How To Install Ceramic Floor Tile Over Plywood

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.

How to install ceramic floor tile over plywood.

Here are the basics of how to install bathroom tile on plywood. No matter how firm the 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. But a number of precautions must be taken to ensure a successful installation.

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. Installing ceramic floor tile to a plywood sub floor has unique challenges beyond that of installation on a concrete floor. Plywood or osb flakeboard can expand and contract at too high a rate to be a stable foundation for tile. To install bathroom tile over plywood you ll have to follow a series of steps.

Step 1 measure. With this patented new technique ron s friend shows us how to build a strong base and then prepare it using the tavy thin skin system so that the tile is as strong. Installing over wood. Laying tile over a plywood subfloor can be a bit tricky but if you take the time to prepare the sub floor properly you can enjoy a new tile floor that will last for a lifetime.

While most floor tile these days is installed onto a layer of cement board or similar backerboard it is possible to lay tile directly over plywood. 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. A poor ceramic installation will delaminate from the subfloor split at the grout lines or worse crack directly across the tile. To install ceramic tile over wood the wood surface must be structurally sound enough to support the weight of the tile.

Start by measuring the room. 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. This will cause either the tile itself to crack and even come loose or cause the grout to crack inside the joints. A number of different types of substrate are used for tile including plywood.