Ceramic tile is considered an ideal material for walls and floors of rooms exposed to moisture and temperature extremes. This is usually a kitchen, bathrooms, baths. True, the process of laying it is fraught with certain difficulties, due to the need for an appropriate foundation and some experience of similar work with a home master. As for the second, here skillful hands and desire to come to the rescue by all means will come to the rescue. But regarding the foundation - a moot point. It is impossible to do without proper knowledge, all work must be carried out in accordance with the requirements of the technological process, non-compliance with which is fraught with the fact that as a result the floor covering will turn out to be of poor quality and will not be able to perform the necessary functions. In principle, to date, repairing your own hands is an occupation that can even be said to be fashionable, so many home craftsmen in this regard have at least rudimentary knowledge regarding the technology for carrying out certain works. Nevertheless, sometimes there are situations that confuse the originality of the question. For example: “Can I put tiles on a wooden floor ?” You must admit that this will not occur to everyone, because, as a rule, ceramics are usually laid on a concrete base. And not on wood. However, sometimes there are still situations when it is literally vital to put tiles on a wooden floor - in a bath, for example, or in the kitchen of a private house. What to do in this case? Is it just a whim of the owner who does not understand anything in the finishing work, or is this really possible? Let's try to answer this difficult question. So, can tiles be laid on a wooden floor?
About ceramics and wood compatibility
In principle, here you can do just a few words. These two materials are almost incompatible. And they can be “made friends” with each other only by creating special conditions. The tree cannot tolerate the instability of the temperature background, constantly changing its size with its changes. It is easy to imagine what will happen with ceramics, under which, so to speak, lumber lives its own special life, being in constant motion. The tile, of course, will begin to crack, move away from the base, chips will appear on it under the influence of loads. In turn, a tree tightly “packed” under ceramics will not be able to receive much-needed air, because of which it will begin to rot and deform. In general, it turns out a kind of vicious circle. Is it possible to break it? How to lay a tile on a wooden floor in a bathroom or in a kitchen to the owner of the same private house, who can no longer watch without tears how his wooden flooring becomes less and less attractive every day from constant exposure to moisture or temperature changes? Let's say right away: this can be done. But you need to do it only if there are really good reasons, because the procedure for preparing a wooden base will take a lot of time, in addition, it will require very substantial expenses, effort and money. Ready to part with both the first and second? Well, good luck. As they say, nothing is impossible. If you really want, why not try. True, you will have to thoroughly study the process technology and choose the option suitable for your case.
When the procedure is impossible
Our home masters are sometimes rather capricious and stubborn. That man needs ceramic tiles on a wooden floor - and that’s it. And the last one was mounted recently, the house was almost populated the other day. Here is the option when, unfortunately, you can’t please yourself. In any case, such an undertaking will have to be abandoned. Because the new wooden floor covering will be acclimatized for at least three years, getting used to unusual conditions, and give shrinkage, the end of which must be waited for. And only then to carry out the plan.
A few words about the basic foundation
So, what does the asset have as a base, the one who set out to put tiles on a wooden floor? We have already said that the new coating is not subject to such an arrangement. So, as a base, the home master is likely to have three types of flooring. This is a worn out and lost attractiveness board lying on relatively strong logs, a floor made of plywood or fiberboard, also causing discouragement in its appearance, but still amenable to reincarnation, and a relatively strong, in normal condition plank coating, which requires laying of tiles due to prevailing circumstances. Regardless of which option is available, the home foreman will have one task: to create a strong and even base suitable for laying ceramics. The difference will be the type of repair work and its scope. Therefore, before putting the tiles on the wooden floor - in the bathroom, bathhouse, hallway, kitchen, it doesn’t matter - you need to carefully study the existing base and choose the appropriate preparation method. Actually, there are two of them. It is dry lining and wet. But in any case, you need to remember one thing: to put the tile on a wooden floor without screed and thorough preparation of the foundation will not work. As a matter of fact, difficulties, especially those created by oneself, will have to be overcome in any case. And to make it easier for the home craftsman, we will further describe in detail all the training options.
Dry leveling
Its principle is to create an additional draft layer for the cladding on an existing foundation. This can be done by installing sheets of plywood - necessarily moisture-resistant - directly on the existing "native" base, creating additional flooring on the logs with a gasket between the old and new insulation floors and using ready-made sets of adjustable floors that are mounted on top of an already worn base. In addition, today there is another material at the disposal of those who wish to lay the tiles on the wooden floor - GVL-boards. They not only successfully replace plywood, but also, thanks to their special composition, will contribute to the creation of a normal microclimate for the boards of the base base.
