Laying Tile On Subfloor

Cost skill level start to finish 1 day.

Laying tile on subfloor.

Use intervening layers of two sheets of plywood. Add a layer of 1 2 in. Additionally a steps must be taken to ensure that a concrete floor will create a solid bond. Use thinset with a higher latex content thinset is the wet base that you first trowel on the plywood to make the tile stick.

Don t lay tiles on a concrete slab with cracks that appear to be spreading or irregularities that prevent you from leveling it. The kitchen is 20 22 and we re going with 16 16 tiles. Before beginning remove tiles from the different boxes and randomly mix them to ensure that minor color differences don t form an unwanted pattern in your new floor. 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.

First make sure you have prepared the subfloor properly before you begin laying tile. This will impact how well your tiles adhere to the subfloor. For more on prepping the floor read prep a tile floor. We intended on laying 1 2 cement board over the subfloor prior to installing all of the tile but were told by the main tile guy for the builder of our home that we don t need to install the cement board in the kitchen.

An uncoupling membrane disconnects tile from its concrete subfloor and prevents cracking in the slab from being transmitted upward to the tile job. T square drill pencil circular saw. When laying tile onto backer board wet the backer board using a spray bottle filled with water before spreading the thin set. Test by sprinkling water on various areas of the subfloor.

Bc plywood over the old subfloor using construction adhesive and driving 1 1 4 in. The plywood adds stiffness and stability to the floor. While tile can be laid on plywood do not install tile directly onto the plywood subfloor itself. The experts show how to install the subfloor in a bathroom.

Spray the backer board as you work otherwise the backer board will soak up water from the mortar causing the mortar to dry too rapidly. Screws every 6 in. As with a wooden subfloor a concrete subfloor must be level for successful tile installation. 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. With the plywood in place install the backer board as you normally would. We re preparing to install tile in our kitchen and bathrooms. Before installing a tile floor a subfloor and underlayment is necessary.