Garage tile project

[Kman]

That little part of the concrete that is exposed now and to be covered with tile later, is it sloped away from the door so that it would shed water? A torpedo level will tell you.

[butchdsd]

Excellent thoughts Dan...very much worth considering...
Kevin....I have to pull up the throw rugs on the garage floor to check for slope...I'll know this evening...

[Kman]

I was just referring to the six-inch part that would be outside, not the indoor part.

[butchdsd]

Hello again...
Well....finally pulled up all the carpet and moved everything out of the way....
Decided to pour water onto the slab and observe the absorption rate...10 minutes later water is still on top of the concrete...
Poured some muriatic acid on the floor and worked it in with a brush...rinsed the section and retried the water absorption rate test...it worked well enough...
The slab is just over 1000 square feet...

Any thoughts on how to proceed..??

Thank you all for your time...
Butch C.

[cx]

Sounds like you need to mechanically abrade the surface of that area you intend to tile, Butch.

Do be careful with that muriatic acid, 'specially indoors.

My opinion; worth price charged.

[butchdsd]

Thank you for the fast response CX....
Mechanically abrading the floor is the best way to to achieve the desired results...preferable to using chemicals..?
Thank you again
.

[cx]

You don't wanna use any chemicals and especially not that acid. Not only because that muriatic acid is likely to be very harmful to people and pets in that house, but to the house itself. But the big problem, addressing only the tile installation, is that you'll never get it sufficiently rinsed off or neutralized for it not to affect your tile installation.

My opinion; worth price charged.

[butchdsd]

Hello again...

Just an update on the garage project.
The entire floor(1100 s.f.) had some type of coating that was applied 50 years ago. After inspecting the slab for flatness...it was 3/4" high in several places. I wanted to remove the coating and then float the entire floor with self leveling compound.. The mrs. put the brakes on that plan. The floor is pitched from back to front(front being the large overhead doors) and she wanted to retain that slope towards the overhead doors(about a 7% pitch).
So...off to the rental yard for a scarifier. After 3 days of running the scarifier, the floor was flat. In total I removed 2,000 pounds of concrete.
I followed the recommendation to use Ardex thinset. The porcelain tile used was 8"X48". I did the job solo...it took me a few weeks to complete. Also used the MLT system for the first time(enjoyable to use).

Here's a picture of the floor after the last wipe down before grouting..thank you all again for the advice
.!!.

[cx]

Originally Posted by Butch

...she wanted to retain that slope towards the overhead doors(about a 7% pitch)

Sounds like one hellof slope for a garage, Butch.

[butchdsd]

Maybe 6% in some places....
Origional owner of the house poured the slab in 1969...

[cx]

How long is the garage, front to back, Butch?

[butchdsd]

22 feet....

[cx]

That would be 16 or 18 inches drop from the back of the garage to the doors? Ain't never seen the like. Surely wouldn't have any problem with water standing in there.

[butchdsd]

CX....

After reading your comment on the % of grade...I used a digital angle indicator....
You are correct....its just under 2%.....

Butch

[cx]

Yes, that's substantially more reasonable, Butch. I've even cheated that down a bit on some garages, but the 2% (1/4" per foot) is generally what's recommended.