Laying ceramic tiles on a wooden floor. How to lay tiles on a wooden floor: an overview of basic installation options

09-11-2014

Ceramic or tiles are very popular as wall and floor coverings. This finish is beautiful, durable, and easy to clean. Laying tiles is not difficult; with some skills, you can do it yourself. Tile finishing is especially common household premises, kitchens, bathrooms, that is, those places where maintaining cleanliness is especially important.

Laying tiles yourself will cost much less than the work of a master.

There are no problems with a cement-concrete base, given the availability of modern adhesives, grouts, and installation tools.

What advice can you give to owners? wooden houses who decided to decorate with ceramic tiles wooden floor or tiled bathroom walls?

Why is it difficult to lay tiles on wood?

The question is whether it is possible to reliably lay tiles on wooden base, causes a lot of controversy among specialists and amateurs. The fact is that wood is a living material, under the influence of atmospheric moisture or gravity wood covering slightly changes its size, becomes deformed, and then, when the action of the deforming factors ceases, returns to its original form.

If you lay tiles, for example, directly on the floorboards, then they will inevitably burst or bounce off over time, unable to withstand constant, albeit small, stretching and compression. But there is a way out. Craftsmen have developed several rules that allow you to lay tiles on wooden surfaces with minimal risk. These rules take into account different types tiles and various surfaces.

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How to lay tiles on a wooden floor?

Ceramic tiles cannot be laid on a new wooden floor. This process can only be carried out after 2-3 years, when the intensive shrinkage of wooden structures ends.
To prepare the base for ceramic tiles, you need to create a flat, almost motionless surface. This can be achieved using a variety of methods, depending on what flooring is available. If the boards are deformed and underground space small, it is better to remove the old boards, fill the gaps between the joists with insulation and make a high-quality cement-concrete screed.
If this option is not suitable, you need to inspect the wooden structures, replace damaged logs and boards and impregnate all the wood special means from rotting. Then on top of the old one flooring sheets of moisture-resistant plywood, chipboard, OSB are laid. They are attached to old boards with self-tapping screws. To ensure that the surface is the same in height, the laying of sheets is constantly monitored using a level and, if necessary, they are placed wooden slats. The joints between the sheets are insulated with silicone sealant.
A so-called technological gap is left between the walls and the new coating. Wood-based materials, although to a lesser extent than boards, swell with increasing air humidity, so the base for the tiles is made “floating”, and after installation the gap is closed with a plinth.
Some experts advise making the base for the tiles not from wood chips, but from sheets moisture-resistant plasterboard or its varieties gypsum fiber boards. This material is more environmentally friendly and is not subject to deformation or rotting at all.
A novelty in the construction industry are polymer floor leveling mixtures. They are also used to create a base for ceramic tiles. As indicated in the instructions, they can also be used on wooden surfaces. Only if you are going to make a layer of leveler more than 10 mm, should you lay a plastic reinforcing mesh on the floor.
After preparing the base, it is sanded if necessary, treated with a primer compatible with tile adhesive, and allow to dry. Then the tiles are glued. Moreover, most experts advise using a special two-component polyurethane adhesive composition characterized by elasticity.

Floor base made of ceramic tiles– a practical option for wet rooms. This is explained by its high performance characteristics - aesthetics, durability, resistance to moisture, rotting and deformation.

Homeowners often have doubts about whether they can install tiles over wood floors. Of course, it is possible, but with strict adherence to the installation technology of the facing material.

Is it possible to lay tiles on a wooden floor?

Ceramic tiles and wood are practically incompatible materials, since wood, like any material of organic origin, dries out and becomes deformed over time. It can also swell and crack, even if it is well secured.

If you put a layer of tile adhesive, or make a cement screed directly on the floorboard, then the movement of the wood will certainly lead to peeling of the tiles, cracks in the screed and, consequently, loss of money and time for the next floor repair.

The main task is to create a shock-absorbing layer between the wooden floor surface and the tiles that will compensate for the micro-movements of the base without transferring them to the layer of tile adhesive.

The demand and popularity of ceramic tiles allows them to be widely used for cladding old wooden floors. Laying ceramics is allowed on following types grounds:

frame,
log,
lumber,
panel board

Laying tiles on a wooden floor requires taking into account the specifics of the surface, its high-quality preparation and compliance with installation technology.

Based on the results of the preliminary inspection of the wooden base, the following activities are carried out:

The surface is in good operating condition without damage - floor preparation and tile laying are in progress.
The surface is damaged or deformed - installation is impossible. To begin with, a complete or partial restoration with replacement of damaged areas.

A damper layer is installed between the tile and the base to absorb possible movement of the floor. It also provides additional protection for the floor from increased moisture and prevents premature aging of the wood.

