The first thing you ll want to do is check your plywood subfloor for any bending or deflection.

Tile over plywood vs cement board. Easy cutting and. Plywood vs cement backerboard underlayment flex and lippage. Instead of laying tile on a plywood subfloor it s better to lay a cement board on top of the plywood subfloor first. To install cement board on floors cement board manufacturers mandate a 5 8 inch plywood subfloor or osb underlayment.

For many decades the largest tile most people ever installed was around 8 inches. While it is possible to find very smooth consistent pieces of plywood most of these are reserved for. 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. Cement backerboard is made for tiling.

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. Cement board is a type of underlayment that is now standard for most tile installations but particularly for floor tile. There are two materials commonly used for laying ceramic on plywood or osb that are applied before the tile. Cement board also provides an additional layer over a plywood or particleboard subfloor adding stiffness to the tile installation to help prevent cracks.

However before you lay your cement board there s a little prep work that needs to be completed first. The safest most prudent course is to install tile on top of a cement backerboard such as durock wonderboard or hardiebacker. The primary benefit of cement board is that it doesn t break down or expand or warp if it gets wet. They also require a 3 4 inch subfloor where tile size exceeds 12 inches.

It should be fastened to the subfloor using thinset and then screwed down every 10 square. Uncoupling membranes aren t recommended for tiles smaller than 2 inches square and should not be used when covering old hardwood flooring due to adhesion problems. Concrete board concrete board also called backer board comes in 1 4 and 1 2 thicknesses and is usually sold in 4 x 6 sheets. This is a distinct advantage over plywood and drywall.

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