Ceramic Tile Directly On Plywood

But a number of precautions must be taken to ensure a successful installation.

Ceramic tile directly on plywood. 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. No matter how firm the subfloor. Be mindful to use intervening sheets of plywood before putting tiles on it. It is more important as a subfloor than anything else.

Using intervening sheets of plywood. Glue called mastic is the least expensive method for installing tiles. You may also want to tile an outdoor shed or tile plywood boards for display. While some types of plywood can be used in certain types of tile installations use of the material has limitations.

Regular seasonal humidity shifts are significant enough to make the average 10 x 10 wood subfloor floor expand or contract as much as 1 2. Plywood and osb expand and contract with humidity and temperature much more than ceramic tile. Backerboard can double the thickness of an installation which can be troublesome in some locations. Ceramic tile doesn t expand contract nearly as much.

For the best results when tiling onto plywood floors follow these instructions. Using adhesives as per the tile you are wishing to place is. Clean and heavily score area to where tiles are to be fixed it sounds like the adhesive does not have a rough surface in which to secure itself to. A number of different types of substrate are used for tile including plywood.

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. Mastic adheres the tile directly to a wooden sub floor to a wooden back splash or onto a piece of plywood. If you re installing new plywood use galvanized screws to fasten it and countersink the screw heads. There may be times when you want to bond tile directly to plywood or another wood surface rather than screwing down backerboard first.

Loose areas on an existing plywood subfloor can cause peel and stick tiles to lift over time. Installing tile directly on the plywood can damage the plywood and your tile both. So it is better to put sheets of plywood before placing the tile on it. To be sure maybe drill up to 6 evenly spread out holes in the plywood at least 4mm deep or straight through in the areas to be tiled so the adhesive sinks into the holes and hardens hence creating a stronger fix.

For wall installations your real concerns are whether you want to use thinset directly on the wood and whether you are using an exterior or interior type of plywood.