Installing Marble Tile On Wood Subfloor

It uncouples or releases the bond between plywood and tile mortar allowing each surface to move independently of each other.

Installing marble tile on wood subfloor.

An uncoupling membrane does exactly what the name says. Cement based thinset mortar bonds the marble to the subfloor permanently and it prevents the marble from separating. It supports your decorative floor finish whether it s carpet hardwood vinyl laminate or tile. It is a good idea to put half inch plywood underlay to strengthen the floor before using modified thin set to put the tile directly on wood.

The notch trowel size depends on the tile type and size. If the subfloor is 5 8 or 3 4 you can probably apply tile directly to it with no problem. 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. Once the polished marble tile is set firmly in thinset there s reason to.

Concrete board is going to provide you with a very strong surface to put the tile on. Because most old homes only use 1 2 plywood or osb. First changes in humidity make solid wood shrink swell and cup more than plywood. For more information download our pdf about types of subfloors.

Clean out as much mortar from the grout joints as you can. You will need to use adhesive under the concrete board and then use nails or screws to adhere it to the wood subfloor. In addition uncoupling tile membranes prevent moisture from infiltrating surfaces below. A tight unmoving bond between mortar and subfloor causes cracking.

Subfloor preparation is similar cement board underlayment installed over a sturdy plywood subfloor is the best base for marble tiles just as it is with ceramic tile. A subfloor is the bottom most structural level of your floor. However you re not out of the woods. Second the strength of wood boards isn t always consistent.

Concrete expands and contracts and that type of movement can also crack the tiles and the grout. Installing tile over a wood subfloor is a lot easier today than it was when i started my remodeling career. When installing a ceramic tile floor on a concrete subfloor you don t have to worry about flexing as long as the concrete slab is at least 1 1 8 inch thick which most slabs are. Preparation for installing floor tile depends on the type of subfloor in the room you are tiling.

Large tile require a deeper thin set bed to make up for the minor adjustments in flatness of floor and tile. Check for complete coverage of thin set mortar by pulling up one tile it should cover at least 80 of the back of the tile.