Laying Ceramic Tile Over Subfloor

This prepares and seals the surface for the.

Laying ceramic tile over subfloor.

Most floor tile is adhered to the subfloor or underlayment with cement based thinset mortar. Lay down a vapour barrier overtop the concrete pad then fasten 3 4 inch plywood using a ramset to the concrete pad. Ceramic tiling can be installed onto 23 32 osb subflooring panels where the panels are supported by 16 o c. Fill seams in the subfloor with caulk.

Installing ceramic tile over vinyl or linoleum surfaces can be more complicated than expected and probably should be avoided whenever possible. You will use the flat trowel to apply a thin layer according to the manufacturers specifications. In case of subfloors with large cracks consider the possibility of removing a large section of concrete slab and replacing it with a new one instead of patching all the cracks. While tile can be laid on plywood do not install tile directly onto the plywood subfloor itself.

Use thinset with a higher latex content thinset is the wet base that you first trowel on the plywood to make the tile stick. 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. Roll on a layer of latex primer sealer. No matter how firm the subfloor.

Tape off any affected vents with painter s tape. 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 couple options considered are. However if you can t remove the old surface or otherwise decide to install over it lay a backer board with thin set over the old surface to serve as your new subfloor material.

Check for dips in the floor by sliding a 4 foot to 6 foot straight edge in different directions all around the room. 6 18 width across the joint. Laying tile on concrete. The substrate for tiles shorter than 15 inches must be so flat that it varies no more than 1 16 inch per foot according to the ceramic tile education foundation.

Apply the crack suppression membrane over the joints of the boards. Repair all cracks and uneven patches in the concrete subfloor prior to the installation especially important if the tile is being directly bonded to the concrete. Use intervening layers of two sheets of plywood.