How To Install Ceramic Tiles On The Plywood Subfloor

Laying tile over a plywood subfloor can be tricky but if you prepare the sub floor properly your tile floor will last for a lifetime.

How to install ceramic tiles on the plywood subfloor.

While you can lay tile directly over a concrete slab using thin set adhesive don t make the mistake of applying tile directly to a plywood subfloor. No matter how firm the subfloor. The plywood will expand and contract at a different rate as the tile causing cracks to develop in the grout lines or tiles over time. It will break or dislodge if the surface bends under the load.

The coach demonstrates how to install a 3 8 plywood subfloor in a bathroom. This old tile grout was cracked along the seam in the plywood subfloor. Plywood substrate alternatives. Need to install a subfloor.

Backerboard does not shrink or expand when it comes into contact with water mortar and grout both contain water. Laying tile over a plywood subfloor can be tricky but. One question that folks new to ceramic tile frequently ask is whether they can lay the ceramic directly on top of a plywood or osb subfloor using a thinset cement or liquid nails to glue down the tile to the wood. The plywood floor does have a few gouges in the surface from pulling up the old tile.

A poor ceramic installation will delaminate from the subfloor split at the grout lines or worse crack directly across the tile. Plywood must be installed over an. Cement backerboard is made for tiling. Plywood or osb flakeboard can expand and contract at too high a rate to be a stable foundation for tile.

Remember that you need a very flat surface to work on. 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. The bathroom is small 25 sq. A plywood subfloor must be structurally sound and able to support the installation.

Tile floors are heavy and tile is a hard material. This will cause either the tile itself to crack and even come loose or cause the grout to crack inside the joints. Installing ceramic floor tile to a plywood sub floor has unique challenges beyond that of installation on a concrete floor.