Can You Lay Ceramic Tile On Plywood Subfloor

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 no matter how firm the subfloor.

Can you lay ceramic tile on plywood subfloor. Plywood or osb flakeboard can expand and contract at too high a rate to. Space the field and edge fasteners correctly the top layer of plywood should be screwed down every 8 inches on the edge and every 6 inches in the field or interior section. How to install ceramic tile on sub floor. Concrete expands and contracts and that type of movement can also crack the tiles and the grout.

Laying tile to veneer plywood risks loosening and unbonding the veneer creating an unstable base for the tile. One question that folks new to ceramic tile frequently ask is whether they can lay the ceramic directly on top of a plywood or osb subfloor using a thinset cement or liquid nails to glue down the tile to the wood. 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. The plywood will expand and contract at a different rate as the tile causing cracks to develop in the grout lines or tiles over time.

No matter how firm the subfloor. A poor ceramic installation will delaminate from the subfloor split at the grout lines or worse crack directly across the tile. 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.