How To Install Ceramic Tile Over Plywood Floors

Concrete board concrete board also called backer board comes in 1 4 and 1 2 thicknesses and is usually sold in 4 x 6 sheets.

How to install ceramic tile over plywood floors.

Check for dips in the floor by sliding a 4 foot to 6 foot straight edge in different directions all around the room. If you find hollows and valleys you must fill them with a self leveling underlayment. Once you ve set the tile out and imitated the grout size with spacers go ahead and cut the edge tiles with a carbide wheeled tile cutter. It should be fastened to the subfloor using thinset and then screwed down every 10 square.

Once you have filled the space place the sheet down onto the thinset. This is a mixture of cement fine grain sand and water that will adhere the new tile to the old. Lift one sheet leave the rest in place and spread thinset directly onto the subfloor filling the area left by the sheet use a 1 4 x 1 4 notch trowel. Fill seams in the subfloor with caulk.

Also consider that doors cabinets and other hardware might need to be reworked or replaced with new ones to compensate for the higher floor. While tile can be laid on plywood do not install tile directly onto the plywood subfloor itself. Try laying tile over 1 2 durock or hardie and see what happens when the joists are 19 2 or 24 on center. When it comes to mortar latex or epoxy options are best for installing tile over tile.

Tile can be installed over a plywood substrate and it is actually a fantastic way to make sure you don t have deflection in your floor. Use a thin set product to install ceramic tile over existing tiles. Mix your thinset according to the instructions on the bag. Use intervening layers of two sheets of plywood.

Use thinset with a higher latex content thinset is the wet base that you first trowel on the plywood to make the tile stick. Hope you didn t like your beautiful new tile floor. A successful tile installation project requires a level surface. Install the sheets one at a time.