Installing Marble Tile On Wood Subfloor

For more information download our pdf about types of subfloors.

Installing marble tile on wood subfloor.

Tiles are glued down with a thin set adhesive a mortar based product that now is the standard for ceramic and stone tile products. Cement based thinset mortar bonds the marble to the subfloor permanently and it prevents the marble from separating. An uncoupling membrane does exactly what the name says. It supports your decorative floor finish whether it s carpet hardwood vinyl laminate or tile.

Installing tile over a wood subfloor is a lot easier today than it was when i started my remodeling career. 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. 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. You will need to use adhesive under the concrete board and then use nails or screws to adhere it to the wood subfloor.

A tight unmoving bond between mortar and subfloor causes cracking. Because most old homes only use 1 2 plywood or osb. It uncouples or releases the bond between plywood and tile mortar allowing each surface to move independently of each other. A subfloor is the bottom most structural level of your floor.

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. 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. The notch trowel size depends on the tile type and size. If you are working with a wood subfloor you are going to need to install concrete board before you can put the marble tile in.

According to backer board manufacturers and tile setters installing backer board directly over an old solid wood subfloor is risky for a couple of reasons. 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. Large tile require a deeper thin set bed to make up for the minor adjustments in flatness of floor and tile.

However you re not out of the woods. Clean out as much mortar from the grout joints as you can. In addition uncoupling tile membranes prevent moisture from infiltrating surfaces below. First changes in humidity make solid wood shrink swell and cup more than plywood.

Concrete board is going to provide you with a very strong surface to put the tile on. If the subfloor is 5 8 or 3 4 you can probably apply tile directly to it with no problem.