Tiling On Timber Floorboards

Checking for any creaking.

Tiling on timber floorboards.

I am wanting to install 3 4 inch backer board directly over the linoleum and then the tile on top of that. Tiling over wood wood in any form serves as a poor subfloor for ceramic or stone tile. Wood naturally warps twists swells and shrinks due to change in temperature or humidity. Tiling on floorboards in bathrooms is pretty commonplace because of this but getting this wrong can result in broken floor tiles and cracks appearing in the grout.

Have a good stomp around your room. Timber and non tongue and groove floorboards and chipboard are usually subject to large amounts of deflection movement and therefore cannot be tiled onto with even the most flexible of tile adhesives. Laying them directly on top of floorboards is a recipe for disaster because the timber underneath will force the tiles to move. Good luck with your project.

The best approach would be to remove the wood flooring and screw down a layer of 5 8 or thicker plywood followed by a layer of 1 2 cement backer board before laying the tile. 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. Lay plywood or hardie backer boards onto the floorboards first using a bed of tile adhesive to ensure a sound flat surface which you can then tile onto. It currently has linoleum in there.

This means you will need to strengthen the substrate first with either a levelling compound tile backer board or plywood. There are two main materials you can use for your overboard. Can you tile on wood floorboards. Plywood or backer board both.

I am wanting to install ceramic tile flooring in my upstairs bathroom in an old house. To install ceramic tile over wood the wood surface must be structurally sound enough to support the weight of the tile. Long answer to can i tile directly onto wooden floorboards. Floor tiles on the other hand are rigid.

Tile is hard and will break or dislodge if the surface bends under the load and many wood surfaces can expand or contract negatively. Unfortunately tiling directly to floorboards is not recommended. Use our guide below to learn how to tile onto timber floors. Some diy floor tilers try to get around this by using a flexible floor adhesive but report mixed results.

Natural timber shrinks and expands.