Im faced with removing an old and putting a new floor in a kitchen. Tile is an option but tile plus backer board (even at 1/4″ each) would raise the new floor higher than the adjacent floors — something we want to avoid. Ive demoed a couple tile floors to find the thinset applied directly to the plywood subfloor. These floors were in good shape and 20 yrs old (just ugly).
Any thoughts on laying tile right on top of the plywood — just like in the “old days” before backer board?
Thx
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Replies
You need to assess your joist depth (size) and span before proceeding.
Ok, I'm safe now.............strip it down to the subfloor (the single layer of ply or t&g that is on top of the joists) and proceed from there.
I'd add ply, glued and screwed on top of that and thinset the tile down.
That's a short version.
You'll be hearing more soon.
Eric
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It's Never Too Late To Become What You Might Have Been
Well I'm old enough to remember the good old days, before backer board, and we never put tile directly on ply. We used a mud bed, a full inch and a quarter thick mud bed, which is what I still use today. It is dead flat, dead level and the best setting bed made.
If elevation is an issue, I often rip off the plywood and add the subfloor between the joists on ledger strips. Then lathe and mud above that.
Alternatively, you could use a membrane over the plywood. NobelCS, a PVC membrane or Schulter's Ditra, although the latter is quite expensive. The membranes are a 16th inch, Ditra is about an 8th.
Regards,
Scooter
"I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow." WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934