Can you put a concrete floor over ceramic tile floor? My thoughts - 1) a thick (3- 4. I would be more leery of a thin overlay, because it is going to have basically no bond with the underlying tile (though it could be sprayed with an epoxy bonding agent to help some), so while it will not lift on its own or under foot traffic, uneven weighting by heavy furniture or installing a non- bearing divider wall could cause cracking. If you do put in new walls, I would be sure there is a foam pad (white closed cell spacing pad made for this purpose, usually used on temporary partitions over tile or laminate or hardwood where you don't want to damage the underlying flooring) underneath to prevent any point loading. I would consider the effect of adding 3- 4 inches of thickness - every inch counts in a normal basement whewre the headroom is commonly closer to 7 than 8 feet. Installing tile for a custom shower has been one of those projects thought best left to the pros – until now. New preformed shower bases allow a “do-it-yourselfer. The cost of shower tile ranges between $0.50 and $84 per square foot. To install a tile shower, you can expect to pay an average of $25 per square foot. Find written and video instructions on how to install a tile backsplash from the DIYNetwork.com. Solid surface is superior to tile in a shower in nearly every way. Unlike grout, mildew cannot live on solid surface. Grout and thinset are not waterproof, solid. How to Install Glass Tile. Glass tile is a beautiful material that can bring light and shine to any room in a house, creating a clean modern-yet-classic look. Corner and rectangular shower stalls -- made of acrylic fiberglass or polystyrene -- are much easier to install than a custom-made enclosure. One-piece units are. I have seen several jobs where the homeowner or building owner regretted doing a concrete overlay because the even slightly lesser headroom made it look like a parking garage - a noticeably low, confining ceiling. Consider this not only from the aspect of what you like or find acceptable, but also if it will detract from resaleability. Before considering an overlay, be sure you will not be impacting minimum code required headroom (usually already at a minimum in basements), or burying baseboard heating or electrical conduits, etc. Also, be sure your doorway headroom clearance will not be less than required by code - basement doorways are commonly already at code minimum. However, tile removal typically about $2- 3/SF, concrete grinding/polishing about $5- 1. SF depending on finish desired and if staining also, so your polished concrete look is going to cost you more than typical flooring (other than stone or exotic hardwood) at any rate. If you go with an overlay, a specialty concrete floor contractor is what you want - I doubt you will find a residential one - this is predominately a commercial type of work. Check your yellow pages or google for local Concrete FLoor OVerlay companies, or for grinding/polishing Concrete Floor Finishing or Concrete Grinding and Polishing, then check those names on Angie's List by name for ratings and reviews, if any. How To Tile A Shower. In this third and final article of the How To Build a Shower Series, we discuss finishing your shower with tile. In the first two articles of our Building a Shower Series, we walked through the framing, plumbing and shower pan construction of building a walk in shower. In this third and final article, we document the final steps to completing your shower — preparing for and installing shower tile. Prior to starting this final step of your shower construction project, you should have completed the framing, plumbing, and shower pan construction steps (Articles 1 and 2 above). Prior to starting the tiling process, all supply and drain plumbing should be installed, tested and ready to go. Your mixing valve(s) should be in place and calibrated as needed. The supply lines to future shower heads should be installed, properly supported and terminate with a securely mounted drop ear elbow or suitable fitting that is stubbed out and capped. The shower pan should be complete, with a properly installed shower drain. Tile installations require a fairly flat, stable surface that is appropriate for the adhesive thin- set mortar used to install tile. For wet environments (like a shower), tile backing surfaces must be appropriately water resistant. In general this means installing cement based or similar tile backer board. Years ago, water- resistant gypsum wallboard (“green board”) was used as a low- cost wall sheathing and tile backer in wet areas like showers. This product, a wax coated gypsum wall board, routinely failed in wet environments. Building codes now prohibit the use of these products as the tile backer in showers. Do not use Greenboard as a tile backer in showers! Today, there are many tile backer boards designed for bath and shower use. In general, there are four main types of backer board that can be used for shower construction. They are: For my shower project, I used Hardie. Backer fiber cement backer board. I chose this product over fiberglass reinforced cement board (Durock or similar) for its performance in wet areas and smooth surface. Not only did I plan to install tile backer board for the shower, but the entire bathroom. Hardie. Backer’s smooth surface made the non- tile areas easy to paint. As further waterproofing for the bath and shower, I added a paint- on moisture barrier. I applied this barrier over the Hardi. Backer in the shower and behind the sink and toilet in the bathroom. Although wet- area approved tile backer boards are quite water resistant, many do not stop the movement of water. Vapor barrier requirements depend on local codes and specific applications (Steam Shower use, etc.). Most installations in showers should have either a vapor barrier behind the backer board (poly sheeting) or one on top of the backer board (paint- on membranes) applied before tiling. I prefer paint- on barriers. I like the idea of blocking water before it passes through the cement board. Also, consider that any vapor barrier behind the cement board will have fastener penetrations compared to the continuous, uninterrupted barrier that a paint- on product provides. Two commonly available paint- on membranes are; Redgard (Custom Building Products, Home Depot), Hydro. Barrier, and Hydro Ban (Laticrete). I used Hydro Barrier by Laticrete (highly recommended). Both products allow thin- set tile adhesives to be applied directly to the membrane once it has dried. Once you have installed, taped and waterproofed your tile