I am tiling my kitchen and My house was a prefab. and OLD. The plywood used was 1/2 (I measured it). what thickness of backboard/cement board should I use for under the tile and on top of the plywood? I was thinking 1/2 backerboard/cement board so there is 1 of subfloor under the tile. Do you think this is enough? Also, I am tiling around my cabinets, what do I do about the dishwasher? Do I tile around it? If I tile under it, it won‘t fit in the spot then. I was going to tile around it... I do have room to tile under the fridge though. There is space above.
All tile hand book guide lines require a MINIMUM of 1 1/4 total substrate thickness to do ceramic flooring. This is both the ATC and TCA guide line. ( America Tile Council and Tile Council of America.) Should be fine won t cut it with ceramic , you need an additional 1/2 ply cross layed, glued and well nailed or screwed w/ no seams lining up . Then an additional 1/2 inch substrate . This using a cement board in most cases. This must be thin setted down and nailed or screwed in the proper fashion. You asked about the thin setting the cement board down, all I ll tell you is that I follow all recommended guidelines to be safe and I ve never had a problem.. The reason for this is because the thin set allows for no gaps , holes or spaces for movment of the cement board for a firm solide base for tile.. The refridge should be moved out during all this and then brought back in several days after the grouting is done to allow a little extra time to have the thin set dry more because of the extra weight .. As far as your dishwasher , your locking it in because of the flooring change..There you ll have to make some choices.. Any questions you can e mail me through my avatar and check my qualifications there.. GL
I would use a minimum of 1/2 inch cement board. How large are your joists are you sure you will not have any weight issues (you should be OK). Next try to jump up and down once in the middle of your floor, this will give you an idea of the flex you have in your floor. Too much and your tile will end up cracking. If you have too much flex, consider installing a floating floor instead, they make some that look just like ceramic tile but are synthetic. They are lightweight and will last almost as long as the tile would have. As far as your dishwasher is concerned, see how much adjustment is on your legs (the legs screw up and down- they are used to level the dishwasher). It is not always necessary to tile under the dishwasher, but you want to make sure you can still get it out in the future, they don't last as long as your tile will. You can just tile under the front panel, it is adjustable.
I am a tile repairman specialist. Use 1/2 thick backer board. the trick is that you install it with the cement screws that are made for that backer board. Never use dry wall screws. Remove the stove and refrigerator and tile by those areas. Do not tile under the dish washer, you may not be able to remove it at a later date. Tile up to the dish washer's removal panel, don't go pass it. Use a modified thinset mortar to tile your kitchen floor because of the high traffic. Glue will not support the floor and your tiles may crack in time.
This Site Might Help You. RE: Ceramic Tile Subfloor Thickness? I am tiling my kitchen and My house was a prefab. and OLD. The plywood used was 1/2 (I measured it). what thickness of backboard/cement board should I use for under the tile and on top of the plywood? I was thinking 1/2 backerboard/cement board so there is 1 of subfloor under the...