Difficulties in installing floor coverings

Neglecting the basic rules for preparing the base and laying floor ceramics can lead to:

To deformation, cracking and damage to the cladding as a result of wood movements.
To damage by rot and mold in rooms with high humidity.

In the process of installing tiles, novice craftsmen may encounter some difficulties:

Insufficient rigidity of the base due to the mobility of wood for fixing floor ceramics.
Insufficient oxygen access to the lower part of the floor structure.
Uneven distribution of maximum loads over the entire surface area.

Installation floor tiles V wooden house after completion of construction, as well as the arrangement of floors with wooden floors, is not carried out. Work is possible only after complete shrinkage of the structure after 3-4 years. If the house is built of brick, reinforced concrete or cinder block, then flooring can be done at any time.

Features of laying tiles in the bathroom and kitchen

Often ceramic tiles used to protect wooden surfaces in rooms and buildings with high humidity - hallway, shower room, kitchen, corridor, bathroom, bathhouse and swimming pool.

The main difference is that in the bathroom, kitchen and other functional areas the air is oversaturated with moisture and steam. This requires additional waterproofing of the surface. For these purposes, PVC film or bitumen-based roofing felt is used.

An excellent alternative is moisture-resistant plasterboard and cement-bonded particle boards up to 2 cm thick. Waterproofing materials are mounted on pre-installed bitumen roofing felt and secured with self-tapping screws.

Important! The gaps between the waterproofing material and the walls are carefully filled polyurethane foam. This will provide additional strength to the base.

The prepared surface is primed, after which the tiles are laid.

Preparing the wooden base

Before performing facing work, it is necessary to properly prepare wooden surface. The construction of a multi-layer floor pie will ensure solidity and ventilation of the base, reducing the load on the wood.

First, the wooden floor structure is dismantled. Deformed and damaged elements are replaced with new ones. If necessary, the lag laying step is reduced and the surface is leveled. Additionally, the structure is treated with antiseptic compounds.

Instructions for preliminary preparation wooden floor involves the following steps:

Stage 1. Dismantling the base and preliminary cleaning paint coating. Surface cleaning is carried out in three ways:

Chemical. Treating wooden floors with chemicals that help dissolve varnishes and paints.
Teplov. Heating the base using a hair dryer and dismantling the coating with a metal spatula.
Mechanical. Removing the coating using a power tool - an angle grinder with an attachment, a grinder or medium-grain paper.

Stage 2. Checking the condition of individual floor structural elements - joists and beams, replacing them with new parts and leveling the surface.

Stage 3. Antiseptic treatment surfaces. Wood is susceptible to high moisture and temperature changes, and therefore requires maximum protection from rot, deformation and mold. Treatment is carried out in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, observing the interval and intensity of application.

Stage 4. Arrangement of a thermal insulation layer. For insulation, fine expanded clay is used to fill the free space between the joists in the floor. For supporting natural ventilation a 6 cm technological gap is provided between the lower part of the log and the insulation.

Stage 5. Installation of subfloor. For these purposes, a clean and level board is used, which is fixed to the base using galvanized screws. The surface is leveled with a thin layer of putty. The distance from the wall to the floorboard is filled with foam.

Instead of a floorboard, 12 mm plywood or chipboard sheets can be used after pre-treatment with antiseptics.

Waterproofing layer under tiles

Careful waterproofing of the surface will ensure a long service life floor cladding. For these purposes, practical, wear-resistant and reliable material, resistant to moisture penetration and condensation.

The surface is treated with heated drying oil or latex-based impregnation, over which a special damper tape is laid overlapping. It provides the necessary shock absorption and compensation for movements of the wooden base.

Double-sided shock-absorbing tape is installed with the elastic side facing the wood and the durable side facing the tiles. An additional benefit of using a damper layer is to maintain natural ventilation and prevent moisture penetration.

Methods for leveling the floor surface

To lay tiles on a prepared wooden floor, you need to create a reliable monolithic surface. This can be done in three ways:

dry method,
method of pouring cement- concrete screed,
express way.

Dry leveling

A fairly popular method of obtaining a flat surface using moisture-resistant drywall, plywood and OSB boards. Such materials are characterized by increased strength and static properties, resistant to deformation and rotting.

Dry surface leveling is different:

Promotion thermal insulation characteristics grounds.
Simplicity and accessibility of the technological process of laying insulation.

Among the disadvantages are:

A significant rise in floor level, which is unacceptable for small rooms with low ceilings.
Visual difference between a smooth and untreated surface.

