Laying tiles on plywood on the floor
The use of ceramic tiles to finish the floor is very popular. Such material is durable, practical and has an attractive appearance. However, in order to lay the tile, it is desirable to have a perfectly flat base. To achieve this, plywood is often used. The result is a flat surface, the tile is laid neatly and easily, however, if you know all the nuances of such work. Laying tiles on plywood on the floor has its own characteristics. It is about them and will be discussed in this article.
Why choose plywood
Some experts in the field of finishing works rarely use plywood. This material, in their opinion, does not have such strength as a concrete screed. But plywood has one indisputable advantage - it is simplicity and speed of installation. There is no need to knead the solution, pour it in and wait almost a month until the screed hardens. It is enough to lay the sheet, and you can continue to work.
It is very important to choose the right material. For laying tiles, you must use moisture-resistant plywood. Most often this turns out to be a veneered variety. It costs a little more than usual. It should also be remembered that the thickness of the sheet should be in the range of 20-30 mm. But otherwise, with the observance of all the rules, it is perfectly acceptable to use plywood as the basis for laying tiles.
Preparing the base for the tile
Before you start laying plywood sheets, you should do some preparatory work. Namely:
- remove old floor finishing;
- clean the base from dirt and dust;
- carry out sealing of cracks and joints of the floor with the walls. This is done using a sand-cement mortar;
- if the draft floor is wooden, then you need to cover it with an antiseptic;
- using the construction level to install beacons. Alternatively, a line can be used that is drawn on the wall around the perimeter of the room. It will display the level at which the plywood sheets should be installed.
For the installation of plywood used glue. With the help of a notched trowel, the glue mass is applied on the base in the place where the first sheet will be laid. The plywood itself before laying should be degreased and free from contaminants. After laying the sheet in place, it is tapped with a mallet and slightly moved from side to side. Such "maneuvers" will allow the glue to grab better.
The sheet must be leveled horizontally, checking the position of the building level. Adjust the position of the sheets can be using the thickness of the adhesive mass. If the irregularities are too large, you can use wooden blocks or pieces of plywood. But they must be firmly fixed on the draft floor.
After laying the first sheet go to the next. At the same time between them it is necessary to leave a gap.
Note! If laying is carried out in a warm room, then the seam width should be within 1-2 mm.
After gluing the sheet, holes are made in it for additional fixing with dowels to the concrete floor. The number of holes will depend on the size of the plywood, but there must be at least four of them. On a wooden base, plywood can be fixed with self-tapping screws.
It is sometimes difficult to find plywood of suitable thickness. In this case, you can glue two sheets. Such a foundation will be safer and will eliminate possible delamination of the tile.
The next step will be grinding and dusting. Then you should apply a primer. There should be at least two such layers. If the work is carried out in a room with high humidity (for example, in the bathroom), then a layer of waterproofing is required. After that, you can start laying tiles, of course, letting the primer dry.
How to lay
Now we will tell about how to put tiles on plywood on the floor. In principle, there are no special differences from the installation on a conventional concrete screed. Initially, the adhesive solution is kneaded, it can be a two-component or silicone-based. The volume of each portion should be enough for 1–1.5 m2 laid tile. Do not do more. The glue hardens in an hour, and during this time it will be possible to lay no more than one and a half square meters of tile.
Works can be started both from the far corner of the room and from the middle. Everything will depend on your skills and room configuration. But in any case, you should first perform the layout on the dry. Thanks to this, you can avoid a large number of trims.
Note! During laying should follow the horizontal. For this, a building level of at least one meter in length is used. So it will be more accurate. To align the tiles, you can change the thickness of the adhesive layer.
When laying use plastic crosses that are inserted between the tiles. With their help, achieve the same width of the seams.
After all the tiles are laid, it is necessary to wait until the glue mass is completely cured. As a rule, one or two days will be enough. Only after that you can start grouting.
Video
This video clearly shows how tile is placed on plywood: