Basement floor tile

Hello all,

I am remodeling my basement bath and laundry area. I want to lay down a groutable adhesive tile. Currently there are some old adhesive tiles over most of the floor but some areas had ceramic that had broke and was removed to expose the bare concrete. My question is, would it be best to put some kind of subfloor down over the old tile/concrete for leveling/moisture purposes? Any suggestions as to what I should do/use would be appreciated. Thanks a lot

Ryan

 

Why don't you want to remove what's there & start fresh? I would use 3/4 plywood if you want to cover it. May I also suggest rubberized flooring? It's a one shot deal.

Activa Rubber Flooring Products

 

My original plan was to remove all the tiles,but after a grueling and mostly unsuccessful attempt, I decided to seek other options. Plus the concerns over stirring up the asbestos that is probably down there.

 

If you want to cover it, make sure that the change in height doesn't affect anything else, such as doors opening or closing.

 

The 2 doors in the area are being replaced, so I can address the height issue when I redo those. And when we eventually carpet the other portion of the basement, it will minimize any noticeable step-up. As for the plywood, all I would have to do is lay it over the existing floor and apply the new tile directly to it?

 

It's not just "lay it over the existing floor". It should be anchored to the floor, so it doesn't float. I don't know if you can use a Hilti shot gun on that or not. That would be the least work. I only did one & the guy in charge had some anchors & a rotary hammer.

 

Hey Ryan, my name is George and I work for a Chicago area Home Depot. First, if I’m doing this job I would start fresh and remove everything…but that’s me. I always make my weekend project in to a four weekend project(s) . Anyhow, I think that the product you are looking for is called DRI Core. DRI Core is a free floating floor that does not need to be anchored to concrete and it provides a good moisture barrier. Also, these are 2’x2’ TG panels so they are easy to carry into the basement. Did any of you guys ever tried to carry a ¾” cdx in to the basement or something of that nature? It’s a difficult task.

I just want to add that sometimes the easiest solution it is not the best one, very philosophical right? No seriously, what I’ve learned (my dad use to change my diapers on construction site ) is that adding a subfloor in your basement will first reduce your height, second you will probably have to trim your doors and also in case of flood you will have all that water trapped between your subfloor and concrete, just something to think about. I hope that helps and good luck with your project.

 

Hey George,

Thanks for the feedback. So your first recommendation would be to just hunker down and get to scraping up the old tile? I would definitely prefer to start fresh and apply the adhesive tile directly to the concrete. I'm sure I can figure out a way that is slightly easier than the way I was doing it. I've looked into dri-core. Seems like a good product but at over $6 a piece, it would really add to my costs.

 

Just an update...

I bought a floor scraper for like $30 from Home Depot and I've started soaking the floor with soapy water to loosen the adhesive. It's definitely starting to come up a good deal easier. It's still a pain, so I've been doing it in shifts. Scraping until my shoulders hurt, then taking a break until I feel the urge to go at it again. It's going to take some time, but it's working. Just thought I'd share that in case there's anyone else out there trying to do the same thing.

 

You mentioned asbestos, which means your house is a touch old, which means it may also not have a poly barrier under the basement slab in which case moisture may come up through it. If that's the case (you can do the square plastic test with tape around edges to detect moisture) then plywood adhered to this will be exposed to moisture that cannot meaningfully escape and it will rot.

If you do adhere a subfloor I'd use a hammer drill and a crap load of tapcon screws.

If you go dricor I'm positive that you cannot tile directly over it without something on top. At the very least you'd have to screw/nail the panels into the floor and may need a ply sub floor anyway.

Nothing is more secure than concrete (or I suppose concrete + ditra). I bet it is a hassle but I'd also just get rid of those old tiles. Find out if you think there is asbestos. If there is it may not be the end of the world to deal with.

Glad you're making progress.

Are you only scraping? if your old tiles are kind of popping up that's great, but when I had to redo my bathroom recently some of the old tiles didn't want to come off entirely so with the help of a $30 angle grinder, some swim goggles (yeah ) and a very good quality mask (I have one of those ones for $30 that are rated for lead exposure, easily available at home depot) and a shop vac to suck up much of the dust I went to town and with the grinder had a beautiful plywood floor again. Saw today a ryobi grinder for $30 @ home Depot, probably a good purchase.

 

Hey Ryan, try to put down some hot or boiling water instead , boiling water will penetrate in to the adhesive and make it easier to scrape off , just be careful and always use safety equipment.

 

Skoorb - So far, I've only been scraping with the floor scraper. I have about 90% of the laundry room done, just need to finish that and then do the bathroom. Obviously, I'm not putting a whole lot of time into it right now. Trying to squeeze it in with the piles of other stuff I have to do on a daily basis. I think I may go pick up a grinder, not only to remove the stubborn tiles, but also to sharpen the scraper. And I know what you're saying about the swim goggles, I've been using snowboard goggles during my remodel!

Steeltoes - Thanks for the heads up. Steaming hot water has an almost immediate impact on the tiles and makes them just loose enough to scrape up!

 

Alright, the tiles have all been removed. Now it's time for the black adhesive underneath. I had a little bit of mineral spirits lying around the house so I used that and a scrub brush on a couple sections of the concrete. It seems to work pretty well, although the smell is pretty bad. This is an old can, so I think they have no/low odor mineral spirits on the market now. I'll have to pick some up. How clean does the concrete have to be to lay down new tile? I'm thinking as long as there isn't any raised areas of adhesive that it should be good. Any comments/suggestions? Thanks.

 

Hey Ryan,
If your VCT adhesive is coming off with a mineral spirits you can consider yourself lucky, go ahead and brush off whatever you can. I've had done my fair share on removing vinyl adhesives ,I’ve used hot water ,paint removers ,adhesive removers ,citrus base removers etc. Sometimes one product would work better on one then the other job. Contact the manufacturer of the similar product, they know their stuff and a lot of times they will actually help. In my opinion any time when you are laying vinyl tile your floor needs to be clean, thoroughly clean, ideally you want to scrape until you concrete is exposed. Ideally, what’s most important is to knock down adhesive ridges and high spots. Do the job right first time - you don’t want to be doing this again, right? And a quick tip; when you get to the putting a new tile down, spend some money and buy some self leveling compound to fix a low spots, if you have any. In addition I would also recommend renting a flooring roller, it’s worth spending money.
George @ Home Depot