I have removed carpeting from a basement slab on grade, no water problems. I now have an adhesive surface and the floor is not level. It has slight undulations in the concrete surface. What is the best way to treat this surface in order to apply the ceramic tile?
There are various brands of self leveling products that can be applied over the slab to fill in the dips. Go to a tile store, as opposed to home center, and talk to an experienced employee.
Tiling should be considered a project that starts with the sub-floor and ends with a sealer and cleaner. Different sizes and types of tile will required different underlayments, adhesives, trowel notch size, grout and grout spacing, etc.
While you might get lucky and find a home center employee that knows his/her stuff, the odds are better that you'll get more complete information and all of the correct materials from a tile shop. You also have a better chance of having a person dedicated to your project should you need help during the installation.
I've never noticed ceramic tile on a slab having much of a tendency to get up and run away. If you use the correct adhesive (ie. expensive), you can smear it on thick and then level the tile somewhat as needed. It ain't going anywhere and it sounds better with the thicker adhesive.
If your undulations are over a 1/2 inch then I suggest you level with the concrete leveling mix.
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