Ceramic Tile

[rdprice]

My son and I are currently building the Kuffel Creek 8' Cubby. We are considering covering the galley countertop with ceramic tile. However, I am concerned about the tile cracking due to flexing during transit. Does anyone have any experience with using ceramic tile in a teardrop trailer?

Thanks.

[fornesto]

This one turned out nice. I'd be conserned about the weight and them jiggling or popping off.

[asianflava]

Would it be possible to use silicone as the mastic? It would have to be horizontal while it setup but it would be flexible enough to not crack.

Any ideas if this would work?

[TRAIL-OF-TEARS]

They do make a sanded silicone caulk that you could use as a grout. I used it to grout our shower floor. It matched the grout I used for the wall tile. I think I would use peel and stick tiles, there are some very real looking ones out there and they can flex so you will not have to worry about them breaking. They would weigh less than ceramic too.

[ahjones3]

I sell countertops for a living, and I can tell you ceramic tile is a wonderful material. If you could buy it in big sheets it would be almost perfect. The problem is the grout lines. I can't tell you how many tile tops we've ripped out over the years. Those joints are impossible to keep clean and waterproof. They all look beautiful when they're new, but people don't want the hassle of sealing grout, and trying to keep it clean. Unless you live in your Teardrop 365 days a year, this may not be a serious problem. I wouldn't even consider a cement based grout, but if you could glue it down and grout it with silicone it might hold up for many years of light duty. Good luck!
Al.

[csdivine]

Hey all,

I'm digging up an OLD thread here (based on a search) about using ceramic floor tiles in a tear. I'm thinking about using ceramic tiles on the floor in the few inches between the back-end of my tear and the edge of the galley base cabinets. However, I had a friend point out that the vibrations and twisting of the trailer moving down the road could easily lead to cracked tiles, broken grout lines and major headaches. I really like the look of the ceramic tiles I chose and would hate to have to settle for sheet vinyl or vinyl tiles, but I may have to.

Has anyone used a small portion of ceramic tiles with success? Also, would 12" wood tiles suffer the same potential cracking and loosening problems?

Appreciate any experiences y'all have had.

Chris

[sdtripper2]

Chris:

Steve Cox has a excellent galley area and used tile.
Maybe he will come along and expound on tile instillation & use, or you might PM him?

Here is Steve's galley to look for yourself.

[Kens]

Rdprice did you think about how much heavyer this is going to be? I made my tear way to heavy . Now thinking about a new light one.

[Steve_Cox]

Chris:

Steve Cox has a excellent galley area and used tile.
Maybe he will come along and expound on tile instillation & use, or you might PM him?

Here is Steve's galley to look for yourself.

Thanks Steve for the mention. Chris PM'd and asked if I'd join in here too. So the ceramic tile has been in my galley for about a year and a half, I put it down with construction adhesive and it has stayed put. The grout is the vinyl type and it does get dirty easily, but is pretty easy to clean. The reason I used tile was the cost factor, I couldn't find a partial sheet of Formica and the tile cost me less than $20. So, that's my story and I'm stickin to it.