Earthen floor on top of ceramic tiles

Hi,

Could an earhen floor be layed down on top of ceramic tiles (the kind that have a glassy finish like in a bathroom) ? Or would it be better to remove them to go back down to the concrete slab ?

Thanks for your input.

Glazed ceramic tiles would totally keep moisture from coming up through the concrete, if that is a possibility. They might give less friction bond between the earth and the base - whether this matters probably depends on how thick you are planning to make the earth layer.

Glazed ceramic tiles would totally keep moisture from coming up through the concrete

Is that a good thing? Or does an earthen floor need some moisture input from below ?

I was worried about the bonding between the two surfaces, it seems only a think layer would prevent cracks ?

Here is a photo of the floor :

hey, thank you for this thread.

i m in a somewhat similar situation. the concrete floor is painted with a glossy, plastic paint for floors. i am wondering, if one could add insulation under an earthen floor.


i m pretty sure that moisture from below is a BAD thing. i discovered that our concrete floor is slightly wet in one area and i m not sure if it s from below or condensation water.somewhere near that corner must be the sink hole for the roof-gutters, so i ll need to check that.

i would not assume that there is much bonding between eathen floor and glossy surface. but would you need that? i mean, an earthen floor is like one massive adobe brick that lays on the surface. if it s thick enough and has fibres, it would be sturdy.

would you have the time to try a small test batch?


have nice and blessed easter holidays!

I plan to do some tests on a small surface. I guess the underlayer of gravel usually used as a capillary break would be unnecessary in this case.

I'll report back with the results.

Happy Estear !

Did you try this out? What were the results? I'm considering doing the same.

Alex, I found this when I googled the subject
https://permies.com/t/2984/Earthen-floor-concrete-slab

Hi Bradley,

Welcome to Permies.  I notice that Alex has not posted in  any years.