I'm thinking of putting tile down on my garage floor in the corner where I park my hotrod and dirt champ car. What is a good durable tile? My garage walls are already done in knotty pine, so why not put tile down in part of it?
You’re walls look great! My buddy puts tile floors down in BMW, Porsche & other high end repair facilities. I’ll ask him what kind of tile he uses. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
At the bottom of this page, right below JalopyJournal.com is GarageJournal.com....should be able to get some good info in there.
Not tile, but easy and cheap to do! And looks great, with his wood trim! This is my friends garage. He got it at Lowe’s and it comes in two parts and a multitude of colors. Bones
You might want to check in to the garage journal, they probably can give you more and possibly better advice. https://www.garagejournal.com/
I tiled my workshop floor using quarry tiles. Very hard wearing and impervious to heat, oil and acid. They don't break when things are dropped on them. Not sure what they are called in the US but they are a baked clay glazed tile. Sent from my moto g(8) power using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
They're called the same here. I'm going to look at my local big box store tomorrow after work. That's exactly what I'm looking for.
At work, in the experimental engine build area, the floor was the original WEII era wood blocks. They decided to modernize and ripped out the blocks and replaced them with an off red terra cotta type tile. looked more modern but was tough on the joints because there was no “give”. Slippery, too. I wouldn’t put in a glazed tile if it’s a working shop where liquids are involved, or if you get snow.
You might also want to Google "honoring expansion joints" when tiling concrete....if you're not already aware of it.
Before considering what type of footing to use get a piece of plastic at least a foot square ( trash bag will do) , tape it on your floor ,after at least 24 hours , pick up the plastic , if the concrete is darker the the surrounding area. There's moisture coming through the floor that will spoil any bond or covering in time . The epoxy coating seems to hold up fairly well . The "good" old commercial tile that you see in industrial settings are very expensive & the adhesives are still prone to failure if there's moisture present .
Whatever tile you decide on, if you do, check if it gets slippery when wet. A buddy tiled his outside patio and it was dangerous as hell in the rain. Ended up ripping it out and going with stamped concrete.
The tiles in my workshop have something like iron filings fired into the glaze and are intended for changing rooms in gyms and shower areas - so non-slip Sent from my moto g(8) power using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I put query tile in all my paint booths that I have had over the years. They were easier to keep clean, now with the down draft booth I still have it in it. Just makes everything look clean. And we dont test spray patterns on the wall.
Avoid big box tiles, go to a real tile distributor. Get commercial grade, ask them for recommendations, and be aware you want a better grade of thinset to use especially if the garage has seen oil drips. Again follow the pros advise. Personally I would go with epoxy rather than tile.
With the amount of different colors & patterns you can make, you might consider RaceDeck flooring. That would take all of the adhesion & slipperiness issues completely out of the picture. God Bless Bill https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/
I spent my working years in institutional kitchens, hospital, colleges specifically. I can attest to the durability and serviceability of quarry tile or hard glazed Terra Cotta tiles. Have seen them in buildings made in the 40s and 50s looking as good as they did when the buildings opened. We have had them in our kitchen in our house for 30 plus years. A few years back we had the grout redone because in high use area sink, range, and refrigerator areas of had grayed from spills and cooking residue. But other than sweeping and mopping it has been maintenance free. In my work years I have seen tiles get cracked chipped, and shattered but only under the most extreme conditions. Have And eens the stand up to many years of hot caustic water from dishwashers, those files are easily replaced with hammer and chisel. And new mastic. For a garage they should hold up equally as well with the possible exception where a lot of weight is lifted by trolley jacks,but a piece of plywood under the Jack and Jack stand feet would mitigate that. I would use the darkest grout you can find, and look for years of good looks and good service.
