Plywood Underlayment Tile

Plywood used as underlayment for sheet vinyl flooring should also have a sanded smooth surface on the topside.

Plywood underlayment tile.

Basically you ll be making a sort of quot poor man s quot. Uncoupling membranes aren t recommended for tiles smaller than 2 inches square and should not be used when covering old hardwood flooring due to adhesion problems. Plywood underlayment is a thin plywood material that is most commonly used under resilient flooring materials such as vinyl and linoleum sheets and tiles. You can use it as underlayment for tile.

A 3 4 inch plywood subfloor on a joist structure with 24 inch spacing needs the extra thickness of cementboard or the floor will flex and the tiles will crack. In fact due to the problems that edge swelling creates underneath a finished floor a couple of national ceramic tile associations have discouraged the use of osb as a subfloor or underlayment. A final mark to check is the thickness of the plywood. If water seeps through the tile installation to the underlayment it will not cause the wood to swell as happens with interior grade plywood.

You do however have to properly prep the plywood before use though. Some professionals however will use plywood as thin as 1 4 inch for resilient flooring if the subfloor is in particularly good condition. Avoid using materials with distinct raised grain patterns which can affect the finish texture of the sheet vinyl. 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 good bond.

This guide will show you how to prepare your subfloor for a tile installation project to ensure that it s fit to support ceramic or porcelain tile. Exterior plywood is an acceptable underlayment for tile and is preferred to interior grade plywoods because the bonding adhesives used are waterproof. 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. X 47 75 in.