Can You Tile Over Plywood Underlayment

Never lay tile over these materials.

Can you tile over plywood underlayment.

Tile floors are beautiful durable and a fairly diy friendly option but for tile s good looks to really last it s vital to start with what you can t see the ideal underlayment. 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. If you find hollows and valleys you must fill them with a self leveling underlayment. Before you learn about the various grades of plywood and which are most appropriate for use as underlayment it is important to distinguish between an underlayment and subfloor.

Vinyl tile resilient vinyl and multi layer vinyl. Some subfloors are wholly incompatible with tile flooring and must be removed and replaced with a proper underlayment. Loose areas on an existing plywood subfloor can cause peel and stick tiles to lift over time. Plywood underlayment is a thin plywood material that is most commonly used under resilient flooring materials such as vinyl and linoleum sheets and tiles.

Though often used interchangeably the two terms refer to different components of a well structured floor design. If you re installing new plywood use galvanized screws to fasten it and countersink the screw heads. While you can tile over drywall walls the paper covering on drywall can tear destabilizing the tile. A successful tile installation project requires a level surface.

Fill seams in the subfloor with caulk. It can also be used under hardwood laminate and carpet but this is much less common these days because subflooring is typically smooth enough for these materials many of which are installed with a different type of underlayment or pad. But a number of precautions must be taken to ensure a successful installation. Even if you use a waterproof underlayment membrane the floor will still be either 1 4 or 1 2 higher than the subfloor plus the thickness of the tile and adhesive.

Most thinsets are designed to only work with a concrete or fiber board underlayment not with wood. Laying underlayment over an existing flooring. A number of different types of substrate are used for tile including plywood. While i prefer using 1 2 cement backer board over a plywood subfloor you may be able to get by with 1 4 backer board instead.