Tile Over Wood Floor Installation

Cut the backerboard to fit the edges of the room with a carbide tipped scoring tool.

Tile over wood floor installation.

Chipboard cushioned vinyl flooring particle boards of any type oriented strand board osb interior grade plywood tongue and groove planking and hardwood floors are unsuitable substrates for direct installation of ceramic tile. Tiling over an uneven surface will give you less than stellar results so level out any globs of dried grout with a sander and secure loose tiles with fresh tile adhesive before beginning the project. First determine how much tile you will need for the job. Floor tiles usually should be laid over a strong underlayment of cement board or treated plywood.

Still you may need to tile directly over an existing hardwood floor for instance to avoid raising the floor level significantly relative to an adjacent floor. How to install vinyl tiles over a wood floor. Installing tile over a wood subfloor is a lot easier today than it was when i started my remodeling career. Sand the wood floor make sure it s thoroughly clean and dry until it s as smooth and even as possible with no bumps or rough areas.

Although installing tile over a wood floor is slightly more complicated than installing tile directly over concrete the project can be completed with a little bit of work and a few extra steps. If the hardwood flooring is composed of narrow boards with a very smooth flat surface you could leave the flooring in place and screw cement backer board down on top of it before applying the tile. Lay down 1 2 inch thick cement backerboard over the wood subfloor or hardwood. Before installation carefully remove the baseboard along the walls.

To install ceramic tile over wood the wood surface must be structurally sound enough to support the weight of the tile. Installing over wood. Photo by mary cook pros of wood look tile. You shouldn t tile directly over hardwood flooring since it can expand contract and cup due to seasonal changes in temperature and humidity.

In comparison real hardwood flooring costs an average 5 to 10 per square foot with installation running an additional 4 to 8 per square foot. Step 1 determine how much tile you will need. The old fashioned mud method of floating a thick mortar bed in preparation for the tile has given way to using cement backer board over a plywood subfloor. Check out the basics below to get started.