Ceramic Tile Over Plywood Subfloor

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.

Ceramic tile over plywood subfloor. 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. Subfloor with a crack isolation membrane under the tile. Concrete expands and contracts and that type of movement can also crack the tiles and the grout. 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.

The best method is to refasten the subfloor then add a layer of plywood. The tcna spec shows this detail with the tile bonded directly to the plywood but few tile experts recommend doing this. Another tcna method f147 uses a min. A number of different types of substrate are used for tile including plywood.

First changes in humidity make solid wood shrink swell and cup more than plywood. Plywood underlayment over a 3 4 in. 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. For this reason ceramic and porcelain tile floors can be considered somewhat delicate despite the inherent strength of the material.

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. No matter how firm the subfloor. 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. Because of issues of moisture movement and adhesion ceramic tile will work well with certain types of subfloor underlayment systems and can go dramatically wrong with other subfloor materials.

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. However you re not out of the woods. But a number of precautions must be taken to ensure a successful installation. 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.