Can You Lay Tile On Plywood Subfloor

As with a wooden subfloor a concrete subfloor must be level for successful tile installation.

Can you lay tile on plywood subfloor.

For residential use one form of underlayment the tile council of north america s handbook allows is plywood over joists that are 16 in. Loose areas on an existing plywood subfloor can cause peel and stick tiles to lift over time. First changes in humidity make solid wood shrink swell and cup more than plywood. Today s homeowner serves cookies to analyze traffic and better serve you.

It should be fastened to the subfloor using thinset and then screwed down every 10 square. Read this article from home improvement expert danny lipford to find out if you need to apply cement backer board before tiling over a plywood subfloor. Read on to find out more. The subfloor must be free of moisture damage including rot and sponginess and must be securely fastened to the joists and squeak free.

If you are working in an interior setting in a dry area where the tile will never come into contact with water you can install the tile directly onto the face of the plywood so long as you use the proper type of thinset. While tile can be laid on plywood do not install tile directly onto the plywood subfloor itself. There are two materials commonly used for laying ceramic on plywood or osb that are applied before the tile. The use of a plywood subfloor topped by cement backer board has made tiling much easier today than when i started my remodeling career.

The go to product is 1 2 in. The best method is to refasten the subfloor then add a layer of plywood. Additionally a steps must be taken to ensure that a concrete floor will create a solid bond. Concrete board concrete board also called backer boardcomes in 1 4 and 1 2 thicknesses and is usually sold in 4 x 6 sheets.

Use thinset with a higher latex content thinset is the wet base that you first trowel on the plywood to make the tile stick. Use intervening layers of two sheets of plywood. 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. But there are a few important considerations to take into account when tiling over a wood subfloor.

Walk across the floor to learn whether any areas feel soft underfoot and secure them with screws. Test by sprinkling water on various areas of the subfloor.