I’ve been in the tile business for 30 years and would advise you to address any cracks in the concrete and expansion joints by the book. If it isn’t done right it will be a lot of work for a disappointing outcome when the garage floor cracks transfer right through your new floor that you either spent a lot of money on or a lot of time on. Expansion joints will come through eventually as cracks as well and need to be addressed with a crack isolation membrane and soft joints (100% silicone matching caulk) instead of grout on either side of them. Everyone has seen it in department stores or hotels where a crack runs down several tiles. PM me if you want input from me but this is your garage and your job. I have benefitted from the input on this site tremendously since I’m not a mechanic, just a car lover, so I’m happy to advise on the one thing I do know. Epoxy flooring will probably give you the same wear as tile for a lot of years and you can be done in a day instead of a week for a lot less money. Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.
Can you clarify - or be more specific - as to what kind of tile you're looking for? Tiles held in place with mastic/mortar with grouted joints, i.e. ceramic, porcelain, quarry? Vinyl composition tile? Rubber? Or, are you looking for recommendations on the non-adhesive-type "snap-in-place" tiles like the aforementioned "RaceDeck" or similar that you can lift up and replace or clean under?
I installed Armstrong commercial VCT in The Hot Rod Grille when I built it 12 years ago. Since then it has had gasoline, oil, antifreeze and other liquids spilled on it with no major damage. I did put three coats of wax on the floor after the installation. When using jack stands I place a piece of plywood under the stands to avoid damage. This is a hobby shop/garage and does not get the abuse that a commercial shop might get. If I'm planning a social event in the garage, I damp mop and run a buffer on the floor tiles to bring the gloss back to the tile. FWIW, I originally put epoxy in the area under the lift and was very disappointed with the look, so I removed it and put VCT in that area. My garage is 1350 sq. ft., so ceramic tile was out of my budget but would have been my first choice.
How about vinyl plank? It doesn't have to be glued down so no worry about expansion joints etc. There is a snap together type and a type that has the sticky joints. Easy to do and reasonable priced.
Tile floors are for parking, concrete floors are for working. Instead of tile, spend the money on a plasma cutter or an addition.
20 year floor guy here, VCT is what you are looking for. Armstrong, strong, easy to install and relatively cheap comes in unlimited colors. No special tools, glue, trowel, razor knife, just lick it and stick it. Seal it and wax it real good after install and youre good to go. Probably a cost few hundred and 2 days work.
Several of the garages on the GJ site use porcelain tile, one in particular is Jack Olsen's "12 gauge garage" (search on that name and you'll find pictures.) It's very resistant to scratches and chips - Jack's place is a working garage and it's held up well for him.
Good friend of mine makes his living restoring and modifying Corvettes. After starting over a couple times in life due to divorces, he built his last shop on some ground his new wife and him acquired. He put one of those checkerboard tile (whatever) floors in it to make it attractive to customers. Although he stops by on ocassion when he comes in town, I hadn't been up to his shop in several years. Last year I made a trip up to his shop to pick up some things. He took me thru his expanded shop and showed me his new paint booth..........but what stuck in my mind was the now deteriorated checkerboard floor. Looked like a war zone. Not just discolored, but pock marked and chunks missing. All I can say is that you either want a shop that you can work in or you want a shop you can park in. No welding, cutting, and dragging things across the floor, and the continual concern about leaking oil or spilling gas . It all depends on what kind of stuff you want to do in your shop.........
About 18 months ago I was looking for garage floor covering for my small shop. Did a search on the internet, including a look on Ebay. I found a guy on Ebay selling garage flooring that was a used system he'd pulled up from a large commercial garage or shop. His price was $.67 cents a square foot, and the add said "free shipping" But in his notes at the bottom it said the free shipping was a mistake, and buyer would have to pay shipping. I contacted him with the amount I needed and he set up a buy it now for the purchase. But the total didn't include shipping? It came about a week later, and was about 25% more than I ordered, and still no shipping cost. Not sure what happened, but it was a huge bargain. It is perforated design so it allows moisture to rise. Unfortunately it also allows moisture to run through it, so I'm careful to catch spills. And Once I sweep the area, I go over it with my shop vac to pull debris up that falls into the openings. But I love working on it as even in the winter the floor isn't cold when I lay on it!