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These shearing movements can cause
tiles attached directly to the cement floor to crack and the grout to crumble.
Moisture can also be a problem for tiles directly attached to cement slabs.
Fortunately there are easy to install uncoupling membranes for tiling over
cement slabs to address these concerns.
One of the best uncoupling membrane products on the market is called DITRA. It
was developed and is manufactured by Schluter Systems. DITRA is a Polyethylene
inverted waffle looking membrane product that is attached directly to the cement
slab with thinset mortar. The backside of the DITRA uncoupling membrane has a
fleece like surface to ensure a solid bond to the thinset mortar.
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The top layer of the DITRA
uncoupling membrane has again an inverted waffle like appearance with a sea
of individual square valleys for the thinset mortar to reside in and the
tiles to attach to. The valleys have slightly cutback bottom edges to help
lock in the thinset mortar and to ensure a strong bond to the ceramic tile
or stone.
The main purpose of using an uncoupling membrane for tiling over cement slab
is to allow the ceramic tile to effectively float over the cement slab and
uncouple it from any in-plane and shearing movements of the slab that can
and will occur overtime. As a result, the ceramic tile will not crack or
delaminate from the thinset mortar that it is attached to. Likewise the
grout will not crack and crumble. |
The DITRA Polyethylene uncoupling
membrane also works to nearly eliminate moisture concerns. Cement slabs more
often than not have ground moisture that percolates and wicks up through
them. Ceramic, porcelain and stone tile, along with the thinset mortar can
be negatively impacted from constant contact with high moisture levels. Over
time this can cause the tiles to delaminate away from the cement slab.
Schluter’s DITRA Polyethylene uncoupling membrane product prevents moisture
from reaching the tile and is specifically designed so that air channels on
the back side of it can actually direct the moisture away from the tiled
surface area.
So for your next cement slab tiling project make sure to take a look at
uncoupling membrane products. Also, before installing the uncoupling
membrane make sure you thoroughly clean the cement slab, repair any cracks
in it, and if necessary apply a self leveling compound on it to create a
flat surface. Also, if there is any underlying moisture or water issues
associated with the slab have them resolved first prior to installing the
tiles, even if you do plan on using an uncoupling membrane.
See
My Shower Pan Ebook for Installing a Custom Tiled Shower: For a more detailed set of
instructions on building a shower pan, including pictures and a detailed
cross-sectional view of the make-up of a shower pan, see my “Shower Pan Membrane
Liner Ebook”.
For Information on
Tiling a Custom Ceramic Tile Shower, see the
How to Tile a Custom Ceramic Tile Shower Ebook
from HomeAdditionPlus.com. It provides detailed instructions for every
step in the process of tiling a custom ceramic tile shower and is loaded with
instructional pictures!
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Obligations!
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Related Information
Tile Saws
from Amazon.com
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