Ceramic Tile Over Plywood Floor

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.

Ceramic tile over plywood floor.

The tile industry recommends a sub floor of at least 1 1 4 thick. Plywood underlayment is a thin plywood material that is most commonly used under resilient flooring materials such as vinyl and linoleum sheets and tiles. Now the entire flooring of ceramic tiles needs to be torn out and replaced. The floor tiles became loose cracked and ugly looking over about 2 decades of use.

To install ceramic tile over wood the wood surface must be structurally sound enough to support the weight of the tile. 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. Keep in mind when building up the thickness of your sub floor to overlap the seams of the different layers of plywood as this will also help stiffen the floor. Thin set was used instead of glue or adhesive.

We have our large kitchen and hallway that was originally covered by 12 x 12 ceramic tiles on top of 3 8th inch plywood. 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. A number of different types of substrate are used for tile including plywood. 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.

As the plywood or osb expands the ceramic won t. But a number of precautions must be taken to ensure a successful installation. Plywood and osb expand and contract with humidity and temperature much more than ceramic tile. It can also be used under hardwood laminate and carpet but this is much less common these days because subflooring is typically smooth enough for these materials many of which are installed with a different type of underlayment or pad.

If there is too much deflection in your sub floor then tiles may pop loose over time.