Ceramic Tile Over Wood Subfloor Installation

Build a structure of 2x3 s with 8 inches of space between the boards.

Ceramic tile over wood subfloor installation.

First changes in humidity make solid wood shrink swell and cup more than plywood. If installing over an appropriate wood surface sand the wood to make it smoother and remember that the installation will work better over a subfloor at least 1 1 8 inches thick. Lay down inch exterior plywood and screw into the 2 3 s every 8 inches. 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.

While tile can be laid on plywood do not install tile directly onto the plywood subfloor itself. If you must install over such surfaces it is best to install a backer board over the old surface and install the tile on the backer board. Second the strength of wood boards isn t always consistent. Use intervening layers of two sheets of plywood.

Laying tile on plywood. The 2 3 s would be standing up on their side so. A plywood subfloor must be structurally sound and able to support the installation. Tile floors are heavy and tile is a hard material.

Try laying tile over 1 2 durock or hardie and see what happens when the joists are 19 2 or 24 on center. 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.