Garage Floor Tiling Do's & Dont's

[Lakey]

Hi

Have a garage floor to price up.
The customer wants 600mm x 600mm porcelain.
Want to price it right but haven't done a garage before.
It it a case of SLC & ditra?
Also are there particular Adhesives/Grouts recommended?
Finally would I need a particular grade of porcelain bearing in mind there will be 2 cars parked in it?

Many thanks!

 

[WetSaw]

Full coverage is a must. SLC if the floor isn't flat enough. Is there a damp course under the concrete? I don't see the need for a decoupling membrane and wouldn't have thought Ditra would be suitable anyway.

 

[Lakey]

Full coverage is a must. SLC if the floor isn't flat enough. Is there a damp course under the concrete? I don't see the need for a decoupling membrane and wouldn't have thought Ditra would be suitable anyway.

Not sure about DPM but I would assume so.
If not is a paintable one sufficient?
There is a slight crack through the centre so would an antifracture mat be required?

 

[Lakey]

Does anyone have any experience in this field, or is there a previous thread that I can look at?

 

[Bill]

I have tiled loads of garage floors, loads of concrete external paths/steps/patios and not once have I worried about a DPM because I use a suitable adhesive. A quality S2 would be more than enough.

 

[jimthetiler]

I would strongly recommend self leveling compound for the floor before tiling.

 

[Lakey]

Would anyone recommend an anti fracture mat for a garage?

 

[Qwerty]

Tilemaster one worked well for me in the past. I have also used Mapei mapetex and the @ISOMAT UK one is up there with both of them

 

[jimthetiler]

As long as it is not new concrete all you need to do is decouple the crack with rubber tape or some thing similar .

 

[ttt tiling]

Recommend decoupling , put the ball in the clients court!

 

[ISOMAT UK]

I think there are many ways to do this, we would recommend to expose the crack and fill with Flexible joint sealer (Flex PU40) and to check the levels first, if not perfectly
level (garage would have a slope) than you need to self level (Flowcrete 1-10 or 3-30) you should really make sure that the slab has got DPM otherwise the moisture will cause issues with SL as most of them contain lime.
Once tanked (Aquamat Elastic 2part) and leveled, depending on how big the crack you either de-couple (Isomat decoupling matt)and use flexible S1 adhesive (AK20) or you dont de-couple and use extra flexible S2 addy (AK25). For the garage we would recommend Epoxy grout (Multifil Epoxy)
Easily cleaned with water. Good luck

 

[Lakey]

I think there are many ways to do this, we would recommend to expose the crack and fill with Flexible joint sealer (Flex PU40) and to check the levels first, if not perfectly
level (garage would have a slope) than you need to self level (Flowcrete 1-10 or 3-30) you should really make sure that the slab has got DPM otherwise the moisture will cause issues with SL as most of them contain lime.
Once tanked (Aquamat Elastic 2part) and leveled, depending on how big the crack you either de-couple (Isomat decoupling matt)and use flexible S1 adhesive (AK20) or you dont de-couple and use extra flexible S2 addy (AK25). For the garage we would recommend Epoxy grout (Multifil Epoxy)
Easily cleaned with water. Good luck

Thanks for the info.
I have obviously recommended SLC however by eye the floor does look like it has a slope to the door.
I think 'leveling' would create to much of a ramp at the front so I may suggest 'flattening' as opposed to 'leveling'.
Is the only way to check for a DPM by drilling a core hole?

 

[jimthetiler]

The dpm should be visible on the outer perimeter of the floor unless covered by a screed so if the floor is floated concrete just dig about a little and it should come to light.

 

[Perfect Tiling]

If the floor has a slight slope to the door I would leave it like that....its for a reason and usually required in garage design. When you park your car after driving in the rain or snow any water will run out under the door rather than form dirty puddles in the garage. If there is a crack and you want to be safe and use a decoupling mat look at the BAL mat...its a thin layer construction and isn't effected by compression loads. It isn't a waterproof mat though so you would need to ensure the DPM is there.....it should be if its a new build property.

 

[Lakey]

If the floor has a slight slope to the door I would leave it like that....its for a reason and usually required in garage design. When you park your car after driving in the rain or snow any water will run out under the door rather than form dirty puddles in the garage. If there is a crack and you want to be safe and use a decoupling mat look at the BAL mat...its a thin layer construction and isn't effected by compression loads. It isn't a waterproof mat though so you would need to ensure the DPM is there.....it should be if its a new build property.

Yes agreed.
I'm planning on 'levelling' the floor left to right but maintaining the fall from back to front.

 

[Perfect Tiling]

I would probably leave it as is....It'll keep any water away from the walls if the floor slopes into the middle. Most garages have stuff stored by the walls and if the floor is level water will get under

 

[Lakey]

I would probably leave it as is....It'll keep any water away from the walls if the floor slopes into the middle. Most garages have stuff stored by the walls and if the floor is level water will get under

Know what you mean but it will need a certain degree of leveling as 300x300's will really emphasis the 'lumpiness' of the substrate!