Installing Vinyl Tile Over Plywood

Installing over wood.

Installing vinyl tile over plywood.

The plywood will expand and contract at a different rate as the tile causing cracks to develop in the grout lines or tiles over time. Vinyl isn t very thick and it is quite plastic. Our plywood is really old and cracked so i was concerned that it would be too absorbent so i chose not to mop the plywood but we always mop the concrete. The basic premise for any surface is the same.

A number of different types of substrate are used for tile including plywood. This means that over time it will conform to the shape of the floor beneath. Loose areas on an existing plywood subfloor can cause peel and stick tiles to lift over time. Vinyl flooring is usually not installed directly over the subfloor in residential applications.

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. Plywood underlayment is a thin plywood material that is most commonly used under resilient flooring materials such as vinyl and linoleum sheets and tiles. If the grout lines in the ceramic tile are deep you ll see and feel them under sheet flooring and if you choose to install preglued vinyl tiles they won t stick. How to lay self stick vinyl floor tiles.

The main caveat is that all vinyl formats call for a smooth subfloor including sheet vinyl vinyl tile and luxury vinyl planks and tiles. It can also be used under hardwood laminate and carpet but this is much less common these days because subflooring is typically smooth enough for these materials many of which are installed with a different type of underlayment or pad. If you re installing new plywood use galvanized screws to fasten it and countersink the screw heads. This means that you will see grooves in the vinyl where there are gaps between the plywood sheets.

In most cases 4 by 8 foot sheets of particle board or plywood must be installed in preparation for the vinyl floor install. On a plywood subfloor you need either a layer of cement backer board or an underlayment membrane like custom building products wonderboard and redgard between the subfloor and tile for the thin set adhesive to achieve a. To install ceramic tile over wood the wood surface must be structurally sound enough to support the weight of the tile. While most floor tile these days is installed onto a layer of cement board or similar backerboard it is possible to lay tile directly over plywood.

But a number of precautions must be taken to ensure a successful installation.