Can You Use Crment Board Under Ceramic Tile

However a homeowner may need to raise the floor slightly before installing tile and lack the experience or time to install a mortar bed.

Can you use crment board under ceramic tile. Installing over wood. Chipboard cushioned vinyl flooring particle boards of any type oriented strand board osb interior grade plywood tongue and groove planking and hardwood floors are unsuitable substrates for direct installation of ceramic tile. Thick board is unaffected by water making it a great substitute for a mortar bed. 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.

Cement backerboard is a thin layer of concrete with fiberglass mesh on both sides. Cement board is a type of underlayment that is now standard for most tile installations but particularly for floor tile. To install ceramic tile over wood the wood surface must be structurally sound enough to support the weight of the tile. Then you can use a thin membrane over that if you want.

This is a distinct advantage over plywood and drywall. It s available in sheets of many sizes with 3 foot by 5 foot sheets being the most common. Anything short of those two options is taking a risk. In this article we ll show you how to create a strong durable and waterproof tile base around your bathtub using cement board.

Cement board also provides an additional layer over a plywood or particleboard subfloor adding stiffness to the tile. Even the slightest amount of movement in a building structure can telegraph to the tile and crack it. In addition because showers and bathtubs are wet areas they need a substrate that will not be damaged by moisture just in case a crack in the tile or grout lets water through. The primary benefit of cement board is that it doesn t break down or expand or warp if it gets wet.

Placing cement boards over the concrete subfloor is an excellent way to create a solid and smooth subfloor. The other way to do it is to remove the planks and install 5 8 or 3 4 subflooring. Ceramic and porcelain tile more than almost any other surface material needs a stable flat flex free substrate. Do it yourselfers can use it too.

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. This is the industry standard most preferred by construction pros when installing ceramic or porcelain tile backer board comes in four foot by eight foot and three foot by five. Concrete is usually a good subfloor on which to install ceramic tile. Do it yourselfers can use either 1 2 or 1 4 inch cement board in certain applications while other scenarios mandate 1 2 inch board.

Cement board doesn t add to the structural strength of your floor. Cement board is an easily installed diy tile underlayment providing a stable dependable tile setting substrate while eliminating the complicated lath and mortar floating process.