How To Tile Over Plywood Subfloor

While tile can be laid on plywood do not install tile directly onto the plywood subfloor itself.

How to tile over plywood subfloor. 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. Use intervening layers of two sheets of plywood. The old fashioned mud method of floating a thick mortar bed in preparation for the tile has given way to using cement backer board over a plywood subfloor. There are two materials commonly used for laying ceramic on plywood or osb that are applied before the tile.

No matter how firm the subfloor. Installing tile over a wood subfloor is a lot easier today than it was when i started my remodeling career. Concrete board concrete board also called backer boardcomes in 1 4 and 1 2 thicknesses and is usually sold in 4 x 6 sheets. Begin by applying the thin skin adhesive to the plywood with a smooth trowel.

Use thinset with a higher latex content thinset is the wet base that you first trowel on the plywood to make the tile stick. Once the surface is completely covered cover the adhesive with the fiberglass based paper and smooth out any wrinkles or bubbles with a broad drywall knife.