Installing Floor Tile Over Concrete Slab

Chipboard cushioned vinyl flooring particle boards of any type oriented strand board osb interior grade plywood tongue and groove planking and hardwood floors are unsuitable substrates for direct installation of ceramic tile.

Installing floor tile over concrete slab. Concrete provides one of the most stable working platforms in the world and is the preferred foundation layer for a ceramic or porcelain tile. It can be physically strenuous and messy but it is a home improvement project that will allow you to cut labor costs by doing it yourself. Alternatively screw rows of treated 1x4s to the concrete 16 in. Installing over wood.

Yet this application does make sense since concrete is heavy solid and is typically thought of as an unbending uncompromising material. Step 1 preparing the concrete. Tile can contribute thermal mass to a passive solar house and to christa campbell it would make a more appealing finish floor than concrete. Installing ceramic tiles over concrete can help to create a more inviting indoor or outdoor living space.

Before you begin to lay the tile over your concrete slab make sure the concrete is properly prepared. To install ceramic tile over wood the wood surface must be structurally sound enough to support the weight of the tile. The ceramic tile floors shown at left were installed atop of an existing ceramic tile floor lower right and over both concrete and solid core plywood the upper floor level. The curved floor edge trim and facing were site built by the editor df.

Lay 6 mil polyethylene sheeting over the concrete to minimize moisture migration from the concrete up into the wood flooring. Treated plywood to the concrete with concrete screws spaced every 16 in. Although tile can be placed directly over a concrete slab products such as schluter s ditra are designed to separate or uncouple the tile from any potential movement in the substrate and protect the tile and grout from cracking. Ceramic and porcelain tile are so frequently installed at or above grade level on a cement board underlayment or directly on plywood that it almost seems novel to install tile directly on concrete.

Tiled shower floors are visually appealing as well as hygienic. How to lay porcelain tile over a concrete floor. Laying floor tile over concrete is not a technically demanding job. Installing tile directly on concrete.