Tile Over Plywood Subfloor

For this project we are using the tavy thin skin system to prepare the surface for tile.

Tile over plywood subfloor.

Begin by applying the thin skin adhesive to the plywood with a smooth trowel. Fill seams in the subfloor with caulk. Thinset is the wet base that you first trowel on the plywood to make the tile. Once the surface is completely covered cover the adhesive with the fiberglass based paper and smooth out any wrinkles or bubbles with a broad drywall knife.

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. A successful tile installation project requires a level surface. Cement board is inexpensive 10 or less for a 1 2 thick 3 x 5 sheet easy to install and sufficient for most installations. Tips for laying tile on plywood subfloor for flooring use intervening sheets of plywood.

No matter how firm the subfloor. Second the strength of wood boards isn t always consistent. Void free underlayment grade panels which both stiffen the existing floor and provide uniform support to prevent cracks in the tile above. Use thinset with a higher latex content.

For residential use one form of underlayment the tile council of north america s handbook allows is plywood over joists that are 16 in. It should be fastened to the subfloor using thinset and then screwed down every 10 square. If you find hollows and valleys you must fill them with a self leveling underlayment. 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 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. Uncoupling membranes aren t recommended for tiles smaller than 2 inches square and should not be used when covering old hardwood flooring due to adhesion problems. The go to product is 1 2 in. First changes in humidity make solid wood shrink swell and cup more than plywood.

The old fashioned mud method of floating a thick mortar bed in preparation for the tile has given way to using cement backer board over a plywood subfloor. While tile can be laid on plywood do not install tile directly onto. Use the right. A 3 4 inch plywood subfloor on a joist structure with 24 inch spacing needs the extra thickness of cementboard or the floor will flex and the tiles will crack.