Self leveling compound over ceramic tile?
I’ve floated a solid wood floor in the house over a concrete slab. I tried engineered wood in one room and didn’t like the result. You have to pay a very high price for anything that looks halfway decent so I went with solid wood milled by a local lumber supplier (yes, I’m a wood snob and I’m usually found at the fine woodworking forums). 8 to 16′ planks for $4.00 sq.ft. Very nice.
The result being that now my tile entryways are about 2″ lower than the wood floor. For whatever reason the entries on the house have very high thresholds so I can raise the floor a good inch and not cause problems with the doorways. I’m thinking of scuffing the existing ceramic tiles and using 1/2″ of self leveling compound and then putting new 1/2″ stone on top to gain an inch and thus have a reasonable lift to the wood floors.
Will it stick? Would mortar be a better (cheaper) bet than SLC? Only about 18 sq. ft. to do at each entry.
This will take care of everything but the bathrooms. No tile there and I know how to raise the cabinets, toilet, etc. but how the heck do I handle the tubs?
I’m thinking water is eventually going to get down between the tub and whatever I put on the floor to raise it unless I tear the tub out, which would make me cry as that means all new tile on the walls as well. Course it is concrete so no big deal? Tell me there’s an easier way to handle this.
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pink
I saw this done successfully on a tile job after we did the rest of the floor in HW.
They ran 1/2" durock out a bathroom (over wood frame/plank floor/osb underlay) and over into the entry way-(concrete slab). This evened up the different levels and flushed it up to the hardwood.
The durock was glued with PL Premium and tapcon'd to the concrete.
This has held up thus far (the durock was bridged over the transition from wood frame / concrete). Job done 4 yrs ago.
Is the tile well adhered to the concrete? I might go the durock route over floor leveler-but then again, haven't had to use much floor leveler over concrete/tile.
Reply to Calvin
That'll be a lot cheaper than trying to build up a thick layer of leveling compound.
Yes, the tile is solid and the slab beneath is dry and in good shape.
I'll put down the concrete board or durock and then thinset the new tile and slate over that. I guess I'll leave a gap next to the tub for grout and caulk.