Installing Porcelain Tile Floor Subfloor

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.

Installing porcelain tile floor subfloor.

Concrete expands and contracts and that type of movement can also crack the tiles and the grout. However you re not out of the woods. Now the entire flooring of ceramic tiles needs to be torn out and replaced. You ll see how to complete each step and work the required tools such as trowels manual snap cutter wet saw and tile nipper.

It currently has linoleum in there. Second the strength of wood boards isn t always consistent. This guide will show you how to prepare your subfloor for a tile installation project to ensure that it s fit to support ceramic or porcelain tile. Laying tile on plywood.

Tile floors are heavy and tile is a hard material. 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. Preparing a subfloor is an essential step for installing floor tile it provides a level surface that will allow the tiles to properly stay in place. This will cause either the tile itself to crack and even come loose or cause the grout to crack inside the joints.

The most skillfully laid tile floor or wall can be ruined with a base that is not dimensionally stable. The floor tiles became loose cracked and ugly looking over about 2 decades of use. Plywood or osb flakeboard can expand and contract at too high a rate to be a stable foundation for tile. Thin set was used instead of glue or adhesive.

We have our large kitchen and hallway that was originally covered by 12 x 12 ceramic tiles on top of 3 8th inch plywood. For this reason ceramic and porcelain tile floors can be considered somewhat delicate despite the inherent strength of the material. Installing ceramic floor tile to a plywood sub floor has unique challenges beyond that of installation on a concrete floor. Watch our how to install ceramic and porcelain floor tile videos and learn the steps needed for a successful installation.

I am wanting to install 3 4 inch backer board directly over the linoleum and then the tile on top of that. It will break or dislodge if the surface bends under the load. I am wanting to install ceramic tile flooring in my upstairs bathroom in an old house. A plywood subfloor must be structurally sound and able to support the installation.

When installing tile having a solid and tight substrate that will not shift expand or contract is all important. First changes in humidity make solid wood shrink swell and cup more than plywood. Cement backer board can provide a solid flat surface to install tiles on if you have a wood subfloor.