Corian as floor tile
user-917907
| Posted in General Questions on
I have access to a lot of scraps of Corian — ovals, small rectangles, etc. I’m wondering if it could be used as floor tile? How would you adhere it to the subfloor/underlayment (plywood or concrete?) Just use regular tile cement and grout? I’ve never tiled, so am not really sure if there is such a thing as “regular” tile cement or grout.
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Replies
Hi Jack,
Interesting idea. Perhaps your aware of this: Corian is a fairly soft material. It's made to be worked and can be repaired, but on a floor, it will be damaged with deep abrasions and gouges quickly. If you are unsure, lay some pieces in a high traffic area for awhile to check how it wears.
As far as application, the adhesives are available at your regional distributor or local corian fabrication. They have a wide enough range to work on all of the substrates that you mentioned.
Albert, you've got me wondering if the stuff I have is really Corian? It is being used for solid countertops. Some of the scrap pieces I saw had Corian printed on them, but what I grabbed to play with didn't. I wouldn't characterize them as soft. For comparison, it is harder to scratch whatever I have with a knife then to scratch vinyl flooring. Perhaps it is another DuPont product, Zodiaq, or something like Meganite or Wilsonart, which is acrylic?
Does floor tile rely on the cement it's set in to "glue" it to the floor, or does the cement and grout just "trap" the tile pieces? Some loose pieces of slate flooring in my house (which I didn't set) that I've looked at don't seem to be adhered to what ever it was set in. It appears that they are just trapped by the cement and grout. So I'm wondering if I can just trap this Corian (or whatever it is) without trying to actually adhere it to the subfloor?
Sounds like the slate wasn't installed well. Yes, thin set holds tile to the floor, its not just trapped by grout. I'll second the idea that it would be bad for floor tile. It could make some kind of neat mosaic tile back splash though. Back splashes are usually glued on with silicon, don't see why that wouldn't work to glue on your tile. Use an unsanded grout.
Yes, Corian and other solid surfaces countertop materials are softer than ceramic tile. They are also harder and more scratch-resistant than many other flooring materials in common use such as vinyl, linoleum and cork, and they are more or less on a par with hardwood, bamboo etc. If you like the look, go for it. And yes, stick it down with an appropriate adhesive.