How To Lay Floor Tile On Cement

Step 1 preparing the concrete.

How to lay floor tile on cement. As you move on to the subsequent rows use the spacers to keep your pattern square. Before you begin to lay the tile over your concrete slab make sure the concrete is properly prepared. Measure the area to ensure you have enough tile. I ve completed my first tile floor installation and i put together this video to show you all of the tips and tricks i found along the way.

Laying floor tile over concrete is not a technically demanding job. Opt to cut sheets of ditra membrane to fit the area you are tiling. Concrete subfloors typically don t require backer board. Installing tile directly on concrete.

You will need to apply thinset to the concrete and smooth the membrane sheets down with a trowel. Cement tiles are usually up to 3 4 so be sure to allow for enough room under doors and transitions. Yet this application does make sense since concrete is heavy solid and is typically thought of as an unbending uncompromising material. You can purchase it in sheets or in liquid form.

Before you lay any sort of tile whether it is stone ceramic or peel and stick vinyl you must prepare your concrete floor to ensure that the tiles will go down properly and stay where they re. This will help prevent cracking of tiles. Here s our in depth tutorial on how to lay cement tile flooring. Mix tiles from all the boxes so that minor color differences from each dye lot won t be noticeable.

Once a tile is set try to avoid touching it again. 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. Purchase an anti fracture membrane to lay over your leveled concrete. Lay the tiles into the mortar and using the spacers make sure you are running even with the chalk line.

Ceramic and porcelain tile are so frequently installed at or above grade level on a cement board underlayment or directly on plywood that it almost seems novel to install tile directly on concrete. Make sure you have 10 more tile than the measurements of the room. If you have a plywood or osb subfloor install a water resistant cement backer board as your underlayment.