Is it possible to lay an entire ceramic floor and then build walls and nail them down through without cracking

Question

I am finishing my basement. I am tiling the whole floor and figure I could do it in half the time if I could do the whole area open. Then I would like to put up the walls, but is there any way to do it without cracking all the tiles, thanks.

Answer 1

You COULD do what you are talking about and just glue the interior partition walls to the tile floor. Interior partition walls are secured to concrete floors all the time in buildings with hydronic heat (in floor hot water heat).

Eventually the tile will need to be replaced, or someother issue will come up such as cracks, replacement waterline, sanitary system maintenance. So if the floor is installed below the walls that would cause problems.

Just to give you a heads up there would be NO code infractions by doing what you suggest.

So it's really up to you, but it would NOT be good building practice.

PS - I am a building code enforcement officer, in Alberta, but all codes in Canada are "based" upon the National Building Code.

Answer 2

first of all you probably wont save anytime, since after tiling you will need to pre-drill through the tiles for the walls. I am not sure if you could secure the walls adequately to the floor with the tiles in the way. Also you will have to be extra careful when you building the walls not to damage the tiles on the floor, people cannot drop anything heavy on the floor and you may scratch the tile surface during construction. I do not see any benefit from installing the tiles before the walls.

If you must do it since the basement walls are no load bearing you could probably attach the wall to the joists, this would allow you to create a small space between the tile and the bottom of the wall, however this would put tremendous strain on the joists.

short answer is it is better to have walls and then do floor

Answer 3

They missed a step....Use a good clear silicone caulking in the 'crack' where tile and grout meet wall. Otherwise, if for example, someone showers and gets water on the floor, it will get into this area, go under the tile and start to ruin the flooring under the tile. Mold and mildew can also grow in these wet areas. Molding trim only covers the edge of the tile giving it a neater more finished appearance, but it's still cosmetic...to protect, you need to seal or caulk around the outer edges of your flooring. You will also need to use a sealant on the grout between your new tiles as well, or the same problem can occur, as grout is porous and can absorb water and soapy liquids which then go down into the underflooring, and different liquids can stain the grout.

Answer 4

I'm sorry to tell you but no. When your going to attempt a large remodeling job such as the one you discribe you just can't try to do it the easy way or out of order. I'm sure your putting a lot of money into your project. Now if you didn't do some research before attempting a large and hard job on your own you might as well mail that money to me. I could do something usefull with it and not just waste it. I'm gonna let you know I'm a female, but my dad had a formica business that I helped him with. And now that he's turned that business over to my brother he's become a landlord. He has money so he buys real fixer upper houses. So because I work with him still as an adult together we've done just about every kind of renovations you can think of. Now my dad is a perfectionist and can be impatient with me. But when we do the extra hard work in doing it right, when we're finished you get such a sense of pride. Now with you, since this is your own home I promise the extra work you do now will pay off in spades for as long as you live there. And you get all the bragging rights in showing all your friends what a great job you did. But be careful, because after they see the great job you did on your home you'll soon find yourself being asked for advice and help on others home projects. Help when you want but don't let your ego get the best of you or you'll work yourself into an early grave. And you don't want that, you want to live to a ripe old age. Because they longer you live the longer you can enjoy your home improvements and allways have that feeling of a job well done.

Answer 5

Building codes call for certain methods for good reasons...
Check with a local contractor that can explain how the walls need to be attached and why... even the cosmetic walls you are talking about.
You probably won't want to try this when you understand how portions of a structure affect each other and the safeguards you need to pay attention to 'Just in Case' the building shifts or who knows what. Life happens! Do it by the book and you won't regret the additional time spent!

Answer 6

Your best bet would be to drill at grout lines, instead of going through tile, if you're determined to lay the tile first. If you lay a sill on top of the tile and then toe-nail the studs, that's going to be a lot of impact to the tile underneath, which could cause problems that'll be hard to fix, since you won't be able to get the time out whole.

Answer 7

To put up the walls you would need to put nails into the concrete flooring for the frame. and put the nails into the concrete you will need some heavy duty nail gun.
this will definately damage the tiles. rest everything will not harm your tiled flooring if you work cautiously.
what i would suggest is to put the frames up for the walls and then do the tiling. you will still have a relatively clear space to work in without worrying about the tiles.

Answer 8

I don't think it's possible.

One way might be to drill down through the tile and screw the wall down through those holes, but I can only imagine that that would negate any time savings you realized by tiling first...

Answer 9

You will no doubt crack the tiles. Consider using silicone sealant to glue it down. This will also make it so you could change the walls without damaging the tile.

Answer 10

Not a chance. Walls first--floor last.