If you are laying over a concrete subfloor you will first need checked the concrete moisture, if the floor has a moisture content of over 4% then either wait until the sub floor dries to meet this level or use an appropriate moisture barrier, we recommend Mapei brand Primers to ensure no damp rises up into your new floor.
During renovation and remodeling of existing building, more and more people are looking for ways to convert their existing wood/plywood subfloors into concrete floors. The daily temperature and humidity changes cause the wood floors to move and expand under stress. The joints between boards and rough uneven surfaces become pronounced. Traditional latex-modified or gypsum based underlayment will crack along joints, break bond with lateral wood movement, and often strong enough to withstand the traffic.
After ensuring the dryness of your concrete slab, check it for traces of oil, grease, old paint or presence of any other foreign material. For removing the stains of grease or oil use a garage floor cleaner that is available at auto supply stores. For chipping away any blobs or plaster or any other material from the floor a putty knife or a flat-bladed tool can come in handy. For removing the old paint or old sealers you can sand the floor. As you proceed vacuum or sweep clean the floor. For the purpose of tracing out any low spots on the surface use a straightedge after cleaning the slab to the extent possible. Latex underlayment compound can be used to fill in these uneven areas or joints or any cracks; you can use this by following the manufacturer’s instructions for its usage.
The patched areas should be brushed using a stiff, dry, bristle or wire brush and the loose particles must be vacuumed or swept clean. This should be done after the compound is dry. There are two ways to settle down the most uneven floor. The first way, is to lay a new plywood subfloor on screeds. Another method is to pour a new, thin concrete slab over the old.
Some sub-floors are inset below the top surface level of surrounding flooring’s joists and such subfloors and a normal height joist are joined to make a plywood box both molding and containing at least two inches (5 cm) of concrete (A ‘Mud Floor’ in builders parlance). Alternatively, only a slightly inset floor topped by a fibrous mesh and concrete building composite floor cladding is used for smaller high quality tile floors” these ‘concrete’ subfloors have a good thermal match with ceramic tiles and so are popular with builders constructing kitchen, laundry and especially both common and high end bathrooms and any other room where large expanses of well supported ceramic tile will be used as a finished floor. Floors using small (4.5 in or 11.4 cm and smaller) ceramic tiles generally use only an additional 1â„4-inch (6.4 mm) layer of plywood (if that) and substitute adhesive and substrate materials making do with both a flexible joints and semi-flexible mounting compounds and so are designed to withstand the greater flexing which large tiles cannot tolerate without breaking.
All Concrete sub-floors must be dry, smooth, level and free of structural defects. If the concrete sub floor is uneven we recommend using Mapei self leveling compound to level the subfloor. The concrete must also be free of contaminants i.e. paint, oil, wax grease, dirt and curing compounds (the reason for this is that you need the self leveling compound to bond to the sub floor).These may be removed chemically or mechanically as your local hardware store and they will sell you the correct floor cleaner, but do not use solvent-based strippers under any circumstances. The use of residual solvents can create problems with the bonding of flooring adhesives. It is important to ensure a proper bond between the adhesives and concrete and wood panels.
The high traffic aspects of your house area unit recommended creating use of ceramic ware and additionally ceramic flooring as a result of they’re a sturdy surface. Even so, before parturition the tile, it’s necessary to make a firm foundation for it. This is often whets known as the subfloor, or maybe primarily flooring beneath the floors.
The tile doesn’t bend or split beneath traffic as a result of that. However are you able to do it? Compressed Fibro material for the subflooring, chemical compound changed thin-set mortar, a notched trowel, roofing nails (if in the least potential galvanized) or rust proof screws area unit one or two of simply what you may be needing as right instrumentation for the task. In addition, you may need a sq, chalk line, pen, tape-measure, power knife, and concrete board seam tape (alkali resistant), a saw yet as a drill. To minimize the damage and tear yet as tear in your knees, you may wish knee pads. To urge safety glasses is additionally suggested.