Tile Subfloor Options

If you find hollows and valleys you must fill them with a self leveling underlayment.

Tile subfloor options.

Check for dips in the floor by sliding a 4 foot to 6 foot straight edge in different directions all around the room. Janseptember 22 2009 at 4 40 pm. Once properly in place and cured the tile can be installed. If the structure is adequate the use of a cement based floor patch that allows for the needed height may be the best choice.

The following backer boards are commonly used for tile flooring in wet or dry areas over wood subfloors. 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. A tapered piece of plywood may be difficult to fabricate and may not offer the support required for a good installation. The subfloor is the foundation beneath finish flooring materials.

In basements and in homes with slab on grade foundations the subfloor may simply be a concrete slab. Concrete backer board durock and wonderboard which is the standard material for tile underlayment. On wood frame floors the subflooring provides a continuous structural surface over the floor joists. Backer board this is the industry standard most preferred by construction pros when installing ceramic or porcelain.

Barricade is one such example. It is important to distinguish the components of a flooring system in order to understand the best installation. A plywood subfloor should be a minimum of 5 8 thick depending on joist spacing topped by 1 2 cement backer board. Fill seams in the subfloor with caulk.

For tiles and 1 5 sq. Trowel able and pourable underlayment a number of trowel able and pourable tile underlayment options are available. 2x2x1 125 inch tiles with osb wood on top and closed cell polystyrene insulation xps on the bottom. Rubber tile or rubber sheets 3 8 sq.

For sheet rubber in rolls. If you want a tile floor that isn t cold underfoot put down a basement subfloor before you install your tile. Subfloor systems eliminate the cake layer approach and give you all layers fused into tiles that can be attached to each other at a higher price than the methods above. Underlayment for ceramic tile floors.

Concrete backer board has a solid concrete core and both sides are faced with fiberglass.