How Do I Prevent My Ceramic Tile Floors From Cracking?

How Do I Prevent My Ceramic Tile Floors From Cracking?

In Central Florida, Luxury Custom Homes are constructed on a poured, solid, concrete slab. No matter how qualified the Custom Home Builder, the House slab is going to crack.  Since by it’s very nature concrete slabs crack, we must have  a method of dealing with cracks that develop under ceramic, porcelain and stone flooring. 

Below is a photo of how we treat the house slab to minimize cracks in the grout or the flooring itself. First, the concrete is scraped and cleaned, a flexible sheet membrane  is applied over noticeable cracks, then a flexible, slurry, membrane, called PRP is troweled over the concrete.

The purpose of the membrane is to isolate the concrete slab from the flooring material. The slab can flex and crack with temperature variations without transmitting that movement to the flooring materials.

Finally, thin-set, is applied under each tile and grout applied to the joints.