Dry leveling is carried out according to the following scheme:

Installation of thermal insulation, treatment with protective compounds and fixation of the overlapping paint mesh.
Filling with a leveling dry mixture of expanded clay chips, sand and other binding components. Uniform distribution of the mixture over the entire surface.
Installation of the selected material - plywood or slabs - in a checkerboard pattern so that the joints between the individual elements do not coincide.
Cleaning the surface and joints with a grinder and treating with a deep penetration primer mixture.

Wet screed

The method of leveling the surface is similar to creating a conventional screed for decorative finishing.

A floating screed is prepared from leveling polymer and cement-sand mixtures.

Its main advantage is the creation of a monolithic base that is resistant to movement of the wooden structure. And the disadvantages include: an increase in the height of the floor cake, significant labor and financial costs.

Work on arranging a wet screed is carried out in the following order:

Increasing the strength of the base. If the logs are located at intervals of 50 cm from each other, then it will be necessary to check and replace the deformed areas with reinforcement of the structure using bars.
Installation of intermediate flooring from boards. For these purposes, solid floorboards up to 4 cm thick are used, which are fixed to logs while maintaining technological gaps of 1 cm.
Installation of plywood or slabs up to 12 mm thick, similar to brickwork. Technological gaps between individual elements are 3 mm.
Installation of a waterproofing layer of polyethylene film or oiled paper over the entire surface of the floor, secured with double-sided tape.
Pouring a ready-made leveling mixture or cement-sand screed up to 10 mm high over the entire surface.

Express method of surface leveling

It is used to level surfaces that are in excellent operating condition or have minor visual defects. For work, moisture-resistant cardboard is used, which is fixed to the rough board using self-tapping screws or special glue on polymer based.

The main advantages of the method include simplicity and low cost of installation, and resistance to temperature changes in wood.

The process itself is performed as follows:

Before installing drywall, the horizontalness of the floorboards is checked. Differences are eliminated using improvised means: wax paper, roofing felt or fiberboard.
Drywall is mounted on the surface brickwork in two layers. It is important to ensure that the joints between the rows do not match.
A gap is provided around the perimeter of the base, and the seams between the individual elements are filled with sealant.
The base is carefully treated with a primer mixture.
The gap is filled with polyurethane foam, after which the baseboard is installed.

Laying ceramic tiles

The technology for installing tiles on a wooden surface is quite simple to master on your own. First you need to prepare working tools and materials:

Ceramic tiles.
Crosses for tiles.
Tile adhesive.
Construction mixer.
A spatula with teeth.
Rubber hammer.
Tile cutter
Level.

There are several options for installing tiles: rectangular and checkerboard, herringbone, diamond or pattern.

Important! First, the material is dry laid on the surface to be selected the best way installation

The main stages of laying tiles on a prepared base:

Marking the perimeter and dividing the room into four zones diagonally.
Prepare the adhesive mixture according to the manufacturer's instructions per 1 square area.
Apply the mixture with a spatula and distribute it evenly on the surface for mounting two elements.
Installing the tiles on the adhesive mixture with soft tapping with a hammer to ensure that each element shrinks tightly. Placing crosses in the seam space to adjust the seam width.
Next, the material is laid to fill the entire floor surface.
Checking the quality of masonry building level.
After the adhesive mixture has completely dried, remove the crosses and grout the tile joints.

High-quality tiles laid on a wooden floor will provide a reliable and practical coating that will last for decades. The main thing in this matter is to follow the installation technology, and also take into account professional advice and recommendations.

The content of the article:

Laying tiles on a wooden floor is a completely doable task, despite the fact that such a base does not fit into the usual ideas of reliability, since wood is capable of changing its shape with fluctuations in temperature and humidity. However, modern construction technologies this issue has already been resolved. You will learn how to lay tiles on a wooden floor with their help from our material.

Combination of wood and ceramics in floor construction

The instability of a wooden subfloor is the main obstacle to laying hard tiles on it. Due to its structure, wood tends to increase in volume from an excess of moisture, and then decrease from its lack.

In addition, after installation, the new wooden floor shrinks for two years until it takes its place. During this and even later periods, various deformations are possible. They have an extremely adverse effect on the solidity of the adhesive base of the tile cladding, disrupting its structural bonds. The result of these internal processes is peeling and cracking of the ceramic tiles.

In addition, there are three more reasons why many avoid tiling a wooden floor:

The wooden base of an impermeable tile covering is deprived of air access, which leads to its rotting.
The durability of wood is much less than that of ceramics.
Wood floors are warmer than tiles and are more pleasant to walk on.

If a reason for laying tiles on wood is nevertheless found, you will have to “reconcile” these materials, which are different in their structures. To do this, it is necessary to create a special damper layer that will absorb all deformations of the wooden floor elements. Its elastic part will face the base, and the hard part will face the tile. Only this technology will allow high-quality installation of tiles on a wooden floor.

