Ceramic Tile Directly On Subfloor

I can home from work last night to find that the contractor began tiling in the master bathroom and is applying the ceramic tiles directly to the existing subfloor.

Ceramic tile directly on subfloor. No matter how firm the subfloor. Planning and patience along with these tips will help ensure that you install the quality of finished flooring you are looking for. A number of different types of substrate are used for tile including plywood. 1 2 or try that schluter product.

My knowledge isn t vast but i would see this as a huge problem. 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. By the way use a mortar that is enhanced with latex. 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.

I am thinking of installing a ceramic tile floor in my kitchen. Is this floor strong enough to prevent cracks in the ceramic tile. The floor consists of 2 x 10 southern yellow pine floor joists 16 inches on center. You need a backer.

A poor ceramic installation will delaminate from the subfloor split at the grout lines or worse crack directly across the tile. One question that folks new to ceramic tile frequently ask is whether they can lay the ceramic directly on top of a plywood or osb subfloor using a thinset cement or liquid nails to glue down the tile to the wood. Installing over existing vinyl. Installing ceramic tile over vinyl or linoleum surfaces can be more complicated than expected and probably should be avoided whenever possible.

Mike i think your popping tiles is directly related to the sub floor. Osb panels provide an excellent base for many types of finished flooring including ceramic tiles if careful attention to the construction and preparation of the subfloor is paid in order to avoid costly callbacks. The subfloor is 3 4 inch plywood. While most floor tile these days is installed onto a layer of cement board or similar backerboard it is possible to lay tile directly over plywood.

Always follow the manufacturer s installation. 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. For this reason ceramic and porcelain tile floors can be considered somewhat delicate despite the inherent strength of the material. You can have the best mortar in the world but you re getting movement and moisture coming up and it will definitely pop those tiles every time.

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.