How To Repair A Cement Crack Before Tile

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Install Tile Over Croaky Physical Floor

Install Tile Over Cracked Concrete Floor - Use a Membrane

QUESTION: I'one thousand most to install ceramic tile on a concrete floor of a 40-year-sometime firm. The concrete flooring has cracks in information technology. This is a DIY endeavor and I don't accept the extra money to install the expensive membrane that I should use. Are my new tiles going to crack? What would you lot do? What about grouting the tile? Sarah H., League City, TX

Sarah'due south got spunk. I applaud her spirit and she can have success if she does a few simple things. At that place are different cleft-isolation membranes that uncouple the tile from the bodily concrete slab. She might price all of them to see if there is one she tin can beget. Here's the industry standard, only it's adequately pricey:

Crack Isolation Membranes - Consider Affordable Felt Paper

At that place'south non a doubt in my heed that the new tile will develop cracks directly on top of the cracked slab if no membrane is used. Since Sarah's budget is tighter than a banjo string, she might take a run a risk using two layers of 30-pound felt paper. This is a very affordable material and while I've never used information technology as a tile fissure-isolation membrane, I feel it's got a fantastic chance of performing quite well.

What Nearly Filling Wide Cracks?

If the cracks in the slab are wider than 3/16 inch, I'd get-go try to bond the concrete together using a high-strength epoxy y'all can inject into the fissure. This volition go a long way to forbid hereafter croaky tile. Here's a fantastic concrete-fissure epoxy I've used with great success:

PC Concrete repair epoxy

This is a wonderful DIY foundation repair epoxy. I've used it with great results. CLICK or TAP HERE or THE IMAGE TO Lodge Information technology NOW.

How Practise You Install the Felt Paper?

I'd and so install the felt paper just as y'all would one of the fancy membranes. This requires a bed of thinset agglutinative that you and so cover with the first layer of felt paper. Smooth the felt paper using a rented linoleum roller. Be sure to install the felt paper then it crosses the cracks at a ninety-caste bending if possible.

I'd then install the second layer of felt paper over the first layer at a ninety-degree bending. I'd not install any thinset between these two layers. The weight of the thinset under the tile and the tile itself will press this layer against the first layer.

Once the tile is installed, Sarah should go to my AsktheBuilder.com website and watch my four-part video series about how to grout ceramic floor tile. She'll become professional results with a minimum of practice.

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