Porcelain in Garage?

[success1980]

Good morning everyone 

 

I am thinking about a future projects to keep me busy and wanted to see if anyone has done that before.

 

I have a 42m2 detached garage with a level-ish concrete floor. I don't need it to be cosy or habitable, just want it to look clean and tidy.

 

So I was thinking to level the floor and put normal 60x60 porcelain tiles down. It won't have much weight to carry as I wouldn't use jacks on it, just a small car would be parked there. I think I could do a decent enough job laying them myself if I give myself enough time. And it would look nice.

 

Can anyone think of a reason why this wouldn't be a good idea?

 

Thanks

[bassanclan]

Massive overkill and expense for a garage. Would some floor paint not do?

[joe90]

An old neighbour of mine was a professional tiler and he tiled his garage floor with porcelain tiles and used to jack cars up etc on it with no marks or ill effects.

[Ferdinand]

I wouldn't think it necessary, but perhaps if you want a dual purpose garage or to practise tiling.

 

I wouldn't necessarily see it as expensive, either - £600-1000 once it is all done, ignoring labour?

 

The only warning I would give is fully butter rather than five-spot your tiles. But we all do that anyway (ahem?).

Edited May 7, 2020 by Ferdinand

[Alexphd1]

I like the idea of a tiled garage. I was eyeing up tiles like these https://www.directtilewarehouse.com/dotti-anti-slip-floor-tiles-anthracite-floor-tiles/

[MikeGrahamT21]

If money is no object, yes thick porcelain tiles are the answer to the billionaire look to park your ferrari and lambo on! ?

[jack]

57 minutes ago, Alexphd1 said:

I like the idea of a tiled garage. I was eyeing up tiles like these https://www.directtilewarehouse.com/dotti-anti-slip-floor-tiles-anthracite-floor-tiles/

 

I looked into this extensively, and would have gone for these if I'd had the budget.

 

The tiles themselves aren't massively expensive per square metre, but add in decent adhesive and labour and it starts adding up! 

[success1980]

It's actually not that expensive if I do the work myself. I wouldn't get any high class, expensive tiles ... just cheap, standard porcelain tiles, maybe even indoor ones. I wouldn't expect it costing more than 600 quid if I get tiles in the sale.

 

Yes, good point with the full buttering rather than 5 point, definitely protects the corners 

[Mr Punter]

You will need a decent tile cutter.  Also, it may look better if you perhaps have a 150mm perimeter tile upstand.

[Carrerahill]

1 hour ago, Ferdinand said:

I wouldn't necessarily see it as expensive, either - £600-1000 once it is all done, ignoring labour?

Neither would I, if you consider how many coats of paint it will need over the years, the labour to empty it all out and clean and paint it, OK paint is cheap and even at £20 a year assuming £40 of paint every two years it's not going to save money but it's more the hassle and in the grand scheme of things, if you can afford it and yo want it then why not? I would suggest it is certainly probably one of the last projects I would ever consider, but it's not bad.

 

A lucky haul of cheap end of line tiles and DIY install and you could potentially do it for less than £500.

 

 

[Carrerahill]

5 minutes ago, success1980 said:

I wouldn't get any high class, expensive tiles ... just cheap, standard porcelain tiles, maybe even indoor ones. 

Fair enough, however, ensure whatever you buy and how you lay it is suitable for vehicular use - even if you don't put a car in the garage, assume someone might. 

[nod]

2 hours ago, success1980 said:

Good morning everyone 

 

I am thinking about a future projects to keep me busy and wanted to see if anyone has done that before.

 

I have a 42m2 detached garage with a level-ish concrete floor. I don't need it to be cosy or habitable, just want it to look clean and tidy.

 

So I was thinking to level the floor and put normal 60x60 porcelain tiles down. It won't have much weight to carry as I wouldn't use jacks on it, just a small car would be parked there. I think I could do a decent enough job laying them myself if I give myself enough time. And it would look nice.

 

Can anyone think of a reason why this wouldn't be a good idea?

 

Thanks

No reason at all I’ve laid Porcelain in car showrooms without any issues As long as you have no hollow spots under the tiles 

Its worth trying places like Rocia Almurad for end of lines 

You can often pick them up very cheap 

[Ferdinand]

You can pretty much always get porcelain tiles for £10 a metre. But you may need nearly as much again for glue and grout.

 

I always start with the current Wickes half-price offer inside the door. Though the discounts have recently not been quite half.

