Pro tilers will wince but, I used 50 year siliconized caulk. You can use RTV at twice the cost. You just want a little flexibility under the tile. And cracks should migrate over to the grout line. That is why I grout that joint with color-matched caulk matching my grout. It stays flexible.


5) Mine took two weeks of tiling at 4 hours a day. I had parking steps to do as well as baseboards so that took awhile.

5a) You can grout the next day. And, if you do small sections, your grout laps will be invisible. I did half my barn and grouted and then moved all the junk onto the new tile and did the other side.

6) DO NOT TRY A SNAP CUTTER ON PORCELAIN. They ****. Porcelain is too hard and the snap edge is all "chippy." Buy a Home Depot or rental saw used, get the job done, and then sell it on. Or, spend the $300 for a small RIGID type saw and keep it or sell it. Just remember to try your tile size as large format tiles won't cut on the smaller saws because the support gets in the way. There are ways around it but you want the widest saw table you can afford.

Ray

Thanks, Ray. I read your tiling threads end to end and they were very helpful. Do you have any thoughts on the longer narrow tiles (the "fake wood plank" ones) for a newbie? They look pretty cool but I wasn't sure if they would be more challenging in a garage due to their size, and I still haven't decided if I want to double my cost for "cool" or just go cheap and utilitarian. I'd also heard to avoid anything in 24" since it's harder to avoid lip page. Maybe hat only apples to 24x24?

Once I get some **** out of the garage I'll check and see how level the floor is currently. There's also a "ramp" of about 1.5" in the back 2 feet or so for reasons that are unclear to me, so I might have to get creative there.


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