I have a question about subfloor and tiling.. our kitchen and dining room are connected, and our dining room has hardwood floor and the kitchen just has a lineolm currently.. we are remodeling our kitchen and tiling.. we know the correct thing to do is lay down a cement backer board, our question is, do we take up the current subfloor? im afraid if we dont that once we put the cement board down and then the tile down, THEN the kitchen floor will be higher than the dining room.. so, again, taking the current subfloor off, and just seeing the original floor boards that run diagonally (i know it does that from looking from the basement up).. and then lay the cement board on there, and then the tile, can that be done?? THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!!!!
Cement Board Underlayment
You need the subfloor for strength, you cannot pull it up. They do have a friendly moulding that also dresses up the area from the kitchen to the dining room, that stops you from tripping.
RE: cement board subfloor question? I have a question about subfloor and tiling.. our kitchen and dining room are connected, and our dining room has hardwood floor and the kitchen just has a lineolm currently.. we are remodeling our kitchen and tiling.. we know the correct thing to do is lay down a cement backer board, our question...
If you see diagonal flooring under the kitchen floor most likely there is hardwood floor under the vinyl. You can use 1/4 thick hardi-board or dura rock. With the tile thickness it will add about 1/2 to the height. Not much you can do about it. You can either use a wood transition strip or a marble sill to dress the transition. Be sure the floor is stable and secure before installing the cement board. Any flex in the floor will cause cracking of grout joints or tile over time. One more piece of advice. Use thinset mortar when tiling a floor, not adhesive.
What you need to do is remove the underlayment, not the subfloor. The subfloor is the flat structure consisting of either plywood or planks that holds everything up that's on the floor. The underlayment is a thinner sheet of plywood, OSB (oriented strand board), or MDF (medium density fiber board) used to provide a smooth and flat base at the correct level for the flooring. You're right. Unless you go down to the subfloor, the total thickness of your cement board plus your tile may raise your kitchen floor level above your dining room's. Use the thickness of your underlayment to control this height. You can get underlayment (lewan board) that's only 1/8 thick. Tear up a section of your underlayment to see what its thickness is and how thick the underlayment needs to be for your kitchen floor. Worst case, the cement board can serve as your underlayment. One thing to keep in mind is that the same subfloor that's under the dining room is also under the kitchen. If the dining room flooring is 3/4 hardwood, then you've got a lot of room to play with.
