Installing Ceramic Tile Floor On Plywood

Cement backerboard is made for tiling.

Installing ceramic tile floor on plywood.

Installing ceramic floor tile to a plywood sub floor has unique challenges beyond that of installation on a concrete floor. Backerboard does not shrink or expand when it comes into contact with water mortar and grout both contain water. Then press 1 of the tiles into the adhesive firmly. To install ceramic tile over wood the wood surface must be structurally sound enough to support the weight of the tile.

Apply adhesive to the floor with your trowel and smooth it. 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. Concrete expands and contracts and that type of movement can also crack the tiles and the grout. Plywood or osb flakeboard can expand and contract at too high a rate to be a stable foundation for tile.

Chipboard cushioned vinyl flooring particle boards of any type oriented strand board osb interior grade plywood tongue and groove planking and hardwood floors are unsuitable substrates for direct installation of ceramic tile. Installing over wood. Installing a tile floor in any of these rooms will give you an easy to clean waterproof floor that holds up against weather and wear. Tile floors are an attractive functional option for kitchens bathrooms laundry rooms and entryways.

The safest most prudent course is to install tile on top of a cement backerboard such as durock wonderboard or hardiebacker. 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. 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. Most tile manufacturers recommend installing a cement backer board instead of any other type of underlayment such as plywood.

A flexing subfloor results in cracked tiles and grout and a lot of headaches. This will cause either the tile itself to crack and even come loose or cause the grout to crack inside the joints. Make sure that there are no gaps behind the tile. Then put tile spacers on the corners of the tile and put another tile directly up against those spacers.

A thinner subfloor will cause the floor to flex due to the weight of the tile. At this point you are ready to start installing the tile.