Ceramic Tile Subfloor Options

This tile is composed of sand which is fired at high temperature and pressure.

Ceramic tile subfloor options.

Oriented strand board osb and other porous manufactured boards are not recommended for the subfloor because they absorb moisture and will expand and contract. Manufactured in the usa the basement subfloor tile is designed to create a floating underlayment base providing a barrier separating the concrete and the finished floor. Because of issues of moisture movement and adhesion ceramic tile will work well with certain types of subfloor underlayment systems and can go dramatically wrong with other subfloor materials. Ceramic tiles are very strong but when they re installed on a surface that isn t sturdy and rigid you ll end up with cracked grout joints and broken tiles ruining the look and water resistance of the floor.

Creating a bed of mortar is an older method of setting tiles on a concrete. When installing a tile floor a layer of cement backer board is usually put down over a plywood subfloor to provide a firm stable surface. Is this adequate to install new 12 x 24 inch porcelain tiles. For ceramic tile the tile council recommends using joists that are 16 inches on center a 3 4 inch thick plywood subfloor and a 1 2 inch thick cement backer board or concrete slab.

You have a number of choices when it comes to the ideal underlayment for ceramic tiles. Since it isn t porous porcelain tile is more water resistant and harder than ceramic but it is harder to cut. For this reason ceramic and porcelain tile floors can be considered somewhat delicate despite the inherent strength of the material. We took up old ceramic tile original with a 20 year old house and found no cement board or other underlayment material underneath.

However i did find that the previous installer had put another sheet of 1 2 plywood over the 3 4 inch plywood subfloor. 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.