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.
Tile that can be applied over cracks in sub flooring.
A tile floor is only as strong and as stable as the subfloor on which it is installed.
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.
Next i spread thinset over the slab where i ll be applying the membrane.
Dips bulges and cracks occur.
Cracks in concrete immediately become cracks in the tile.
If you were to remove a cracked tile from concrete undoubtedly you would see the same crack pattern below.
Before you install any flooring material over a concrete slab it is important to inspect the slab for defects.
If i encounter a slab with a lot of cracks i apply membrane over the entire floor.
After the sheet membrane is laid down over the thinset i use a 75 lb.
However minor cracks not due to a defective sub floor.
While you can install tile directly on concrete problems erupt when the concrete cracks or shifts.
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.
You can either roll on a liquid latex membrane or use a peel and stick crack prevention mat over the entire concrete subfloor.
Cracks in concrete are a sign of a structural problem.
In many cases the crack is not the result of an inferior tile.
They can simply be filled with epoxy.
In far more instances the crack was caused by anomalies under or around the 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.
Roller to flatten it and to squeeze out any air pockets.
Installing over wood.
However you re not out of the woods.
To install ceramic tile over wood the wood surface must be structurally sound enough to support the weight of the tile.
All of the movement in concrete is transferred to the tile.