Porcelain tile in garage in Canada

I'm in Canada near Niagara Falls and I'm looking into porcelain tile also, as you can guess the winters are brutal with lots of sand salt making its way into the garage. We always park our two cars indoor. To be frank it scares me a bit to put tile in my garage, winters are so dirty. Anyhow got a quote the other day, file attached , on the process this guy would use. He's been doing tiles for 30 years so since I know nothing I let him tell me how to do it. Maybe some of you understand the products he mentions and could advise good or bad. I have a good slope in my garage as is. One part of the floor forms a little lake in the winter, he's trying to fix this as you see on the quote, the floor is about 37 yrs old and has some salt damage and a couple of hairline cracks. I did get quotes to repour the entire slab in the garage and a coating guy for polyaspartic coating. One goal here is to get rid of the small lake that forms in the winter. So the coating guy says he can't get rid of that dip, and the new slab he says he would obviously get rid of it with the new floor. So here i am debating with myself, which way to go.

If one of the primary goals is to eliminate the puddle, and one method the installer admits he can’t do that … why is it even being considered?

The guy that does the polyaspartic coating is the only one who said his product can't eliminate the low spot. So yes I am not consideirng that method.

Is your garage heated consistently?

Most ceramic/cementitous products are pourous. Biggest issue I would have is that traditional grout itself it not waterproof. Water will be absorbed then freeze and expand. I would make sure they're planning to use an epoxy grout to mitigate the issue.

I'm with you on being cautious about doing tile in a garage here. It's not common, and there's likely some pretty good reasons for that.

jmdirk said:

Most ceramic/cementitous products are pourous.

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Porcelain tiles are fired at a higher temperature, beyond ceramic to the porcelain stage. They are as water tight as a porcelain toilet. Good point on the epoxy grout.

No not heated at all, but I like the point about the grout, no mention of the type on my quote, I will have to ask him

Don't think I would put tiles in a garage, probably would not last long and end up being a waste of money. The only tiled garages I ever encountered was in a fancy house on Gouin Blvd. when I lived in Montreal and at Toronto's Casa Loma in the horse barn. I'd be refloating a new floor to get rid of those problems, and go from there.

lilredex said:

Don't think I would put tiles in a garage, probably would not last long and end up being a waste of money. The only tiled garages I ever encountered was in a fancy house on Gouin Blvd. when I lived in Montreal and at Toronto's Casa Loma in the horse barn. I'd be refloating a new floor to get rid of those problems, and go from there.

https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/toronto-feature-casa-lomas-stables

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What doesn't last long on a properly installed tile floor that is stronger than the concrete underneath it?

lilredex said:

Don't think I would put tiles in a garage, probably would not last long and end up being a waste of money. The only tiled garages I ever encountered was in a fancy house on Gouin Blvd. when I lived in Montreal and at Toronto's Casa Loma in the horse barn. I'd be refloating a new floor to get rid of those problems, and go from there.

https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/toronto-feature-casa-lomas-stables

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Chicago is full of building entrances made of porcelain tiles. They've been there for a 100 years of Chicago winters. I'd expect them to last somewhat longer inside a building, as opposed to outside it.

mike93lx said:

What doesn't last long on a properly installed tile floor that is stronger than the concrete underneath it?

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Drop a 16 oz. Hammer on porcelain tile = cracked tile.
Drop a 16 oz. Hammer on concrete = generally very little.. maybe a tiny "mark"

djbmw said:

Drop a 16 oz. Hammer on porcelain tile = cracked tile.
Drop a 16 oz. Hammer on concrete = generally very little.. maybe a tiny "mark"

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Not if the tile is installed properly. It's stronger than the concrete underneath

Once, I spent a couple of days working out of a BMW development garage outside of Munich. They had tiled floors in the garage. It looked awesome, and apparently was holding up just fine to constant use/abuse and German winters.

mike93lx said:

Not if the tile is installed properly. It's stronger than the concrete underneath

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Strength is only one measure. And I agree that a properly installed tile will support just as much weight as the concrete underneath. However... Look at the brittleness of porcelain (some are actually marked as "high impact" because they are designed to take higher shock loads than standard porcelain). Shock load test data is generally worse with porcelain than with concrete.

I live in Ottawa, Ontario and spent a significant time researching garage floorings. Much like the OP, my floor was old, cracked and uneven. My garage is actually my shop for steel fabrication (personal hack only) and as such needed to withstand hydraulic jacks, welding and significant physical abuse. I ended up selecting porcelain tile and couldn't be happier.

Like most others, this seemed odd at first as we tend to associate tile with kitchen and bathrooms. However even a small amount web mining revealed that porcelain tiles are used in so many industrial and commercial applications. There are also a few very convincing youtube videos of guys smashing tiles with sledgehammers without any damage (nothing), something which I repeated myself. As a testament to durability, I have dropped, hammered and tortured my floor which also included an 8" milling machine vise slipping off a bench. Again no damage, nothing. Cleanup is fantastic. And depending upon the mess may include solvents and wire brushes to remove drips from the last painting project.

After reading your quote I will make a few suggestions;

(1) I would very much include Ditra membrane, This will add cost, but your end result is a forever floor
(2) Select tiles less than 12" square. 8"-12" tiles are much more forgiving especially with a less than perfect floor.
(3) Select tiles that are full depth color, cross section is the same color as the glazed surface.
(4) Make sure your installer "back butters" every tile. Application of cement to both the Ditra and the back of the tile to ensure zero voids.
(5) Where your tile transitions to your driveway, be absolutely certain that you specify a stainless edge. This again will cost a few dollars more, but 99% of transition strips are aluminum, which will corrode with salt.
(6) Select a tile with a bit of texture for walking safety.

In the end I selected tile because of durability, appearance, easy maintenance and cost. Repouring the concrete was going to cost several thousand. Tiles are cheap, mine came from the clear-out section of a tire supplier <$1 per square). After 7 years they look perfect.

I would never do Tile. Fancy pattern Epoxy would be the only option.

PhantomEB said:

I would never do Tile

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Why?

Very good suggestions here, over the next week I'm going to look for tile so see what the cost is. I got a quote to completely redo my floor for 9500 cdn. So far the tile guy quote is 5500 not including the tile. The way I'm thinking now , i bet tile won't be much different from repouring the floor and if that is the case I think I will choose to re do it and seal it properly. That's my thinking at this time

If you redo the concrete -
Have the floor sloped again.
Put in a trench drain.

Im in MI and also see wet weather. Im currently having a garage built and researched to solve the same issue you are describing.

Drain that water out!

Man, so much misinformation here it's wild, can't even address it all and don't want to hurt everyone's feelings...

Tile is a premium product and should command a premium price. If price is what you are most concerned with then it isn't the right choice. If having a premium floor then keep the conversation going.

gygeneral said:

So here i am debating with myself, which way to go.

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I haven't seen many tiled garages, but I'm down south.
You mentioned salt damage, which I assume comes off the roads... I that there is a 24' metal border on all of this. Ain't gonna like salt.
If you do it, talk to him about epoxy grout... Way better than standard grouts / having to re-seal.