Ceramic Tile Over Wood 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.

Ceramic tile over wood subfloor.

Tile installed over wood floor systems must have a minimum of 1 1 4 inches of solid material beneath it. Use intervening layers of two sheets of plywood. Hope you didn t like your beautiful new tile floor. It can also require that doors be trimmed and trim moldings reinstalled to accommodate the height changes.

First of all tile definitely should not be put down over a wood sub floor. However there is a new product by schluter called the ditra system. To install ceramic tile over wood the wood surface must be structurally sound enough to support the weight of the tile. It allows the tile layer to move independently of the subfloor so expansion and contraction caused by moisture and thermal gradients won t cause the grout or tiles to crack.

First changes in humidity make solid wood shrink swell and cup more than plywood. It is an orange colored membrane designed as a backer for tile. An extra layer of ceramic tile adds substantial thickness to the flooring layer. It won t allow moisture from the subfloor to weaken the bond of the tiles to the floor.

Try laying tile over 1 2 durock or hardie and see what happens when the joists are 19 2 or 24 on center. While tile can be laid on plywood do not install tile directly onto the plywood subfloor itself. A membrane is easier to install than cementboard. Second the strength of wood boards isn t always consistent.

Tile can be installed over a plywood substrate and it is actually a fantastic way to make sure you don t have deflection in your floor. This means you can have a 3 4 inch wood subfloor covered by 1 2 inch plywood cement board or approved gypsum fiber underlayment. Chipboard cushioned vinyl flooring particle boards of any type oriented strand board osb interior grade plywood tongue and groove planking and hardwood floors are unsuitable substrates for direct installation of ceramic tile. This may be a problem if it creates a noticeable offset to adjoining floor surfaces such as between a ceramic tile kitchen and wood floor dining room.