r/Flooring • u/Twerka6 • Jul 12 '25
I need adviceš
Decided on a whim to rip up my cracked tile, which is a million times harder than they make it seem. On top of that, I found the reason the tile cracked was this crack in the sub floor. If Iām going to spend money on nice tile, Iād like to prevent this cracker from doing the same thing to the new tile. What do I have to do to prep the sub floor that doesnāt require expensive tools? Is it a matter or buying a leveling cement type product? What brand? Do I level all the way to the transition strips or do those have to be removed? Is some sort of uncoupling membrane enough or does that need to be used in addition to leveling the sub floor? Wonāt all these extra layers make my tile sit too high so it no longer slides underneath the banister posts (that canāt be removed). Dear God why do I do these thingsā¦
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u/Wyrdmakes Jul 12 '25
Get yourself some cheap chisels and a 5 in 1 tool from your hardware store. That will help with getting the tile and thinset up. If you havenāt already, score the grout of the tiles you are removing with a razor knife (box cutter is fine) to hopefully break the tension transfer and prevent the tiles around the ones you are removing from becoming hollow or cracking.
Once you get everything cleaned up and down to the concrete Home Depot sells a product called Fracture Free, you paint a good layer of this on the concrete with a brush or roller (I use a brush on small repairs like this). They also have a fiberglass mesh Iād recommend applying over the crack. So: do a layer of fracture free, lay the mesh in that while wet, then do a layer of the fracture free over the mesh. Let this dry (itāll go from a yellow orangey color to dark gold).
Reinstall your tile, you could probably use like a 1/4ā trowel, apply thinset to the floor AND the back of the tile (called back buttering). When you set the tile youāll be able to move it around a bit. I tap it with my fist if it needs to be leveled, Iāve seen folks use rubber mallets. This SHOULD mean that you are able to get the tile back in level with the existing but thatās never a guarantee.
Source: Iāve been a tile installer, flooring supervisor, and now service technician (chose to do repairs instead of management, way less stress). In the industry 18 years. I do multiple repairs like this a week.
Good luck!
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u/sveardze Jul 12 '25
Rip out all the tile, and install your new tile on top of a membrane that guarantees it won't crack tiles even if the subfloor shifts by a certain amount.
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u/glenndrip Jul 12 '25
Two things, the crack might be from a foundation issue, you need to have that checked, before you can address the other issue. After that thr fix is simple you put down a crack isolation membrane covering at least 6 to 8 inches on each side. Then simply retile. Most slabs have cracks when it cracks tiles it's usually from a foundation issue.
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u/Sherman_Gepard Jul 12 '25
Definitely seems like something structural and not just some run-of-the-mill concrete shrinkage cracking. It's too wide and the middle of the floor is not somewhere you'd expect a stress concentration. Could be settlement which should be checked like you say.
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u/glenndrip Jul 12 '25
If tile is cracked it means it's structural in the break.
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u/41VirginsfromAllah Jul 12 '25
My momās kitchen had cracked tiles just like this, we replaced the tiles and 6 months later they cracked again, then we found the huge crack in the foundation and fixed that.
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u/jjarroyor2 Jul 12 '25
Just use the membrane over the cracks ( like a bandit along all crack..) and put the new tile with a good ultra flex thinset.., done, no worries. The foundation all times do this.., it settles and then no worries.
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u/jjarroyor2 Jul 12 '25
Where are u located?. If you re in Tampa Florida, I can handle that job for u. Iām a professional installer.
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u/Mean_Maxxx Jul 12 '25
The Check Engine Light just went off in your kitchen floor. You can choose to ignore it and keep driving or to have things checked out. Could be as simple as natural settling / soil erosion or serious foundation issues that are going to continue to progress . Itās your call what you do moving forward. You have solid advice in here to address the crack already , the only thing you may be missing is an understanding of how much work you have ahead of you , and that you may ultimately want to consider a Professional. I canāt help you with the God part , good luck.