Preparing the subfloor for laying tiles

It is possible to prepare a wooden base for facing with ceramic tiles if the floor is more than two years old and the process of its shrinkage has already ended. Work should begin with an inspection of the wooden floor. Its design usually includes beams, joists and plank flooring. Even if outwardly it looks like new, does not sag or squeak, the floorboards will have to be removed to completely inspect it. This is necessary to assess the condition of the internal elements.

After dismantling the flooring, you should first carefully inspect the joists and beams. Those that have begun to rot must be replaced with new ones. If the logs were laid at a distance of more than half a meter from each other, they will have to be dismantled and laid, but in smaller increments. Otherwise, the wooden base may subsequently bend from the weight of the tile covering and destroy it.

The process of laying the basic elements of a wooden floor must be controlled by the building level. All parts must be located in the same horizontal plane. To level the beams, you can use flat spacers made of broken tiles or bricks.

After installation is completed, beams and joists should be soaked generously with antiseptic. This procedure is very important, since the durability of the load-bearing wooden floor elements, and therefore the integrity of the external ceramic cladding, depends on its quality.

When the solution dries, the space between the joists must be filled with fine expanded clay to insulate the future floor. The level of thermal insulation should be several centimeters below the top of the joists. This will ensure a ventilation gap under the boardwalk after it is installed.

The floorboards previously removed for inspection of the joists must be prepared for reuse. Now they will serve as a wooden base for laying tiles. First of all, it is worth removing the layer from the outer surface of the boards old paint. This is necessary to impregnate their wood with an antiseptic.

There are three methods to choose from that can be combined with each other: mechanical, chemical and thermal. In the first case, cleaning is carried out using brushes, scrapers and sandpaper. In the second - with special removers that dissolve paint and varnish materials. In third - construction hairdryer by heating and softening the paint layer and then removing it mechanically.

After cleaning, the boards need to be treated with an antifungal compound and laid on the joists. In this case, expansion joints of 3-5 mm should be left between the individual elements of the flooring. They provide the possibility of linear expansion of the material.

The decking is secured to the joists using galvanized wood screws. It is recommended to screw two screws into the outer joists, and one into the row joists.

There should be no flaws on the surface of the boards. If holes from old fasteners or fallen knots are found, the defective areas must be sealed with putty, and after it has dried, the entire wooden base should be leveled with a sanding machine.

During the installation of the flooring, you need to leave a centimeter technical gap around its perimeter, and then glue it with a polymer membrane, which looks like a tape. To do this, bend a strip of membrane in half and stick one half of it to the floor and the other half to the bottom of the wall. Instructions for sticking the damper tape are available on its packaging.

The preparation of the wooden base ends with the formation of an insulating layer on its surface. There are two possible options here. In the first case, the flooring is coated with heated drying oil or latex impregnation, then immediately covered with a painting net. In the second, parchment or waxed paper or rolled bitumen insulation is laid on it.

Installation of covering for tiles

After installing and insulating the boardwalk, it is necessary to create a smooth intermediate covering on it, which will absorb the deformation of the underlying layer when its wood swells or shrinks due to changes in humidity and air temperature. There are three ways to create such a layer.

Dry coating installation

This solution is the simplest and most common. It consists of creating an intermediate layer of moisture-resistant plywood, on top of which ceramic tiles can be laid.

There are many ways to install plywood on plank flooring. One of them consists of installing point supports or a joist system on top of the boards, which are covered with sheet material. Another method is to lay an adjustable floor on the deck that has screw supports under the plywood sheets. You can also simply fasten sheets of plywood, OSB or moisture-resistant plasterboard cut into quarters with screws to a flat boardwalk.

On final stage Before installation, the plywood or similar base must be sanded, its joints filled with a sealing compound and coated with a primer.

When laying ceramic tiles on a wooden floor covered with plywood, you should choose a two-component polyurethane adhesive, which creates a strong but elastic substrate under the cladding. This property of the adhesive composition is especially useful for damping weak linear vibrations that wood boards exhibit.

Installation of coating using the wet method

It consists of installing a cement or polymer screed on the waterproofing layer of a wooden floor plank. Unlike a conventional screed for ceramic tiles, this coating has a small thickness due to the need to reduce the load on the floor. It may not support the weight of a standard thickness screed.

Another feature of the “wet” covering for tiles is its complete isolation from the walls of the room, that is, the base is made according to the “floating floor” model, which requires the presence of a deformation gap along the perimeter of the enclosing structures and around utility outlets from the floor.

This design allows for slight movements of the wooden floor elements, but the cladding, located on a monolithic base, will not feel these movements.