 

 

[wozza]

I would check that the tiles you choose are not slippery when wet, could be an accident waiting to happen.

 

Have you considered the interlocking plastic garage tiles?

[success1980]

Thanks for the tips everyone. 

 

Upstands would look nice and give it a tidy finish. And they would cover the 2cm gap between the walls and the slab ... anyone know why they build it like this? I would have thought the walls get put ON the slab. There is actually soil in the gap.

[Ferdinand]

On 07/05/2020 at 10:45, wozza said:

I would check that the tiles you choose are not slippery when wet, could be an accident waiting to happen.

 

Have you considered the interlocking plastic garage tiles?

 

But make sure that they are still reasonably easy to clean.

 

(ie buy one box or a couple of samples and test it)

[Mike]

Particularly for a garage, I'd be looking to use a 2-part epoxy grout for extra dirt & chemical resistance.

[Jeremy Harris]

8 hours ago, success1980 said:

Thanks for the tips everyone. 

 

Upstands would look nice and give it a tidy finish. And they would cover the 2cm gap between the walls and the slab ... anyone know why they build it like this? I would have thought the walls get put ON the slab. There is actually soil in the gap.

 

 

Any chance of a photo of the gap around the walls?  Presumably the slab doesn't extend as far as the garage walls all around, but has a gap around the periphery, is that right?

 

This seems odd, as normally a floor slab will either be structural, with the walls on top, or will be poured after the walls are built on top of trench foundations, using the walls to contain the concrete.  From your description is sounds almost as if the floor slab was poured into shuttering before the garage was built, then the shuttering was removed and trench foundations dug around the slab (awkward and not something I've heard of).  I wonder if that small bit around the edge might just be a shallow recess from where boards or battens were put in at the time the floor was poured, to set the level of the floor.  Might be worth picking away at the dirt in it to see how deep it is.  I'd be inclined to fill the gap up with a bit of strong mortar if it were, me, before laying any tiles.

[success1980]

3 hours ago, Jeremy Harris said:

 

 

Any chance of a photo of the gap around the walls?  Presumably the slab doesn't extend as far as the garage walls all around, but has a gap around the periphery, is that right?

 

This seems odd, as normally a floor slab will either be structural, with the walls on top, or will be poured after the walls are built on top of trench foundations, using the walls to contain the concrete.  From your description is sounds almost as if the floor slab was poured into shuttering before the garage was built, then the shuttering was removed and trench foundations dug around the slab (awkward and not something I've heard of).  I wonder if that small bit around the edge might just be a shallow recess from where boards or battens were put in at the time the floor was poured, to set the level of the floor.  Might be worth picking away at the dirt in it to see how deep it is.  I'd be inclined to fill the gap up with a bit of strong mortar if it were, me, before laying any tiles.

 

Thanks for this detailed post. I will take a picture tomorrow and also have a look what it is exactly. Sounds logic to fill before tiles go in. Would probably have a small foam band between tiles and wall and sit upstands on it, filling with silicone.

 

 

[success1980]

Here are the pics. The gap is about 2.5cm wide and I can scrape soil out with a screwdriver. There doesn't seem to be any concrete underneath. It looks like I will have to try and get original plans to see how it was built ... I didn't build this house myself, just doing it up a bit.

 

 

[Ferdinand]

The only time I left a gap like that was to decouple a conservatory slab from a no-foundations Victorian cottage.

 

So I am no wiser.

 

It would be a little difficult to build like that,  maybe. Or can concrete shrink? 

[Jeremy Harris]

That definitely looks a bit odd! 

 

Looks as if there had possible been a board there at some time. that's since been removed (goodness only knows how).  Best bet is probably to scrape out a couple of inches or so and fill it with a mortar mix I think.

[ProDave]

I have seen that before.  Garage built on strip foundations and wall built straight up.  Slab poured afterwards (usually when bricks only a few courses high so you can work around it from the outside)  Often a strip of wood fibre board is inserted as both a level marker and a bit of an expansion gap. That has probably rotted away.

[success1980]

1 hour ago, ProDave said:

I have seen that before.  Garage built on strip foundations and wall built straight up.  Slab poured afterwards (usually when bricks only a few courses high so you can work around it from the outside)  Often a strip of wood fibre board is inserted as both a level marker and a bit of an expansion gap. That has probably rotted away.

 

That sounds logic. The house was built by a quantity house builder so I would not be surprised to find thats true. To be honest, I hope it is ... as long as the walls are on strip foundations I'm happy. I will just scrape the gap and fill with something.