Pros and cons of the dry method
This option for leveling the floor under the tile is considered the most common. Which is not surprising, since it has a lot of advantages and only one drawback. The first is primarily the speed of work. It is possible to level the floor in this way quickly enough, without breaks between stages, which most often inhibit the repair process. In addition, if the option with lags is selected, then due to the laying of a heater it is possible to significantly increase the insulating quality of the surface. Well, the third plus is the creation of a minimum load on the old floor, which is not already distinguished by special qualitative characteristics . As for the minuses, it, as we have already mentioned, is only one - this method of leveling “eats” the height of the room. Therefore, in rooms with low ceilings, it is sometimes impractical to use it.
Wet Way
In fact, this is the same screed, the difference of which is that it is made on a wooden surface and with some reservations. The latter include the fact that, firstly, it should be lightweight (no more than three centimeters) due to the not very good condition of the wooden floor and its inability to bear significant loads, and secondly, they do not have it over the entire surface, but with gaps around the perimeter. Such a peculiar floating option. Thanks to this trick, the ceramic coating will not suffer from the movement of wooden elements, which in any case cannot be tempered in any way.
Advantages and disadvantages of screed
Here, in principle, everything is quite arbitrary. An unconditional advantage of the method can be considered that it practically does not affect the height of the room, and a huge minus is that the procedure itself is quite lengthy, requiring significant breaks between stages. But sometimes those who are looking for an answer to the question of whether it is possible to lay tiles on a wooden floor do not have to choose. If the screed is the only acceptable option, then you have to put up with temporary losses.
Well, now that we have dealt with the theory, we will pass directly to the process itself.
Old floor preparation
Whatever the leveling method the home foreman would prefer, the old plank base in any case requires preparation. It will not be possible to lay the tiles on the wooden floor in the bathroom, and even in a room less exposed to moisture without preliminary repairs and cleaning of the base surface.
First of all, you need to check the integrity of the floorboards and the lags themselves. If any elements become unusable, they must be replaced. Then you need to remove all the paint. If you plan to make additional flooring on the logs, then the basic leveling is not required, if you use plywood, GVL, chipboard or a wet screed, you have to arm yourself with a grinder and carefully remove all the humps. Then the old floorboard should be treated with antiseptic and water-repellent impregnation. Existing cracks should be putty if possible. And then be sure to drill the ventilation holes. And only then proceed with alignment.
Leveling process without screed
In principle, there is nothing complicated. If additional flooring is created on the logs, then first the supports are installed with a 30 cm pitch between them, then a heater is laid, after which everything is sewn up with moisture-proof plywood. If it is planned to level the prepared board base with just plywood or GVL sheets, then they are attached directly to the base surface with self-tapping screws. All the resulting seams and cracks around the perimeter must be repaired. Foam is great for these purposes. At the end of installation work, the new surface is primed. Experts advise not to save and purchase "Concrete Contact".
Note!
An important point! If the master decided to put the tile on the wooden floor in the bathhouse with his own hands or in the bathroom, that is, in those rooms that are most exposed to moisture, then before leveling it is necessary to lay a waterproofing layer on the plank surface. It can be thick polyethylene, and bitumen paper, and roofing material.
Pouring screed
In this case, regardless of the room in which the work is carried out, a waterproofing layer is required. After that, a reinforcing mesh is placed on it, and along the perimeter of the room they mount the sides of a special tape, which in the language of experts is called the damper. Remember, we mentioned that the screed should not be monolithic, but floating? This limiter will create the necessary conditions. After that, you can pour any suitable mixture for the screed. It is best, of course, to take a leveling compound. After drying (it is necessary to take at least two weeks to this process), the surface is primed. On this, the question "can I put tiles on a wooden floor" is considered closed. Now you can. What, in fact, is the time to start after the primer dries.
Laying tiles
So, how to put a tile on a wooden (see the photo of the final result below) floor? Yes, exactly the same as on the usual concrete base. Now, after proper preparation, there will be no problems. The only nuance to which you should pay attention: it is better to buy tile glue not ordinary, but stronger, intended for porcelain tile.
Choose the most attractive styling scheme (traditional, diagonal, brick, etc.) and proceed to the process. If you select a diagonal, then start from the center. If the other way is from the most prominent angle so that the clipping is not noticeable. The adhesive is applied directly to the base, the rows are laid strictly under the control of the level. Try to keep the glue layer not very thick, as it creates an additional load on the already insufficiently strong base, which is a wooden floor. After laying, grouting is carried out. You can do this a day after the end of the whole process.
Conclusion
What conclusion can be drawn? As we found out, you can put tiles on a wooden floor. The main thing is to competently carry out all the necessary preparatory work and create a reliable and even foundation for the tile.