backer, its’ time to install your tile. Tiles are thin flat pieces of clay, stone, or other material used as a construction surface finish. Tile is often used to finish floors, walls, showers, pools, patios, and counter- tops. Tile finishes are very durable and perform well in wet environments. Tiles are installed side- by- side using mortar based adhesives called thin set. The gaps between the tiles are then filled with grout; a durable filler often mortar- based with or without sand. Tile a Shower – Step by Step. Install tile backer board. Select a tile backer board approved for shower use. Install the backer board with backer board screws or roofing nails (both approved by The Tile Council of North America). Most panels can be installed horizontally or vertically – check the installation instructions for your product. Hardie. Backer 1/2. We fastened the backer board using Buildex Backer- On screws. We found it a bit difficult to get these screws flush with the Hardi. Backer board. Roofing nails may be a better match with Hardie. Backer as the heads are thin and very easy to nail flush. Cutting Backer Board Can Be Dangerous – Follow Manufacturers Recommendations. Portland cement based backer boards contain silica sand. Cutting these products can create dangerous silica dust. When cutting any cement board product, use great care to avoid silica dust formation and exposure. Exposure to silica dust is linked to lung cancer and the lung disease silicosis. Use manufacturer approved cutting methods (shears, score and snap) and clean up (HEPA filter vacuums or wet clean up, avoid sweeping or methods that create dust). Most panels can be cut by scoring and snapping similar to dry wall. Specially designed carbide tipped scoring tools are available for this purpose. Cutting shower backer board using specialized carbide tip tool to score and snap panel. Refer to recommendations from the product manufacturer for specific guidelines on cutting the product you are using. Always wear a particle mask or respirator when working with these products. Avoid using of high- speed power tools (grinders, circular saws) unless they are have attached dust evacuation systems. When mounting the backer board, horizontal blocking is not necessary for most boards but does add stability (we added horizontal blocking, where it was simple to do). Reference the installation instructions for the product you plan to use for specifics on panel direction and framing requirements. As with all sheathing, be sure to gap panel edges by 1/8. If you plan to sheath your ceiling with backer board, use long fasteners — 1 1/2. Smooth seams and tape with additional thin- set. See #6 below for more information on mixing thin- set mortar. Shower backer board installed. Seams filled with latex modified thin- set and reinforced with alkali- resistant fiberglass tape. Apply paint- on waterproof membrane (optional, but recommended). Waterproof your shower by applying a paint- on surface water barrier. Shower approved tile backer boards are tolerant of water, but they do not stop it. Protect your framing and wall cavities by applying a vapor barrier. Hydro Ban paint- on waterproof membrane applied to shower walls and ceiling. Although it is acceptable to use plastic sheeting installed behind tile backer board as a vapor barrier, it is not the best practice. Using paint- on waterproofing barriers block water at the surface of the backer board. Why not deny water passage into your wall, instead of trapping it behind the backer board with plastic sheeting? There is a variety of paint- on products available. I used Hydro. Ban from Laticrete. This paint- on product is easy to apply and does not require fabric reinforcement at the corners and seams (some products do). Although no fabric reinforcement is necessary, corners, penetrations, floor- wall transitions and other critical areas should be pre- treated with a liberal application of the product prior to applying two field coats. Allow the product to cure before setting tile (2 hours for Hydro Ban). Most paint- on membranes allow the use of thin- set adhesives directly over the paint- on membrane once cured. Plan tile install. Plan the layout of your shower tile. Start with a level baseline just above the shower pan. Mark significant structures (the window in our case) with a horizontal reference around the shower to help plan tile seems. Plan out tile install. Start with level reference. Mark the walls with horizontal and vertical reference lines prior to setting tile. Notice plaster guards over mixing valves prior to starting tiling. Dry install tiles or use a “story pole” (a stick with markings that reference stacked tile seams to help plan tile install) to adjust your base starting height to facilitate tile seams falling on desired targets (the window ledge, for example). Once desired baseline starting point is established, create a level base for the initial row of tile using a straight edge, level or similar. Once thin- set is mixed and applied to the wall, you will have a fairly short period of time to set the tiles. You should have everything ready to set tiles once the thin- set is applied. For our shower tiles, we used off the shelf 3. These tiles did not require the use of tile spacers as they have self- spacing nubs on their sides. Installing the tiles using these self- spacers provides a grout seam of ~ 1/1. You could always use these same tiles with larger spacers to create wider grout lines if you like. White subway tiles from The Home Depot we used for our shower and bathroom. Self- spacing tabs on the edges of each tile side provide a 1/1. Tile spacers are small plastic pieces shapaed like plus signs (+) that come in a variety of sizes and are used to maintain uniform grout lines between tiles. Remove before grouting. If you plan to use tile spacers, decide on the proper spacer size and have them ready for use. In general, smaller tiles typically have smaller spacing (1/1. Most very small or mosaic tiles will be mounted on a mesh backing with fixed spacing between individual tiles. Thin- set adhesives generally have short working times and should be mixed in small batches that can be completely used within the products working time. In general, this will be area equivalent of one 3. We used latex fortified thin- set (Pro- Lastic from Superior Adhesives and Chemicals) from the Tile Shop. Here is a link to the Tile Shop’s How to Mix Thinset. For most products, start with just the liquid (water or latex if two- part) in the bucket. Slowly add the dry mortar while mixing.
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