The lightweight screed should have a thickness of 30 mm. It is not advisable to reduce it, as this will reduce its reliability. Cement screed is prepared from a mixture of cement, sand and plasticizing additives. The polymer composition includes a two-component polyurethane mixture and liquid glass.

Before pouring any of them over the waterproofing laid on the boardwalk, you need to secure the metal mesh with screws. Subsequent actions are carried out as usual. After leveling, the coating must be left to dry and then treated with a primer to improve its adhesion to the tile adhesive.

Leveling material sticker

This method of installing a base for laying tiles on a wooden floor is the fastest in execution. Its essence is to glue moisture-resistant plasterboard sheets to the prepared flooring made of boards.

In this case, an elastic two-component polyurethane adhesive is used. If the rigidity of the coating seems insufficient, you can lay a second layer of gypsum board on top. Layer-by-layer laying of sheets must be carried out so that their seams do not coincide in the vertical direction. It is recommended to fill the joints between them with a sealing compound, and then treat the surface with a primer.

As in all previous cases, the plasterboard base should be made according to the “floating floor” model. The technological gap that remains around the perimeter of the coating after laying the tiles should be filled with elastic sealant and then covered with baseboards.

All of the above methods for arranging a foundation for tiled cladding are general recommendations, which will certainly require refinement in each specific case to resolve technical issues directly on site.

In fact, there are many more options for constructing such coatings. But it's important to understand main principle their design: the performer is required to create a kind of rigid “tray” mounted on a movable wooden base. In addition, it is necessary to ensure that the intermediate damper coating allows the floor wood to “breathe” and move in any direction as necessary. At the same time, the plank flooring should not affect the tile covering, otherwise it will inevitably destroy it.

Technology for installing tiles on a wooden floor

To work, you need to have a tape measure, a pencil, a building level, a painting cord, a drill with a mixer attachment, a tile cutting machine, a soft mallet, a sponge, a notched and rubber spatula.

The process of laying tiles on a wooden floor with your own hands should proceed in the following sequence:

First you need to mark the base for the tiles. To do this, connect the middles of the opposite walls of the room along the floor center lines. This is done using a paint cord. Their intersection will indicate the center of the floor.
Based on the markings, the tiles must be laid out for fitting on the floor, according to the intended pattern. This procedure should begin from the center of the room. This will clarify the issue of cutting tiles at the junctions of the floor and walls. It is advisable to perform it in places that are not so noticeable at first glance on the floor. For example, under radiators or near openings. The tiles for cutting must be prepared in advance.
Then the dry coating should be removed from the floor and tile adhesive should be prepared, zealously following the manufacturer's recommendations in this regard, located on the packaging of the mixture. Diluted glue thickens quickly, so you need to prepare it in portions based on the amount needed to lay 1 m2 of floor.
When choosing a spatula to distribute the adhesive mixture on the surface, you should pay attention to the size of its teeth. For large tiles, the height of the working edge of the tool should be 8 mm; for smaller tiles, the trowel teeth should be finer.
After applying the glue, you need to take the tile and lay it on the surface covered with the mixture. While methodically continuing to lay the remaining cladding elements, it is necessary to insert plastic dividing crosses into the gaps between them, which are designed to maintain the same width of the covering seams.
The installation of each tile should be controlled by the building level, ensuring that the cladding elements are located in a single horizontal plane. All defects can be corrected before the adhesive under the tile begins to polymerize. Glue should be added under sagging products, and those protruding beyond the plane should be hammered down with a mallet.
After laying all the intact tiles on the wooden floor, it is necessary to decorate the joints of the cladding with prepared trim. After installation is complete, leave the flooring for the glue to dry.
After the required time, you need to moisten the seams between the tiles and fill them with a fugue - a grouting compound. It can be cement, polyurethane or epoxy based. Cement fugue will require an additional waterproof layer to be applied to the seams silicone sealant. It is recommended to fill gaps between tiles rubber spatula after removing the dividing crosses. After grouting the joints, the cladding must be cleaned of traces of the fugue with a wet sponge.

Important! When laying tiles on plasterboard sheets or plywood, it is recommended to use polyurethane glue as an adhesive, and when installing them on a screed, it is recommended to use a composition containing cement.

How to install tiles on a wooden floor - watch the video:

A technologically advanced lining of a wooden floor will protect its wood from external damage and rotting. In this case, the integrity of the ceramic coating will be guaranteed. This will ensure its durability and save the owners from unscheduled repairs.

Ceramic tiles have long been one of the most practical and favorite floor coverings, and their current availability and variety are increasingly pushing the boundaries of the use of this environmentally friendly finishing material.
The ideal base for laying tiles on the floor is concrete or at least cement strainer. But what about people who have wooden floors in their home?

