Tile over concrete?

[Mindflayer]

We found out that the previous owners did not actually repair some things we flagged, and we've had rainwater seeping into the basement. Wife pulled up the carpet to check it out only to find mold, soaking wet pad, and a nasty carpet. While we're waiting on the mold testing guys to come out, we've been thinking about what to put down as flooring, and we're going with tile.

Any thoughts about tile on a basement cement subfloor? I've always read directly on the subfloor, or with a barrier. Nowadays, seems folks swear by Ditra.

[Snakester]

Tile is the way to go . Very affordable and will last a long time. We install tile all the time and everybody is always happy they chose tile over other products. You having a concrete floor is a perfect surface to install it on .

[thekinetic]

Yep right on the concrete! I've never heard of this ditra but any tile I've ever done in a basement I've put grout directly on the subfloor and then tile. Is ditra like durock?

[Mindflayer]

Tile is the way to go . Very affordable and will last a long time. We install tile all the time and everybody is always happy they chose tile over other products. You having a concrete floor is a perfect surface to install it on .

Thanks, Snakester. If the concrete is still solid, then I don't think I have to worry about shifting, yes?

thekinetic - it's a plastic/polymer that is designed to almost float the floor. Thinset, Ditra, thinset, Tile. People seem to swear by it, but I always take any new-fangled thing with a grain of salt.

[Snakester]

I used Ditra 1 time because the customer saw it on This Old House. It seemed to work fine , just doubled the install time.
I would clean your area with bleach and make sure it's dry . We use pre-mixed tile adhesive from Lowe's instead of Thin Set . It does a great job ! Also is very easy to work with.

[FiremanBob]

Seems to me that you need to solve the water problem before re-doing the floor. I lived in a house that had seepage. The water came right up over the tile and ruined rugs, a bunch of furniture and several cartons of books. The answer that time involved completely replacing the sub-floor drainage system - jackhammers, gravel, perforated pipe, and new concrete, with the sump draining via a downward sloping pipe to a pond at the low corner of the property.

[ShotgunBlast]

7 seasons watching Holmes on Homes has shown me they realize ditra. Take that for what it's worth.

Agree that you have to fix why water is getting in there first.

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[Nat]

IF the water comes in at floor level and the house basement is below grade, the problem is likely a clogged foundation drain. If water cant get out from around the foundation, then the hydraulic pressure pushes it in thru the foundation wall. Make sure all the downspouts are carrying water away from the house as they should. The grade next to the foundation wall needs to slope away from the house and not sloped toward the house.
If the water comes in higher up on the wall, then you have waterproofing issues, cracked foundation wall, or a clogged downspout drain allowing water to lay next to the house.
There are times when a house has to have a new foundation drain installed outside, or worse is to have one installed inside with a pump (which doesn't work if the power is off).
Foundation drains outside must empty out to daylight.
I am in the drain cleaning business and we clean these a lot with a water jet to wash out dirt and mud that accumulates in them over the years.

[Mindflayer]

Thanks for all the info.

When my lovely bride pulled up the carpet, she was quick to photograph where the floor was moist. From there, I was able to trace it back to the very same door frame that he had listed as a "Replace" on our conditions for buying the home. Turns out the door was replaced, but they left the door frame and just filled the rot with caulk and painted over it. That's the entry point for the water. It's also badly designed - it will hold and pool water in the frame instead of directing it down to the ground.

[Snakester]

Replacing the door is a much easier and less expensive "FIX" than having water problems coming through foundation walls. A pre-hung door / jamb / threshold unit can be purchased for $200.-$300 and a couple tubes of GOOD caulking should solve your problem. You could also wrap the exterior brick molding with PVC coil.

[Swampman]

IF the water comes in at floor level and the house basement is below grade, the problem is likely a clogged foundation drain. If water cant get out from around the foundation, then the hydraulic pressure pushes it in thru the foundation wall. Make sure all the downspouts are carrying water away from the house as they should. The grade next to the foundation wall needs to slope away from the house and not sloped toward the house.
If the water comes in higher up on the wall, then you have waterproofing issues, cracked foundation wall, or a clogged downspout drain allowing water to lay next to the house.
There are times when a house has to have a new foundation drain installed outside, or worse is to have one installed inside with a pump (which doesn't work if the power is off).
Foundation drains outside must empty out to daylight.
I am in the drain cleaning business and we clean these a lot with a water jet to wash out dirt and mud that accumulates in them over the years.

Nat - have a question. My sister is trying to sell her house. Foundation has two +/- 1/8" cracks at the front of the house and at the rear. House is on a block foundation, no basement. Buyer just walked because of the cracks. Soil map shows a delineation between two soil types running through the house (I understand the soil mappings are generalized). Soil on the downhill side of the house is described as having a clay layer from 9 - 47 inches, again a generalization based on minimal investigation. Also understand that grading for the house renders the soil profile description moot for the most part. Not sure if the house has foundation drains, and the sidewalk in front of the house ponds water. I've told her to find a way to drain off the water.

If there are foundation drains, where might they daylight, if at all? Where could we start digging to figure out where they are and if they are clogged?

[flyingron]

They make a product called Schluter Ditra. You can get it at the home centers. It's a decoupling membrane. It's a waffle textured orange plastic sheet. You thinset it to the floor (be it wood or concrete or whatever) and then thinset your tile down on top of it. It keeps any disparate movement (or cracking) in the substrate from telegraphing through to your tile/grout lines.

Easy peasy to install, great stuff.

[grumpyMSG]

Instead of tile, I would suggest using http://www.rustoleum.com/en/product-cat ... or-coating
They also offer a garage floor kit, don't get them confused. It is more common to see the garage kits at Home Depot/ Lowe's home improvement stores.

It is a 2 part epoxy kit that is tintable and very durable. You can apply "flakes" which give it a terrazzo tile look. A gallon covers about 200-250 square feet and I just looked, it is about $60 a gallon on Amazon. That makes it about .25-.30 a square foot. I know it has held up great for 15 years in my basement.

[Utah]

We found out that the previous owners did not actually repair some things we flagged,*****

If you purchased the house and requested this after your home inspection, they are the responsible party to fix it; NOT you! Get with your real estate agent