How to Prevent Cracking on Floor Tiles

Cracks on floor tiles often go unnoticed and unaddressed initially. And when they come into notice, homeowners feel helpless what to do. While there are ways to fix cracks on floor tiles, it is always better to take measures that help prevent cracking on floor tiles.

And for that, you will need to focus on creating the right subfloor. Apparently, there are several ways to create subfloor for your tile project. In this blog, we offer a few tips to help you prevent cracking of floor tiles on different types of subfloor –

Concrete Subfloor –

Place steel bars into the concrete poured for subfloor. This will give the subfloor an increased strength after drying. This will help avoid cracks on the subfloor and eventually on floor tile.

To make it more effective, you can consider adding a layer of especially-designed crack isolation membrane (or underlayment) between your concrete subfloor and floor tiles.

Plywood or Wood Subfloor –

Plywood is a very popular subfloor option because of its simple installation and already smooth surface. Some people use wood bars or planks as subfloor. Floor tiles on wood subfloor crack because of sagging and bending of wood panels. You will need to take measures that prevent sagging, swelling, and bending.

To avoid this situation, you should not place tiles directly on the subfloor. Use a waterproof underlayment between tiles and subfloor. This will block moisture, increase the life of subfloor, and prevent tile damage.

This article has been brought to by WallAndTile.com, one of the leading tile shops in US.