Laying tiles on a wooden floor: is it possible to lay?

The vast majority of apartments, especially those built during the Soviet period, were equipped with wooden floors. But for rooms with a high operational load or high humidity - such as corridors, kitchens, bathrooms, showers, tile floors are more suitable. Ceramic tile (tile) is superior to wood in terms of durability and practicality. It is much easier to keep it perfectly clean. But will the tile lie on the wooden floor if you don't want to take it apart? Or is it not possible to do so?

What are the challenges of laying tiles on wood?

The installation of tiled floors requires a perfectly flat, fixed base. The tree is sensitive to changes in the microclimate of the room: it swells with excessive humidity, dries out and shrinks when used at high temperatures. Such a base is not suitable for tiles: it will crack or begin to “walk”. When using small tiles, cracks will go along the seams between the floor elements.

In turn, the wood is also uncomfortable under the ceramic layer. Wooden parts, devoid of natural ventilation, will become unusable much faster under the influence of dampness and microorganisms.

But modern materials and appropriate technologies make it possible to create an intermediate layer that allows you to lay tiles on a wooden floor.

Revision of the old coating

Before choosing a method for preparing the base for laying tiles, it is necessary to conduct a thorough inspection. The sequence of future work will largely depend on the condition of the old floors.

Under no circumstances should it be laid on newly erected wooden floors. They should be given at least two to three years to shrink. So in new buildings, tiles cannot be laid on wood. It is necessary either to wait, or to completely dismantle the floors and construct a fundamentally different foundation, for example, a concrete screed.

It should be noted that the tiled coating is laid for a very long time. Therefore, you must be absolutely sure that the elements of the old coating will last no less. It makes no sense to start fussing with tiles if it will soon have to be opened due to rotten base elements.

HELPFUL INFORMATION: Do-it-yourself technology for laying a warm floor under a tile

Professionals insist on a complete overhaul of old floors to find and replace all defective elements.

You need to check the status lag and the distance between them. It should not exceed 50 cm, otherwise the base may not withstand the weight of tiles, glue and other materials.

Strong boards that do not have visible defects can be used, but they must first be freed from the old coating: paint or varnish. You can do this in different ways:

Mechanical - clean off the coating with an abrasive tool: sandpaper, grinder, grinder with a special nozzle.
Thermal - heat the paint with a building hair dryer. It will swell and be easily removed with a spatula. Some craftsmen manage to use an ordinary blowtorch for these purposes, but we must remember about the possibility of fire.
Chemical - remove varnish or paint using various reagents. But the tree, having been saturated with them, will emit unpleasant odors for a long time, so this method is used very rarely.

Foundation preparation

So, you should carefully disassemble the wooden floors, assess the state of the log. Replace defective ones, add additional logs if necessary, securely fasten them and align them.

All elements of the wooden floor structure must be treated with an antiseptic. After it dries, you can update or replace the insulation. This may be a layer of expanded clay, mineral wool slabs or another type of thermal insulation. When laying, the recommendations for the use of the selected material must be observed.

Between the boards of the subfloor and the insulation, it is necessary to leave a space of 5 cm to create natural ventilation.

When mounting the flooring back, you should not fill the boards closely, but leave a gap of several millimeters between them so that the tree can breathe. A gap of 10 cm is left between the floor and the walls. Then it can be sealed with mounting foam.

The course of further work depends on the chosen method of preparing the base. The main ones are a lightweight screed device, use of plywood or polyurethane adhesives.

HELPFUL INFORMATION: Underfloor heating under tiles: which is better, reviews

Board base

The boards are impregnated with a latex-based waterproofing solution. Without waiting for it to dry, a painting reinforcing mesh is laid on the floor. In the future, it is additionally fixed with self-tapping screws.

A layer of mortar is applied to the floor surface, consisting of sand (2 parts), liquid glass (2 parts) and water. All components must be thoroughly mixed.

The tiles are fixed with a two-component polyurethane adhesive. It retains its plasticity after hardening, so that it will not only provide a secure fixing of the tiles, but also compensate for small fluctuations in the parts of the subfloor.

