Garage Floor Tiles: Is bigger better?

Garage floor tiles are usually 12” by 12” interlocking squares that are constructed of a polypropylene of PVC material.  Some garage floor tiles will come pre-assembled in 2×4 or 2×2 squares.

The question we keep getting is “is thicker better.”  The answer of course is yes and no.  As you might imagine a tile that is ¼” thick may not have the same properties as a tile that is ½” thick.   It is also the case that there are several ½” tiles that are manufactured different engineering and have different amounts of material in them.

We have been researching garage floor tiles for several years.  We’ve carried many different brands and we have had samples of dozens of brands.  Based on our personal experience with the garage floor tiles we have come up with a set of recommendations:

1. Always consider the application first.  If you are not going to be parking in the garage it is possible that a ¼” tile will do.
2. If you use the garage for a garage, a workshop, or other type of application with a lot of weight, we recommend a tile that is at least ½” thick.  While a tile that is thicker than ½” may seem appealing, we believe you will have hit the point of diminishing return.
3. You also want to make sure you select a tile that is permeable to air and water.  While many people believe that they want their garage floor to be a water tight and air tight surface, we believe nothing could be further from the truth.
1. First, your floor is only as air or water tight as its weakest link.  This is typically the junction (or gap) between the wall and the tile or the entrance to the garage.  It is virtually impossible to properly seal that area.  Therefore there is always going to be some element of moisture.
2. The next issue is that many garages, if not most, have some degree of moisture that comes up through the concrete slab itself.  We are concerned that an air and moisture tight system would not allow that moisture to be properly dealt with and such a system could conceivably lead to mold or mildew –even if the tile has been treated.
3. Therefore, we believe it is of the utmost importance to select a tile that is “suspended.”  In these types of systems, such as Daytona, the tile sits on dozens of small columns.  These small columns allow water and air to flow freely under the tile.
4. It is also important that you choose a system that is easy to install.  We recommend tiles that are pre-assembled into larger pieces.  We also recommend garage floor tiles that do not require a rubber mallet to assemble.  Both of these factors combined should cut your installation time in half.  You also need to consider that if a rubber mallet needs to be used in the installation, how do you remove a tile should it become damaged?
5. You may also want to consider how the tile is packaged, how it is shipped, and where it is shipped from.  Our garage floor tiles are packaged in 40 sq. ft. cartons and they are typically shipped FedEx ground from our warehouse.
6. Get A Sample.  Garage floor tiles are too costly to order without first receiving a sample.  We ship out the sample and only charge the shipping costs –and we’ll refund that when you place your order.
7. Finally, remember that all colors were not created equal.  It does not matter if a tile is made of silicone, if it is white it will get dirty.  Black shows dust but is definitely preferable to white.  We recommend black, different shades of grey and red.  Some tile such as the coin tile use a ‘pearl’ finish on the silver grey.  This gives the tile the appearance of variation and it hides dirt much better.

For more information please visit www.jnkproducts.com