Installing Vinyl Tile Over Plywood

How to lay self stick vinyl floor tiles.

Installing vinyl tile over plywood.

Installing over wood. The basic premise for any surface is the same. This means that over time it will conform to the shape of the floor beneath. 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.

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. A number of different types of substrate are used for tile including plywood. 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. This means you want the sub floor to be as smooth as possible.

If you re installing new plywood use galvanized screws to fasten it and countersink the screw heads. Vinyl flooring is usually not installed directly over the subfloor in residential applications. Because you can install sheet vinyl over existing vinyl it offers the option of changing design without breaking the bank. Vinyl isn t very thick and it is quite plastic.

But a number of precautions must be taken to ensure a successful installation. 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. 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. No matter how firm the subfloor.

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. The main caveat is that all vinyl formats call for a smooth subfloor including sheet vinyl vinyl tile and luxury vinyl planks and tiles. To install ceramic tile over wood the wood surface must be structurally sound enough to support the weight of the tile. Loose areas on an existing plywood subfloor can cause peel and stick tiles to lift over time.

Plywood underlayment is a thin plywood material that is most commonly used under resilient flooring materials such as vinyl and linoleum sheets and tiles.