Tiling A Basement Floor With Cracks

While laying tile is.

Tiling a basement floor with cracks.

The good news is most basement floor cracks are normal and don t need to be repaired. To discover the cause of your tile s crack you ll need to carefully inspect the crack s size and pattern. If you find cracks in the concrete of your basement don t panic. Cracks are nothing out of the ordinary.

These cracks are part of the natural drying process for concrete. As it dries the concrete begins to shrink. Although cracks sometimes indicate serious structural issues they re often a symptom of superficial damage. Cracks in concrete immediately become cracks in the tile.

How to lay tile over cracked concrete. The damages must be repaired first. Inspect your basement floor for cracks rough surfaces leaks and any flooring anomalies before installing ceramic tiles. Although it may seem daunting repairing cracks in your basement floor is something you can do without going to the expense of hiring a professional.

Applying tile in these situations is really quite simple. Resolving cracks and unlevel floors caused by soil expansion is a job best left to the pros who may advise and carry out solutions as extensive as replacing the basement floor and or install an. That old basement floor with the crumbling vinyl tile may look hopeless but with a little scraping and a few strips of crack isolation membrane you can turn it into a perfect base for new ceramic tile. Cracked floor tiles aren t cause for immediate panic.

Uneven surfaces need to be thoroughly leveled. All of the movement in concrete is transferred to the tile. Push air bubbles out to the edge with a j roller or the edge of a grout float. In some cases i ve seen cracks that are almost 1 4 in.

If you were to remove a cracked tile from concrete undoubtedly you would see the same crack pattern below. Tile is available in many different sizes and styles and the price range is equally broad. If you suspect foundation damage after an initial inspection you can. Installing a tile floor in all or part of your basement lets you have some fun with design while still quickly covering up existing concrete floors.

Tile flooring can quickly give an old floor pizazz. Before i begin the process of tiling over a cracked slab i prep the slab with a crack isolation membrane. While you can install tile directly on concrete problems erupt when the concrete cracks or shifts.