How To Tile Over Concrete Shower Floor

Pick up the tile nearest the center of the floor and spread adhesive with the trowel over the bare floor.

How to tile over concrete shower floor.

Cut the membrane so it s 1 1 2 times the width of your tiles. A concrete sealer prevents moisture from staying underneath the ceramic tiles. To properly install tile over concrete the bathroom slab floor needs to be smooth and level. Installing tile directly on concrete.

Press the tile back into place touching both lines. Deck mud also known as floor mud or dry pack mortar is a simple mixture of sand portland cement and water. Skip this step and we guarantee your new tile will crack right over the cracks in the concrete. When working with the wet concrete strike it gently with the flat side of the trowel to help bring the moisture to the surface and smooth out the concrete.

The next step is to apply a concrete sealer on the floor surface. Pre slope is required in order to allow water collected on the shower membrane to drain into the weep holes of your shower drain assembly. If the cracks are. This is an optional step but can really benefit your tile installation in the long run.

Whether you ll be installing tile over your shower s concrete floor or leaving it bare you will need to use a mixture called deck mud to form the shower s base. Remember tile and mortar are not waterproof. Pour the concrete and spread it out with a trowel. In fact pros do it all the time.

It will also provide a stronger adhesion between mortar and concrete. Step 3 plan your layout. If your old ceramic tile is worn or dated you can lay new tile right over the old and avoid the huge job of tearing out the old tile. This assumes that the floor underneath is solid concrete and that there are no cracks in the existing tile indicating underlying problems in the concrete.

Using concrete mix create a 1 4 per foot slope to the shower drain. Then prime the concrete see photo 2 with the recommended solution consult the membrane manufacturer s literature. Use the notched edge of the trowel. Yet this application does make sense since concrete is heavy solid and is typically thought of as an unbending uncompromising material.

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.