Applying Ceramic Tile To Wood Subfloor

Preparing a subfloor is an essential step for installing floor tile it provides a level surface that will allow the tiles to properly stay in place.

Applying ceramic tile to wood subfloor. Wood subfloor measure and cut 1 4 inch or thicker plywood with a circular saw to fit the entire floor of the room where you are installing vinyl flooring. However you re not out of the woods. Concrete expands and contracts and that type of movement can also crack the tiles and the grout. Because most old homes only use 1 2 plywood or osb.

Before you install your plywood subfloor first calculate the room s square footage to find out how much flooring you ll need to buy. It is a good idea to put half inch plywood underlay to strengthen the floor before using modified thin set to put the tile directly on wood. First changes in humidity make solid wood shrink swell and cup more than plywood. If the tile is being installed in a bathroom consider applying an isolation membrane over your wood subfloor to further protect against expansion and contraction.

According to backer board manufacturers and tile setters installing backer board directly over an old solid wood subfloor is risky for a couple of reasons. Plywood substrate alternatives. Loose areas on an existing plywood subfloor can cause peel and stick tiles to lift over time. The safest most prudent course is to install tile on top of a cement backerboard such as durock wonderboard or hardiebacker.

Do this by multiplying the room s length by its width. The goal is to have a wooden subfloor. If the subfloor is 5 8 or 3 4 you can probably apply tile directly to it with no problem. If installing over an appropriate wood surface sand the wood to make it smoother and remember that the installation will work better over a subfloor at least 1 1 8 inches thick.

The tiles broke way too easily so i was suspicious and when removing the pieces of tile i found wood rot which caused a hollow effect under these tiles tile over wood subfloor. The key to a beautiful long lasting hardwood or laminate floor is a well prepared subfloor. Backerboard does not shrink or expand when it comes into contact with water mortar and grout both contain water. When installing a ceramic tile floor on a concrete subfloor you don t have to worry about flexing as long as the concrete slab is at least 1 1 8 inch thick which most slabs are.

This guide will show you how to prepare your subfloor for a tile installation project to ensure that it s fit to support ceramic or porcelain tile. Cement backerboard is made for tiling.