Ceramic Tile Over Wood Underlayment

Due to the brittle nature of the tile it is important to make certain that the floor system is as stiff as practically possible.

Ceramic tile over wood underlayment.

If water seeps through the tile installation to the underlayment it will not cause the wood to swell as happens with interior grade plywood. Prepare a wood subfloor for tile a successful tile installation project requires a level surface. If you find hollows and valleys you must fill them with a self leveling underlayment. Ceramic tile over wood structural panel floors wood structural panels have been used successfully under ceramic tile for decades.

This means you can have a 3 4 inch wood subfloor covered by 1 2 inch plywood cement board or approved gypsum fiber underlayment. Trowel able and pourable underlayment a number of trowel able and pourable tile underlayment options are available. Backer board this is the industry standard most preferred by construction pros when installing ceramic or porcelain. Ceramic tile over wood tile concrete or vinyl should be installed by using appropriate products that will allow the right adhesion between surfaces.

If the subfloor is 5 8 or 3 4 you can probably apply tile directly to it with no problem. Always be sure the existing surface has been cleaned and leveled. Because most old homes only use 1 2 plywood or osb. Check for dips in the floor by sliding a 4 foot to 6 foot straight edge in different directions all around the room.

Tile installed over wood floor systems must have a minimum of 1 1 4 inches of solid material beneath it. Exterior plywood is an acceptable underlayment for tile and is preferred to interior grade plywoods because the bonding adhesives used are waterproof. Other common types include cementboard or tile backer used under ceramic or stone tile foam underlayment used under laminate and engineered wood floating floors and rosin paper used under solid hardwood flooring. Cork underlayment roll for ceramic tile stone marble and engineered hardwood model 72008q 127 76 127 76.

If the wood backsplash is firmly attached 3 4 is plenty thick to screw backerboard into or you could remove the existing backsplash and screw the backer through the drywall and into the studs.