How To Prepare Plywood Subfloor For Ceramic Tile

Wet locations such as bathrooms require the addition of a waterproofing layer.

How to prepare plywood subfloor for ceramic tile.

Wood building materials contract and expand at. First changes in humidity make solid wood shrink swell and cup more than plywood. Plywood underlayment in dry locations. Preparing your subfloor for tile in this video learn how to prepare a wood or concrete subfloor for tile including such steps as checking for dips installing backerboard applying primer and thinset pouring liquid underlayment and when to use osb or exterior grade plywood.

How to prepare a subfloor for ceramic tile. This will cause either the tile itself to crack and even come loose or cause the grout to crack inside the joints. Proper preparation of the subfloor is critical to the success of your ceramic tile installation. It will break or dislodge if the surface bends under the load.

A plywood subfloor must be structurally sound and able to support the installation. 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 backer board can provide a solid flat surface to install tiles on if you have a wood subfloor. Installing ceramic floor tile to a plywood sub floor has unique challenges beyond that of installation on a concrete floor.

The best method is to refasten the subfloor then add a layer of plywood. Space the field and edge fasteners correctly the top layer of plywood should be screwed down every 8 inches on the edge and every 6 inches in the field or interior section. 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. 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.

In residential use the tile council of north america specifically allows ceramic tile to be installed directly over 1 2 in. Tile floors are heavy and tile is a hard material. There s a caveat though.