While you can install tile directly on concrete problems erupt when the concrete cracks or shifts.
Tile that can be applied over cracks in sub flooring.
All of the movement in concrete is transferred to the tile.
However minor cracks not due to a defective sub floor.
Cracks in concrete immediately become cracks in the tile.
You can either roll on a liquid latex membrane or use a peel and stick crack prevention mat over the entire concrete subfloor.
If i encounter a slab with a lot of cracks i apply membrane over the entire floor.
When installing a ceramic tile floor on a concrete subfloor you don t have to worry about flexing as long as the concrete slab is at least 1 1 8 inch thick which most slabs are.
How to tile over cracked floors.
To prevent that movement from creating cracks in your grout and tile install a crack prevention membrane after the concrete subfloor is clean flat and free of cracks larger than 1 8 inch.
A tile floor is only as strong and as stable as the subfloor on which it is installed.
Before you install any flooring material over a concrete slab it is important to inspect the slab for defects.
In many cases the crack is not the result of an inferior tile.
How to put down flooring on a cracked concrete slab.
In far more instances the crack was caused by anomalies under or around the tile.
However you re not out of the woods.
Dips bulges and cracks occur.
If you were to remove a cracked tile from concrete undoubtedly you would see the same crack pattern below.
After the sheet membrane is laid down over the thinset i use a 75 lb.
Filling grout joints first second the grout joints should be filled to level with the top or face of the ceramic tile to ensure a smooth surface for the laminate to rest.
They can simply be filled with epoxy.
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.
Cracked tiles on floors and walls is a problem because it can be difficult to track down the source of the crack.
Cracks mean movement.
Concrete expands and contracts and that type of movement can also crack the tiles and the grout.
Installing over wood.
To install ceramic tile over wood the wood surface must be structurally sound enough to support the weight of the tile.