Discussion: Ceramic & Stone Tile Underlayments, by Bud Cline

Nice article Bud, I run into the" 1/2 cbu for strength all the time", even the so called tile pros here are still under the same misconception that cement backers add the necessary support for tile And when you tell em different they no likey

 

1/2" is bigger than a 1/4". It has to be stronger?

 

Great article Bud I know you have more in ya. How bout some more info I can sink my teef into Oh yeah, nice pic! For some reason I aways pictured you as a grumpy old man oke:

 

AMEN!!!!

Jerry...
There's more in the works but someone has to rattle some cages to get someone off his butt and moving in the right direction again.

 

I am just about to attempt to lay down some ceramic tile on a plywood underlayment. From what I've read, I must first seal the plywood, thereby preventing the adheasive from being absorbed into the wood.

I just read the discussion about using plywood as an underlayment...and its now making me think twice about using plywood.

will my attempt be successful if I use plywood?

Also, what size nails or screws should I use?

redraider2x1

 

There are many factors to consider when installing tile directly to plywood. Most importantly, you must have two layers of plywood, each of them 5/8" thick. Just as important is the joist size and span. A certain type of thinset must be used to adhere to the plywood.

Everything has to be perfect for that type of installation. I never install tile directly to plywood, I always use some type of tile underlayment (CBU or Ditra). The risk of failure is too great, and when it fails you lose everything, usually in an effort just to save the expense of the underlayment, which is not as much as what you'd expect.

 

redraider2X1,

HOLD ON A MINUTE!

Where did you get that information about "sealing the plywood"? That would be the last thing you would want to do.

As mentioned in the article, plywood as the ONLY tile underlayment isn't always the best idea.

No one can answer that question for you. Why not do as recommended and use a proper tilebacker?

ALL tilebacker products have installation information from the manufacturers available. All you need to do is to ask where you buy the product for the manufacturers written installation recommendations. All of the information is also readily available on line.

 

All of the manufacturers offer Data Sheets and Installation Recommendations on their respective websites.

 

CeraZorb - I've used this in many installations. Extremely easy to install and the benefits are amazing. Besides being really light weight and easy to carry to job sites it works as a crack suppressor and is also commonly used to help with foot fall noise its the best of both worlds. Highly recommended product