I was all set to tile my basement floor. I ripped up the old glued-down carpet and got off > 80% of the adhesive residue by renting a floor scraper.
I thought I was good to go, but I read on the thinset directions that water should not "bead up" on the concrete. This is to determine if the thinset will properly adhere to the slab.
My slab has a shiny finish to it. Almost like it has been polished.
Any ideas? I guess I'm back to putting new carpet down instead...
Not if you don't want to. Check out laminates and engineered wood that can go on a slab.
Two brands are
Really? I've read that laminates and engineered wood are some of the worst things to put in below-the-grade slabs. I've done the moisture test (tape down plastic and see if water condenses). Supposedly I pass. Yet I had lots of stacks of books on the old carpet in my basement, and the bottom book always felt sort of damp and grimy. Not wet...just grimy. Wierd...
I was in the same situation and used a portable version of the Blastrac to clean and roughen the entire floor. See it here:
A plastic barrier goes down first. I'm on grade and the engineered wood has been down about 13 months.
Moisture in the form of vapor will permiate through the cement floor. If you trap it with a plastic barrier there is no question that water will eventually form between the cement and the plastic barrier. It's not a matter of not having a problem to date as it is when will it finally show up. No problem with tile as the vapor manages to pass through. MLD
So I'm stuck either installing carpet (moisture can pass through), or grinding the concrete so that mortar will adhere to it?
You can put down a membrane and lay the tile on that. That is the way they do tile on new construction here.
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