Installing Floor Tile Over Concrete Slab

Installing over wood.

Installing floor tile over concrete slab.

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. Installing ceramic tiles over concrete can help to create a more inviting indoor or outdoor living space. Concrete provides one of the most stable working platforms in the world and is the preferred foundation layer for a ceramic or porcelain tile. 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.

The curved floor edge trim and facing were site built by the editor df. Yet this application does make sense since concrete is heavy solid and is typically thought of as an unbending uncompromising material. Laying floor tile over concrete is not a technically demanding job. 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.

Step 1 preparing the concrete. Lay 6 mil polyethylene sheeting over the concrete to minimize moisture migration from the concrete up into the wood flooring. Using an acid based cleaner or deep cleaner of your choice clean the concrete and allow it to dry thoroughly. Tile floors do not require as much care and cleaning as porcelain or fiberglass.

To install ceramic tile over wood the wood surface must be structurally sound enough to support the weight of the tile. How to lay porcelain tile over a concrete floor. 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.

How to tile a shower over a concrete slab. Tiled shower floors are visually appealing as well as hygienic. Alternatively screw rows of treated 1x4s to the concrete 16 in. Installing tile directly on concrete.