There are two possible scenarios here:

There is a need to lay tiles on a wooden floor in a house with concrete floors.
The same issue needs to be resolved by a person living in an old house, where all the floors are wooden (and not only the attic, but also between floors).

As for the second option, the answer is clear - you shouldn’t do it.

Tiles are a rather heavy material, and in old houses with wooden floors, the supporting beams should not be overloaded.

In 75% of cases, they are already in disrepair. Therefore, tiled flooring is only allowed here if the house has been major renovation and the floors were replaced with new ones. Nowadays, load-bearing beams in such houses are often replaced with metal ones.
If the floors are concrete and the floor is wooden, then this possibility is allowed.

But even here you will have to do some research first. Having decided to install a tiled floor over a wooden one, you need to be fully aware of how such an undertaking could end if the base is poorly prepared and the work is performed incorrectly.

The tiles are laid on glue. This creates a sealed surface that does not allow air to pass through. And good ventilation is critical for wood, which prevents it from getting wet and rotting.
Wood itself is an unstable material that changes its state and size under the influence of environment. Time isn't doing her any favors either. Therefore, sooner or later, in conditions of high humidity or temperature changes, the wooden base may become mobile, which will cause cracking of the adhesive layer (and, possibly, the tiles) and peeling of the ceramic coating.

Therefore, before deciding to install a tile floor over a wooden one, you will have to examine the condition of the floor and the joists.

Floor condition survey

Start the examination as soon as possible in a simple way– walk along it, gradually covering the entire surface. Your task is to find places where the boards "play".

This could mean the following:

the boards are poorly secured to the joists;
the boards have already been damaged and may be rotting;
the logs sank due to damage to the wood or the linings simply fell out from under them.

Any of these options means that the floor in these places will have to be opened up and the necessary repair work carried out. If the floor seems to be durable - it doesn’t creak and doesn’t “breathe”, then you still need to open it up in some corner. This is necessary in order to make sure that there are no signs of rot or areas damaged by wood-boring insects on the boards and joists.

If you find even the slightest traces of damage, tiles cannot be laid on such a base.

In this situation, it is easier to completely remove the entire wooden floor and install the tiled floor as usual - directly on the concrete, having first leveled it. If the floorboards are cracked, but not rotten or wobbly, then they can be used.

Depending on the condition of the floor, surface preparation for tiles needs to be done in different ways.

There are several options for the development of events:

quick preparation of the base;
installation of a wet screed on top of a wooden floor;
leveling the surface without dampness and dirt.

Quick preparation of a wooden floor can only be used when the wooden floor is in almost perfect condition: it is strong, dry and fairly level.

To complete the preparation, you will need moisture-resistant drywall and polyurethane glue, which has high elasticity, which will subsequently level out possible movements of the wooden base.

The work is performed as follows:

The floor must be carefully examined to ensure that its level is horizontal. If there are differences, they must be leveled using fiberboard or cardboard of suitable thickness.
Two layers of gypsum fiber board are mounted on a flat wooden base in such a way that the joints of the sheets in the top and bottom rows do not coincide. In this case, it is necessary to maintain a technological gap of 10 mm between the wall and the floor surface.
The joints of plasterboard sheets must be filled with sealant.
Then the surface is primed.
After the primer has dried, you can lay the tiles in the usual way.
After all the work has been completed, the gap between the floor and the wall is sealed with a plinth.

This method is not used in rooms with high humidity - bathrooms and kitchens. Its advantage is the high speed of work and the relative low cost of preparing the base.

The “wet” method is practically no different from pouring a conventional cement-sand screed. But here it is necessary that the wooden base is strong enough, since the screed has a lot of weight. If the floor is assembled from boards less than 40 mm thick, and the logs are located quite far from each other (more than 400 mm), then this method will not work.

For the device, screeds can be used as cement-sand mortar, laid with a thickness of no more than 30 mm, and self-leveling mixtures on a cement or polymer base. Their use makes it possible to obtain a screed with a thickness of no more than 10 mm, which is important for small apartments with low ceilings.

The work is carried out as follows:

The condition of the floor is carefully assessed.
If the boards are thick enough and the support joists are located on a small condition, then you can use the existing floor. If the logs are rare, then it is necessary to strengthen the floor structure with additional bars installed between the logs.
In such a situation, it is necessary that the subfloor boards be located at a distance of 8-10 mm from each other. This will ensure better ventilation. So the floor will have to be opened in any case.
On the floor with gaps you need to lay chipboard or plywood with a thickness of at least 12 mm. The sheets are fastened with “ligation” of the seams at a distance of 2-3 mm from each other.
Next, it is necessary to waterproof the surface by laying polyethylene film or other waterproofing materials. The waterproofing should extend onto the walls to a height of 7-10 cm.
Next, the screed is poured.
After the screed has gained strength, the tiles can be laid.

