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Hi,
First time I’ve posted to the board.
I’ve got to lay some ceramic tile over an existing 3/4 inch plywood subfloor in a kitchen. The kitchen is roughly 175 square feet. I’ve seen an heard alot of people use cement board or woderboard to beef up the subfloor. Do I have to use it? It’s kind of expensive up here in Nova Scotia. I think a small sheet approximately 3′ x 5′ is about $35! What I’d like to do is use a 5/8 plywood to beef up the floor as its about 1/2 the price. Am I better off in the long run with the wonderboard? Also, there are a few hollows in the floor and I know you put down some thin set when applying the wonderboard which would really help fill in the hollows. Can I do that with plywood too?
Any help would be apprecited. I’ve got to try annd get it done before the end of the week.
Replies
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B,
Billy
*Ditto on the backer board. But $35.00? Even if that's Canadian dollars it's a heck of a mark up.
*B, Your post leaves a vacuum information wise. Do you mean the floor is flexing now? And you hope to cure the deflection by screwing wonderboard to it? It won't work long term, the grout will crack and maybe the tile too if it's flexing enough.You are thinking 5/8" ply would be better, with tile and thinset you are adding at least an inch and maybe more like an inch and a half to the floor height. Is this gonna work? If there's a dishwasher in there, you are about to seal it in for life & lower the countertops at the same time. Hope your clients are on the short side.Need more info, sounds like the beginning of a steep learning curve there in the North. $35 a sheet!! Yipe!! Might be time to go into the trucking business. JoeH
*Most tile installations use a mortar based product, simply for the purpose of bonding and adhesion. Tile bonds better to mortar then anything else. Most folks use Wonderboard (or a similar product) but Hardibacker and Denshield ar making huge inroads. I would recommend one of these three for your project. You will not be happy with tile thinset onto plywood, as plywood will expand and contract at a different rate than the tile, so you will see cracks fairly quickly. The product you use will have specific installation instructions as to attaching it and the thinset to use. Follow those instructions.If you must use plywood, then I would an expoxy thinset.
*Hi, To answer some of your questions, the tile is going in a new kitchen and no appliances or cbainets have been installed yet. As for the floor flexing, the floor isn't flexing but the thin set that I've used before recommends that you have a 1 1/2" subfloor. After the tile has been installed there probably will be a 1/2 transition between the kitchen and dining room. I'd like to use the wonderboard as it seems to be the best way to go but it's SO expensive up here.
*Why not do it the old fashioned way? Once you're sure the subfloor is up to spec, nail down some building felt, lath, and float 3/4" - 1" of mud (cement and sand)? It's solid, and the best way to go, and you won't be paying $35 / sheet of board. Then use thinset cement to secure the tiles.
*Plywood works fine for a kitchen. Unless; your frame is spanned to the max or has other issues, your sub-floor is weak, you use cheap plywood, you don't use a quality thinset with a latex additive, you mix the thinset wrong or use it too long, you somehow break the bond of the tile before it has set, etc, etc.Don't tell me you saw a bad floor tiled over plywood and blame the plywood, that is just a piece of the puzzle. I think we are splitting the hairs of quality here, Wonderboard isn't a magic fix for stupid.
*B HorneIf nothing is down yet take up the plywood subfloor and install 1x4 ledgers and install strips of 3/4 plywood between joists. Lay down builders paper and diamond lath and float mud. If you install plywood low enough you can float mud to level below adjoining floors and set tile to level. This is a lot of work but its a quality job.Tom C
*The going rate for 1/2" Wonderboard 3'x5' in Denver is $10. 1/4" Hardibacker 3'x5' also $10. The price you mentioned sounds more like a 4'x8' sheet. Maybe your supplier is reading the wrong price sheet? Have you checked with other suppliers?I do a lot of ceramic tile, and I absolutely refuse to put tile on plywood or greenboard. I've seen too many that cracked or rotted or just turned to mush.Troweling in a layer of mortar is a good alternative to backer board if you are ok with the time / cost trade off. Best to trowel it with wood so the surface remains gritty for a better bond to the tile mastic.Get it as flat as you possibly can so the tiles don't rock on ridges.
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Hi,
First time I've posted to the board.
I've got to lay some ceramic tile over an existing 3/4 inch plywood subfloor in a kitchen. The kitchen is roughly 175 square feet. I've seen an heard alot of people use cement board or woderboard to beef up the subfloor. Do I have to use it? It's kind of expensive up here in Nova Scotia. I think a small sheet approximately 3' x 5' is about $35! What I'd like to do is use a 5/8 plywood to beef up the floor as its about 1/2 the price. Am I better off in the long run with the wonderboard? Also, there are a few hollows in the floor and I know you put down some thin set when applying the wonderboard which would really help fill in the hollows. Can I do that with plywood too?
Any help would be apprecited. I've got to try annd get it done before the end of the week.