Lightweight screed

The meaning of this method is to create a solid and even base, not connected to the walls and wooden floor. This floating design will ensure the integrity of the tile flooring. The optimal thickness of the screed is 30 mm: a smaller one will not give sufficient strength to the base, a larger one will significantly increase the weight of the floor.

A layer of waterproofing is created. It can be rolled material: glassine, bituminous paper or even thick polyethylene. Often use waterproofing mastics or heated drying oil. In this case, reinforcement with fiberglass masking mesh is used.
A damper tape is glued along the perimeter of the room between the floor and the wall.
A thin metal mesh is attached to the waterproofing layer with self-tapping screws.
A 30 mm high screed is poured.

You can use a regular mortar of cement and sand, but it is better to use self-leveling mixtures: they dry much faster, and it is more convenient to work with them.

After hardening, the screed is primed, and then the tiles are laid in the same way as on a conventional concrete base.

Plywood base

Plywood sheets are used to create an even and solid base for tiles. not less than 10 cm thick. It is better to cut them into 4 parts. Laying is carried out, observing the following recommendations:

After impregnating the base with an antiseptic and laying a waterproofing layer, the plywood is fixed in a checkerboard pattern.
A compensating gap of 5 mm is left between the individual elements. In the future, it can be sealed with a sealant or foam.

HELPFUL INFORMATION: How to repair a parquet floor with your own hands

Plywood is also subject to thermal expansion, which is why a compensating gap between individual sheets is needed. And also a gap of 10 mm wide is left around the entire perimeter of the room.

Plywood is fastened to the base with self-tapping screws for wood, sinking the caps deep into the material, in increments of 15–20 cm.

The resulting surface is processed with a grinder along, across and obliquely. Then primed.
A waterproofing layer is formed from latex impregnation, paint mesh and liquid glass solution.
The tile is attached with polyurethane adhesive.

Plywood can be replaced with moisture-resistant drywall or gypsum fiber boards. The technology will not differ much, but it is worth using components designed specifically for these materials.

Laying tiles

Tiles are laid on wooden floors in the same way as on a concrete base:

Laying starts from the middle of the room or from the far corner opposite the entrance.
With lightweight screed or gypsum boards, it is recommended to use cement adhesive solutions, for plywood or boards - two-component polyurethane adhesive.

Glue should be prepared in small quantities and in strict accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations.
The correctness of laying each tile is immediately checked by the building level.

As a grout, it is better to use mixtures that contain silicone. This will increase the protection against moisture on the wooden base.

Excess glue or grout is removed from the surface of the tile immediately with a wet cloth. You can't let them dry out.

Comments:

Alyona

My husband and I also managed to lay tiles on a wooden floor 5 years ago. The work itself did not take much time, but very big troubles awaited us soon. Three years later, the floor completely rotted away and had to be urgently replaced. It would be better not to get involved in this case. After all, we enjoyed all the beauty for less than 3 years, and after that we incurred very large financial costs, and even spoiled a bunch of nerves for ourselves.

Answer
Arina

We had the same problem in our bathroom. The basic finishing of the floor in the bathroom leaves much to be desired. The tile was laid directly on top of the walking boards. As a result, all the tiles loosened in a couple of years and are now walking. We'll have to redo their work. But this is not such a simple type of repair, many friends with the same floor did not succeed. Apparently, such a technology is needed, as described in the article.

Answer
Yuri

From experience I can say that laying tiles on an ordinary wooden floor is such a chore that at times you really wonder why I started all this at all, because it takes a long time and a chore to lay. In general, if you try, then in the end you can get a very pleasant result, which will 100% please any owner, or simply turn to professionals.

Answer
Pasha

5 years ago, when they were renovating an old apartment, they also thought about laying tiles directly on the wooden floor. But the builders unanimously shouted that it would not be possible to lay it correctly. Apparently, they either did not know how, or did not want to work. As a result, the floors are covered with parquet, and the floor in the kitchen has been completely redone. Judging by the cost item, our option came out much more expensive than the proposed one.