As you can see, this method requires a lot of labor, but the foundation will be strong and reliable.

Dry foundation installation is widely used both by professionals and when carrying out work on their own. For this you will need chipboard or plywood. If the leveling material will be mounted on the surface of the boards, its thickness must be at least 22 mm. If the floor is bad and the material will be attached to the joists, then its thickness should be at least 30 mm.

Installation is carried out as follows:

Sheets of plywood are cut into 4 squares - this will allow you to remove internal stresses in the material.
If plywood is attached to joists, then the distance between them should be no more than 400 mm. If it is larger, then additional supports should be installed - this will increase the rigidity of the base and the plywood will not sag.
Plywood is installed in a checkerboard pattern - with sheets shifted in adjacent rows. Wood screws are used for fastening.
When installing the base, you need to constantly check its horizontalness - this will allow you to lay the tiles without any problems.

If it was not possible to purchase thick enough plywood, you can use more thin material, but it will have to be laid in 2 layers, gluing them together. The seams of these layers should not match. It is necessary to leave a gap of 2-3 mm wide between the sheets. A technological gap of 10-12 mm wide is also maintained between the wall and the floor structure. Upon completion of the work, it is filled with sealant or polyurethane foam, and then covered with a plinth.

Before tiling the surface, plywood or chipboard must be cleaned of dirt, sanded and all dust removed.

After this, the base is treated with an antiseptic and waterproofing is arranged. To improve the adhesion of the tile to the base, you can attach a sickle or paint mesh to it, and then prime it.

Since installing a tiled floor on a wooden base is already a rather controversial method, to achieve good result not worth saving.

Buy only quality materials from trusted suppliers.
Do not use materials such as liquid nails, liquid glass, or a mixture of polystyrene foam and nitrocellulose varnish to attach tiles (such recommendations can be found). However, a high-quality result is not guaranteed at all.
Buy good glue, suitable for working with the base you have installed. Not every tile adhesive is suitable for gluing tiles to plywood or chipboard.
Do not prepare a lot of solution at once - it sets quickly and you may not have time to use it. Follow the technology for completing the work - haste can be costly.

The ardor of those who want to cover a wooden floor with ceramic tiles is usually cooled by the “ice shower” of incompatibility between the base and cladding materials. Wood tends to expand and contract, changing size due to the instability of the humidity and temperature background. Floor ceramics that are too sensitive to linear movements will be rendered unusable by the zealous movement of lumber. Cracks, chips will appear, seams will crumble, elements will become detached from the base if the independent contractor does not learn how to carry out the work correctly. The listed troubles will not threaten craftsmen who have studied the secrets and rules of ceramic flooring.

Why it is undesirable to combine ceramics and wood

Covering wood floors with ceramic coating is rightfully considered not a very smart idea, because:

There is no particular point in covering “warm” wood with “cold” tiles;
under moisture-repellent floor ceramics, mounted on tile adhesive, the wood hardly breathes, which is why it begins to rot and collapse;
the service life of building ceramics significantly exceeds the service life of timber and rough boards;
durable, low-abrasion ceramics easily chip with linear expansion of adjacent elements;
a wooden floor does not have the static quality required for laying ceramic products.

Wood may be inferior to tiles in terms of aesthetic parameters, but this is not a very convincing argument. After all, tiles are mainly used not because of the beauty of the design, but because of its sanitary and hygienic advantages. Its use as a protection for wooden floors from moisture is a controversial issue, although it may be the reason for ceramic flooring in wooden bath, in the shower room, in the kitchen or in the combined bathroom. In general, where constant wet cleaning is needed.

Let's assume there is a reason, there is material and a desire to lay a ceramic coating on a wooden base. It remains to find out how and in what ways this can be done, and choose a rational technology.

Laying floor tiles in a new home should be completely avoided, just like installing floors with new wooden floors in any other building. It is necessary to wait until the end of intensive shrinkage. This is 2-3 years at least.

How to lay ceramic tiles on a wood floor

A wood floor is a multi-layer sandwich created partially or entirely from lumber. Listing all the variations on its theme would be unnecessarily lengthy; we will consider only the most common types. To carry out work on arranging a wooden floor, home craftsmen mainly get:

only the logs remaining after dismantling the worn out floorboards and damaged substrate;
flooring made of moisture-resistant plywood, OSB or chipboard sheets, of course, with joists underneath;
The plank floor is in good condition, i.e. not new (!), but slightly worn construction with floor covering.

