[G-Oil Guy]

Originally Posted by Jack Olsen

I have ceramic tile. I paid .59/sf for it and installed it myself. I've had it for over five years, now. My verdict: it's one of the best things I've done in the garage. I've dragged 800# cabinets over it and rolled a 500# engine assembly on it perched on a floor jack. I use jackstands on it. I put the same tiles on top of the lift and they raise the car without any blocks or pads. The key is the way you install the tiles. You can't do it like you'd do for a kitchen or bathroom install.

Here's a video I post to show how strong ordinary tile is when it does not have voids underneath it. This is PEI 4 rated ceramic being hit with a 4-lb sledge hammer. If you click on the image to see the video, you'll notice the camera bounsing around from the impacts.



This was the first tile I ever set. At the time, I wasn't aware of $1/sf porcelain tiles, which would be even stronger. The nice thing about porcelain/ceramic tiles is that there is no such thing as hot tire lift, staining, or the epoxy dealer explaining that the reason you got bubbles (or it peeled up or whatever) was the fault of your slab. And if you do damage a tile? You just put a new one in. (I've never had to do that.)

So how do you install it?