Answer
Igor

You know, if, as it was written above, “professionals” have their hands where they need to and don’t burn in one place to quickly cut down money, this procedure is real. The only preparatory work is an order of magnitude more, therefore, such work is expensive. Tiles on a wooden surface, what is needed for this, everything is correctly described in the article, an intermediate layer is needed, the thicker the better, a good level, Ceresit glue and straight arms.

Answer
Basil

My wife had a fix idea: to make tiles in the kitchen under the working area (stove, washing machine, dishwasher, refrigerator, etc.), and laminate in the rest of the area. The house is old, the floors are wooden. She invited a master from an expensive company, he said that the floor of the norms could not be removed, and set to work. I made some kind of screed over the boards, but I didn’t go into it - the “professional” does work. A few days later, the coveted floor howled ready. And a few months later I was already tearing off the cracking and rebounding tiles with my own hands. As a result, I bought additional laminate and laid it on the rest of the kitchen. IMHO, an empty undertaking, it is necessary to remove the wooden floor in any case.

Answer
Oleg

A long time ago I had to lay tiles in an old house with high ceilings. Who knew how long the floor would last? The issue was resolved by installing metal structures in the grooves of opposite walls and arranging such a suspended floor or something. Concrete, of course, and only then they laid tiles on it. The height of the room is lost, but for more than 30 years the tile has been lying without damage! And this is in an old shaky house on the 4th floor.

Answer
Alexey1

I agree that this case, in fact, makes little sense. I, when I had such a situation, simply removed the laminate, and only then laid the tiles.Maybe someone really thinks that this will be the best for thermal insulation or something like that ... It's hard to say. But the fact is that I wouldn't do that. Just because I don't see the point. But it's really not hard to do this.

Answer
Vladimir

Laying tiles on a wooden floor is, in my opinion, complete nonsense! Maybe someone wants to use wood as thermal insulation? But then it is much easier to make a screed on the same expanded clay.

Answer
Igor

Here I will tell you for sure that this is not worth the candle. I was in a situation where I decided to put tiles on such a floor. It was still when I bought the house, and it was made of wood lined with bricks. Accordingly, the floors there are wooden. Replaced and tiled. After some time, the wood probably dried up and the boards began to play. And this, in turn, affected my tiles. She began to crack in these places. As a result, I had to take it all off and change it to laminate. I had such a bitter experience. So I don't recommend.

Answer
Sergei

I have experience with such a plan, and I can safely say that no screed will last long on a wooden floor. it will quickly crack, respectively, the tile will fall off the surface.

Answer
Yuri

It seems to me that it is best to really get rid of the wooden coating if possible, the advice here is good, but as previous commentators noted: a lot of hassle. It is easier to design concrete. coupler.

Answer
Kseniya

An absurd situation, no? the floors were of course not wooden, this is a complete order. And as it should be concrete, not lined with anything, an apartment in a new building. And there was such a corridor, four meters long and two wide. My brother wanted to lay a tile there, so that it would look like a chessboard. It is said that the tile was made large, as for me it looks more like some kind of admixture of plastic, and not like ceramics. And the specialist did, moreover, a friend. At first, everything was perfect cube to cube, I’ll immediately make a reservation that at that time we didn’t live there, repairs were underway, and we didn’t walk on it for more than a week, it dried up. After the advent, for some time they began to notice that the corners did not meet, but began to move out. It's hard to explain it in words. When the master was called, with the question of what it was, he himself was in shock, the only assumption that he could express. This is that the floor was not even and went in one direction at an angle. Visually, this is not visible, but he was obviously too lazy to check the level or did not think to check it. Then a few years later, the floor was covered with laminate, but how this tile was torn off, that was another story, both laughter and sin.

Answer
Zhenya

Perhaps it is possible to lay tiles on a wooden floor, but, in my opinion, too much hassle, and if the base is not properly prepared, the consequences can be unpredictable.

Answer
Ivan

Probably, if you wish, you can put tiles on the old wooden floor in such a way that it will normally lie for several years. But the risk is so great that it is hardly worth taking it. Polyurethane tile adhesive is not the cheapest technical solution, and it is not entirely clear how it will behave if the boards start to play more than when laying. Cement adhesive is not even discussed due to the abundance of moisture that gets on the floor boards.

Answer

Add a comment: