Can You Install Ceramic Tile Over Plywood Subfloor

With the plywood in place install the backer board as you normally would.

Can you install ceramic tile over plywood subfloor. If the mortar bed is uneven or cracked apply a leveling or patching compound as needed first. If the subfloor doesn t have enough stability you can usually but not always remedy the situation by installing cement backer board also called cementboard. The mortar can cause these water sensitive glues to lose bond causing the plywood to delaminate and in turn causing installation failure. The installation of ceramic tile shall be performed in accordance to ansi a108 12 and instructions found on product information sheets.

Plywood and osb expand and contract with humidity and temperature much more than ceramic tile. 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. 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. Use intervening layers of two sheets of plywood.

While you can lay tile directly over a concrete slab using thin set adhesive don t make the mistake of applying tile directly to a plywood subfloor. You shouldn t do it. Add a layer of 1 2 in. Bc plywood over the old subfloor using construction adhesive and driving 1 1 4 in.

Use thinset with a higher latex content thinset is the wet base that you first trowel on the plywood to make the tile stick. No matter how firm the subfloor. This will cause either the tile itself to crack and even come loose or cause the grout to crack inside the joints. 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.

Ceramic tile doesn t expand contract nearly as much. If the old subfloor is covered with a thick bed of mortar that s in good condition you can tile over it. Custom products approved for use over plywood. If the subfloor is plywood install a layer of cement backer board on top before tiling.

Screws every 6 in. Installing ceramic floor tile to a plywood sub floor has unique challenges beyond that of installation on a concrete floor. The basic answer to whether you should lay ceramic directly over plywood or osb is simple. When installing a ceramic tile floor on a concrete subfloor you don t have to worry about flexing as long as the concrete slab is at least 1 1 8 inch thick which most slabs are.

Plywood or osb flakeboard can expand and contract at too high a rate to be a stable foundation for tile.