This thread reawakened my desire to do something with my garage floor. Tile was a consideration but I am worried of cracks and chips from floor jacks and stands. Is there a tile that can stand up to these things without a complicated "care ritual"?
I don't think there is any tile that will absolutely stand up to everything, but one of the things that has me leaning towards tile is the ability to replace a couple of them if the need ever arises.
This thread reawakened my desire to do something with my garage floor. Tile was a consideration but I am worried of cracks and chips from floor jacks and stands. Is there a tile that can stand up to these things without a complicated "care ritual"?
The only part that would scare me is miniature rocks under the wheels of a jack. That will put all the weight on a small area and chip out the tile. But as JVM225 stated tile is very simple to replace in 1' squares. Just buy extra tile at the original purchase date because it changes rapidly.
With a high quality medium set mortar, (and the proper installation - absolute key), I would have little fear about longevity. You can choose whichever tile you like considering the installation is correct.
I don't think there is any tile that will absolutely stand up to everything, but one of the things that has me leaning towards tile is the ability to replace a couple of them if the need ever arises.
Yep... you got it! I have had all these floors (paint, stain, epoxy) and I like my industrial tile floor the best! .. next will be regular ceramic tile when I move (if I move). Just replace a tile should things get poked or prodded etc.
Here is a (not very good) picture of my 15 + year old floor
You can see by this picture that I do take precautions with jackstands and the like which I recommend. No big deal really. I would do that with all the others as well whereas stress loads on the four points of a jackstand are terrific and can chip paint, industrial tile and/or even ceramic.
The only part that would scare me is miniature rocks under the wheels of a jack. That will put all the weight on a small area and chip out the tile. But as JVM225 stated tile is very simple to replace in 1' squares. Just buy extra tile at the original purchase date because it changes rapidly.
With a high quality medium set mortar, (and the proper installation - absolute key), I would have little fear about longevity. You can choose whichever tile you like considering the installation is correct.
So any ceramic tile is OK?
All I have to do is back butter the tile so there are no voids in the mortar?
All I have to do is back butter the tile so there are no voids in the mortar?
What grout do you recommend and what grout gaps?
Thanks
Any tile will work. But there are better choices to make regarding up keep. If you get a flat tile without any glazing you will leave rubber marks and have to hone the tile to get it off. So a ceramic tile with a baked glaze on top will be easier to maintain. Think of the generic bath room tile and how easy it is to keep clean. The disadvantage is how slick it is. So you need something that protects well and has some grip.
If I do mine I will probably go with porcelain tile as they are usually thicker. I will use a 1/4x1/4x1/4 notch trowel with a medium set mortar. I will use a 1/4" grout line and pick a darker color to prevent staining. Regardless of what sealant you use it will still stain. There are better products when choosing grout. But they are expensive in comparison to regular sanded grout.
The biggest disadvantage to tile all relies on the installer. If you have even 1 square inch of tile that isn't set properly then you can have problems with that spot. Drop something on that spot and the tile will break. So the mortar process is very important.
Unfortunately my shop has an asphalt floor so I had to go with tiles. I found a pretty good deal at $1.39 sf. I just installed them so I'll have to see how they do when things warm up and start to expand.
I've been looking around at options for a while now and have mostly eliminated an epoxy floor covering because of all of the mixed reviews I've read. I've also seen a few that haven't held up well. I think that epoxy coverings are probably best when done by professionals on brand new concrete garage floors.
I've seen several VCT (Vinyl tile) floors that have held up fairly well. I'm pretty sure that this is the way I'm going to go. Clean-up is fairly easy and replacing a tile or two if need be down the road isn't that big a deal. The price is pretty reasonable too.
I'm thinking along the same lines for the same reasons. Do you mean like Home Depot grade foot square vinyl tiles? Or something else?
I'm thinking along the same lines for the same reasons. Do you mean like Home Depot grade foot square vinyl tiles? Or something else?
That is VCT. They come in a small square box. You will have to be sure your floor is flat before you install. You will also need to fill in the relief cuts in your concrete. VCT is a fairly straight forward install. Let me know if you have any questions about the install.
Ceramic Tile, Black Grout. Save a couple of extra boxes and replace when necessary. Haven't replaced any yet. Occassionally wash with a muriatic/water mix, wide broom on, shop vac off with squeege attachment and like brand new!
For you guys that like to spend lots of time in your garage there are ample amounts of companies that provide heating elements that you install inside the mortar. It would heat your garage and floor with radiant heat. But they are EXPENSIVE!!
Ceramic Tile, Black Grout. Save a couple of extra boxes and replace when necessary. Haven't replaced any yet. Occassionally wash with a muriatic/water mix, wide broom on, shop vac off with squeege attachment and like brand new!
What brand and style of tile did you use? When I looked all I could find was too glossy. Yours looks like it has a little grip.
I purchased some ceramic tile on clearance $1.00 per sq. ft. and installed it over two weekends.
It's been down for about five years, the garage also doubles as a work shop and the floor looks like the day I installed it. Nothing stains, paint, oil, grease all clean up with a rag.
Need to hire professional....I tried the do it yourself approach and then paid a pro to rip the garbage floor I put down and do it right! Floor really is nice and I had them trim the garage with diamond plate....really looks nice. Could have bought a nice mod or two with the money i wasted on my first attempt at nice floor. P.S. the manufactures that claim their product will not peel
Something else I thought of. When you put the flakes down it makes the floor look really great. It even hides floor imperfections. However there is one drawback, when you drop small things on the floor , Guess What! it is hard to find them. This has driven me crazy. I love the floor but it does have that one drawback.
Corvette Store
Nice stuff. May look into it for my deck
