How To Lay Ceramic Tile On Plywood Floor

Laying tile to veneer plywood risks loosening and unbonding the veneer creating an unstable base for the tile.

How to lay ceramic tile on plywood floor.

A thinner subfloor will cause the floor to flex due to the weight of the tile. Using a tape measure or digital laser tape measure the room from one wall to the opposite wall and note the distance. Install ceramic tile over a subfloor that s no less than 1 1 8 inches thick. 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. We have our large kitchen and hallway that was originally covered by 12 x 12 ceramic tiles on top of 3 8th inch plywood. The number of tiles you will need will depend on the size of the tile you wish to lay as well as the tile pattern you will like on the floor. Plywood or osb flakeboard can expand and contract at too high a rate to be a stable foundation for tile.

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. The floor tiles became loose cracked and ugly looking over about 2 decades of use. Thin set was used instead of glue or adhesive. Now the entire flooring of ceramic tiles needs to be torn out and replaced.

Installing ceramic floor tile to a plywood sub floor has unique challenges beyond that of installation on a concrete floor. Space the field and edge fasteners correctly the top layer of plywood should be screwed down every 8 inches on the edge and every 6 inches in the field or interior section.