Ceramic Tile Subfloor Material

In basements and in homes with slab on grade foundations the subfloor may simply be a concrete slab.

Ceramic tile subfloor material.

For this reason ceramic and porcelain tile floors can be considered somewhat delicate despite the inherent strength of the material. This is why it s vital to evaluate the subfloor before you decide to install new tile. Check for dips in the floor by sliding a 4 foot to 6 foot straight edge in different directions all around the room. It sounds like your joists are well within the acceptable limits of l 300 so your main concern is the deflection of the subfloor between joists.

Tile floors are heavy and tile is a hard material. Materials such as vinyl and carpeting are flexible enough to tolerate engineered floor truss systems with larger joist spacings such as 24 inches on center. 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. It will break or dislodge if the surface bends under the load.

Without one even slight movement of a subfloor can cause grout lines to crumble and tiles to crack good underlayment also provides a waterproof barrier between the tile and the subfloor. A plywood subfloor must be structurally sound and able to support the installation. 2 prepare a wood subfloor for tile a successful tile installation project requires a level surface. The subfloor is the foundation beneath finish flooring materials.

Cement backer board can provide a solid flat surface to install tiles on if you have a wood subfloor. Laying tile on plywood. Because of issues of moisture movement and adhesion ceramic tile will work well with certain types of subfloor underlayment systems and can go dramatically wrong with other subfloor materials. With ceramic tile you also need to limit the deflection between joists which is a function of the subfloor thickness and how it is installed.

On wood frame floors the subflooring provides a continuous structural surface over the floor joists. Some form of subfloor is found beneath every type of floor whether it is hardwood carpet cermic tile natural stone vinyl or laminate and choosing the right subfloor material and installing it correctly is the key to a great floor that performs well and lasts for decades.