Tileing a floor over wood flooring (ceramic tile)?

Question

ok i have older house and the floor in the living room and dinning room are hard wood floors. and i am going to be puting ceramic tile down and was wondering what i should put over the wood flooe to make the thinset motar stick to the wood. sme ppl said lay cement board "durock" down i am just wondering of a chepping and les complicated way

Answer 1

You need to lay cement board. Anyone who tells you that you don't has not a clue what they are talking about.

I just replaced the floor in my kitchen because the people before me laid a ceramic tile floor directly to a hard wood floor. The hard wood was so rotted I could push a s***w driver right through it. The sub floor was also rotted.

Lowes sells a board that comes in 3 x 5 sheets. It is better than cement board. It screws in place. Then you put down you mud and lay your tile. It is completely waterproof and easier to use than cement board.  I'm sorry I don't remember the name of it, but I think it was just called ceramic tile under lament.

By the way my floor came out great and I've had people ask me to lay their floor for them.

Answer 2

Laying  tile over a hardwood floor even w/ a cement board is NOT a recommended way of installing tile!! the movement you can get between the hardwood and subfloor can cause enough deflection  to break the bond ..When it come to laying tile I can t under stand why people always want to go the "easiest " way.You don t cheapen out when doing it.. It s to much work and costs to much to redo so don t skip steps.. The American Tile Council doesn t recommend this way either.. GL    

  PS If their hardwood either refinish or rip them out to do tile

Answer 3

Plywood (or OSB grid side up). Thickness depends on how uneven floors are, but 11 or 12 mm would sound about right.

(seems a bit of a travesty but it's your house).