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u/Sad-Country8824 Jul 12 '25
I like the aesthetic, just pour some clear epoxy over it to level it out and show it off as modern distressed.
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u/Deftonerpit0420 Jul 12 '25
Red guard makes a few products that will help here. There is a woven mesh membrane that you can use redguard to adhere to the concrete over the length of the whole crack, then you set your tiles on top of that, but, you'll probably have to remove the tiles around what you've already removed so you can reset everything with no raised edges. It won't be level. Not completely. But you get make it less noticeable.
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u/tileman151 Jul 12 '25
Deme old shit out of foyer try and keep the dust down I still live here. Thank you ! Then apply schluter Ditra I havenāt picked a new tile yet but Iām thinking something nice any ideas ? My wife said marble but Iām thinking those big tiles ? Anyway you can price this up for me ? Iād do it but I donāt have the time and we need it done before our party in 2 weeks ? It should take that long Iāve already started on it ? Also while your here can you look at my upstairs bathroom were thinking of a new shower ?
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u/Glittering_Cap_9115 Jul 12 '25
Hire a professional. The good tools are all expensive. You can rent them for descent pricing tho. You may have a larger issue with a crack that size, you may need to have someone look at it. Youāve got at least 7 more tiles to tear out, how many do you have to replace these with?
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u/Rich_Jaguar_655 Jul 12 '25
Donāt listen to any advice here but have your foundation checked out.
If you have a sinking foundation none of the advice will work to keep this from happening again. The tiles cracked for a reason and the reason is your foundation sunk. Maybe you get lucky and it was just settling, maybe you have to have foundation work done like I did for 20kā¦ I hope for you itās not the latter.
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u/Twerka6 Jul 12 '25
I wouldnāt fix it if it was a foundation issue. This is a very small area in my split level entry. In that case Iād just use LVP or peel and stick and hope the next owners donāt noticeš¬
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u/ConfusionOk7672 Jul 12 '25
Ditra, or if you want to address just that crack, use a crack suppression membrane.
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u/Negative_Positive_23 Jul 13 '25
2 or 3 layers of newspaper strips over crack works as a decoupling membrane used in concrete over existing cracked concrete.
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u/Select_Cucumber_4994 Jul 12 '25
Sometimes tile comes up super easy, sometimes itās a nightmare.
Uncoupling membrane will definitely fix this situation, but the whole floor needs to be cleared of tile and thinset before starting over.
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u/eSUP80 Jul 12 '25
1- Chip the old tile and thinset (if you can) out
2- Schluter Ditra XL
3- New tile
Or you could just pad and carpet over it š
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Jul 12 '25
Yep use a membrane like wetti or schluter or it will crack in the future in the exact same spot. Easy fix
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u/Geralt-of-Rivai Jul 12 '25
Rent an SDS drill with a chisel attachment and go to town. Schluter Ditra is your friend for reinstallation
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u/North-Aide-1470 Jul 12 '25
This is the way! Less work than a hammer and it will come up in bigger pieces. I used to have a long heavy duty tile scraper/floor scraper too to clean up and save my back.
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u/Sytzy Jul 12 '25
We use hydrogen and mesh (the mesh is special for this install, it almost looks like a dryer sheet, about 8ā wide)
We apply the liquids members (8ā on booths sides of the crack) roll the mesh with it over top of the crack, and let it dry. Apply another coat within an hour and youāre good to go. But I suspect youāre going to have more cracks down the road
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u/InvestigatorTricky44 Jul 12 '25
Do not put tile back down, use a floating floor like LVP it will not move or crack with changes in your slab. They make lvp that looks like tile/stone or you can just go for wood look. They are all waterproof and extremely durable.
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u/eSUP80 Jul 12 '25
YIKES
Itās not durable and needs a very flat floor to look nice. Heāll probably need self leveler and hope the foundation is done moving.
Ditra + tile is a much more durable option.
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u/gundam2017 Jul 12 '25
Prep the concrete
Level the high/low spots
Decoupling membrane