Can brick, stone, or marble tile / pavers be used on a floor with a basement underneath it, in a new house to be constructed?
As some of you have read before from me, in earlier questions, I am designing a house that it is unlikely to ever be built—but I started working on it to stave off depression and isolation during the Covid lockdowns—especially since January. This has become an all-consuming passion.
The house is almost doable except for all the extra things that typically come when planning an ideal house. What I am working on is kind of a rustic, vintage c.1900 farmhouse that was inspired by several that were in my family during my childhood and teen years.
Since houses of the 1888–1912 vintage were usually either on high foundations over crawl spaces, or had a full or partial basement underneath, it would not be suitable to build on a slab foundation.
I do, however, like the look of brick kitchen floors which were atypical of the Colonial period in America—and replicated in the various ‘Early American’ phases of the last century, such as the American Bicentennial (1976), I also like the black-and-white checkered floors of limestone and granite, or marble—the more formal ones in vintage entryways of houses and old apartment buildings—and more rustic ones in other rooms such as kitchens.
Most of these floor types come in pavers that can be applied to a subfloor. While far from lightweight, ideally a floor could be made strong enough to support them.
But would it seem unnatural to have a crawl space or basement beneath them? And what about the settling and shifting of a house as seasons change and traffic flows through and the house is lived in?
Is the only option to stick with standard hardwood and floor tiles?
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9 Answers
It’s quite possible. You just need to make sure your plans account for the weight. I know of several floors that have stone and marble tile over crawlspaces.
Sure. I had tile in parts of my house over a crawl space. People use tile on second floors, which is basically the same as being over a basement.
Yes. Make sure to verify that your supports can handle your live load and dead load numbers. You might want 2×10 instead of 2×8 beams if the pavers are particularly thick and heavy.
I have tile in my kitchen and it is above a full basement. The tiles sit on HardieBacker cementing boards which helped make the floor perfectly flat.
I’ve owned 2 colonial houses; one from 1720 and the other 1765. Both had wide “pumpkin pine” wood flooring, like this through-out the house including the kitchen. Had to replace a board or two and had to go to a sawmill that could have been in the Smithsonian. It had a pit saw for sawing the board and timbers.
I agree with the others about weight load on a floor, also the floor would tend to be cold (especially on a slab) and “no mercy” on glassware and dishes.
Check with a reputable building contractor for building options.
It can be done. As @Lucky noted above, you want to make your live load and dead load numbers are compatible with the support system. You may want to consult an architect or architectural engineer if the project ever appears to be approaching reality.
The others will tell you you can do this, and you can, I just wanted to beg you not to. Unless, you aren’t ever actually going to build it, then have at. Don’t use brick (or tile) for a kitchen floor. Your feet and knees will thank you for getting something softer.
Thanks for the tip, @Smashley
For the kitchen floor, since you pointed this out, I am going with cork flooring.
It usually is made to look like hardwood, but sometimes patterned like tile or linoleum, and feels soft underfoot like vinyl. Planned carefully it can give the custom vintage / rustic look of something more like tile or vintage linoleum. Plus, its a green / natural product.
Thanks for the warning about brick, stone and tile being hard on the knees and joints. I may use ceramic tile or honed marble in other rooms that don’t see much traffic,
I can’t imagine it. I looked into having my stairs ceramic tiled. I had no idea how much weight that would be. The engineer said the entire stairwell would have to be rebuilt to finish it in tile. I can’t imagine what a brick floor would require.
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