Floor Tile Installation Subfloor

Preparing to install floor tile.

Floor tile installation subfloor.

A plywood subfloor must be structurally sound and able to support the installation. Every good floor tile installation starts with a rigid flat and smooth subfloor. Before you install sheet vinyl the subfloor must be in good. The most important part of a tile floor installation is prepping the subfloor.

It supports your decorative floor finish whether it s carpet hardwood vinyl laminate or tile. Laying tile on plywood. Sanford creative perhaps more than any other flooring material ceramic and porcelain tile need a stable subfloor because any flexing or other movements will crack the tile grout and maybe even the tiles. This will cause either the tile itself to crack and even come loose or cause the grout to crack inside the joints.

If you have a plywood or osb subfloor install a water resistant cement backer board as your underlayment. Cement backer board can provide a solid flat surface to install tiles on if you have a wood subfloor. Tile floors are heavy and tile is a hard material. A subfloor is the bottom most structural level of your floor.

Plywood or osb flakeboard can expand and contract at too high a rate to be a stable foundation for tile. First make sure you have prepared the subfloor properly before you begin laying tile. Preparation for installing floor tile depends on the type of subfloor in the room you are tiling. 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.

Durable tile floors look sophisticated and are great for wet areas. Preparing your subfloor for tile in this video learn how to prepare a wood or concrete subfloor for tile including such steps as checking for dips installing backerboard applying primer and thinset pouring liquid underlayment and when to use osb or exterior grade plywood. For more on prepping the floor read prep a tile floor. Installing a tile floor is the perfect project for a bathroom renovation.

The use of a plywood subfloor topped by cement backer board has made tiling much easier today than when i started my remodeling career. For more information download our pdf about types of subfloors. Concrete subfloors typically don t require backer board. Mix tiles from all the boxes so that minor color differences from each dye lot won t be noticeable.

How to prepare a subfloor for vinyl flooring. But there are a few important considerations to take into account when tiling over a wood subfloor. It will break or dislodge if the surface bends under the load. Measure the area to ensure you have enough tile.