The number of repair operations, and not the choice of arrangement scheme, depends on the condition of the “inherited” floor. Because the process of attaching ceramic components to any type of surface is carried out according to a standard algorithm; all differences lie in preparation.

In any case, you will need to create a flat, strong and relatively static base suitable for laying ceramics. Let's look at how.

A wooden floor must be prepared for laying tiles. In the next article we will tell you several ways: .

First method: dry leveling

The most common and technologically sound method of leveling floors. At the same time, a relatively stable sublayer of moisture-resistant plywood or similar is formed sheet material, suitable for laying flooring. There is a lot to implement dry leveling various methods, such as:

ready-made sets of adjustable floors with screw plastic supports, thanks to which you can install logs or immediately plywood sheets in a matter of hours;
independent construction of a system of logs or point supports on top of a “strong” boardwalk with subsequent laying of sheet material;
laying a duplicate layer of plywood on the existing plywood base;
fastening plywood cut into quarters, gypsum boards, OSB self-tapping screws directly to the leveled floorboards.

It is clear that the final touch of dry preparation will be particle board, plywood or an analogue, thanks to which it can be installed on a wooden floor.

Sheet products of veneer pressing or wood waste cannot be considered absolutely immune to linear movements. True, they do not show the same agility as wood. However, to attach tiles over leveling sheets, you need to purchase a two-component polyurethane adhesive that is flexible, rather than regular tile adhesive.

Before fastening ceramic elements The created plywood covering is sanded along the seams. Then the joints between the elements are filled with sealant or glue purchased for the upcoming work, and the surface is treated with a primer impregnation compatible with it.

The advantages of dry methods of creating a substrate:

the ability to improve insulating qualities by: polystyrene foam, mineral wool, filling expanded clay between the joists;
minimum load on wooden floors, not characterized by reinforced concrete strength;
speed of execution, absence of technological interruptions that significantly “delay” repairs.

There are some disadvantages. Dry leveling will definitely “eat up” part of the ceiling height. There will be a difference between the finished and unfinished part of the floor, which will have to be decorated as a step or small threshold.

Please note that according to building regulations, the floor in hygienic rooms must be lowered by at least a couple of cm, so that in case of emergency or accidental leaks, water does not flood the floors in adjacent rooms. So, if after dry leveling, to which the thickness of the ceramic coating should be added, the surface will rise significantly above the surrounding floor, the use of dry technology is undesirable.

Video: adjustable floor system

Method two: “wet” screed

Or a lightweight version of the traditional type of alignment. Filling the screed in an easy-to-use form is required because bearing capacity Wood floors are not enough to create a full leveling layer. There is also a specific feature: screed according wooden floors must be cut off both from the underlying base and from the walls. Those. it should be arranged like a floating floor with a deformation gap around the perimeter and around the communications crossing the ceiling.

Thanks to the use of a floating scheme wooden elements floors will be able to move as much as they please, and ceramics with monolithic preparation will lie motionless.

The standard thickness of the screed poured onto a wooden floor is considered to be 3 cm. It is not advisable to increase the power, because at the same time the weight will increase. It’s also not worth shortening, otherwise it will be quite reliable. Minor deviations in both directions are allowed.

The process of pouring screed on a wooden floor step by step:

We disassemble the floor down to the timber for detailed diagnostics. All wooden components of the floor that raise the slightest doubt about reliability are dismantled and replaced with analogues. If the step between the logs is more than 50 cm, we strengthen the system by installing additional timber. There should be a gap of 1 cm between the ends of the joists and the walls of the building. All floor parts must be processed antiseptic impregnations before reassembly.
We are constructing a flooring for future pouring. Old boards 4 cm thick will do if they are suitable for further use. The tongue and groove material does not need to be bonded. Approximately 1 cm should be left between the boards for ventilation. We do the same with unedged boards when replacing worn floorboards. If the boards are laid tightly, ventilation holes will have to be drilled in the flooring.
We attach quartered moisture-resistant plywood to the boards across their direction thickness of at least 12 mm or other boards made from pressed wood waste. The elements are arranged according to the principle of bricklaying, fastened with galvanized screws every 20 cm. There should be no cross-shaped joints. Gaps of approximately 3 mm must be left between the sheets.
We cover the constructed flooring with waterproofing. It is better to use bitumen or paraffin paper, parchment or glassine. Thick polyethylene is not prohibited. To form a monolithic insulating carpet rolled materials lay with overlaps and secure with tape. Along the perimeter you need to create something like sides with a min. 10 cm approach to the walls. For convenience, we also attach them to the walls with pieces of tape.
We lay damper tape along the walls, 0.8-1.0 cm thick, 10 cm wide, we put sleeves on the pipes.
Fill the screed with the factory leveling mixture or homemade leveling compound. To prepare it you will need 2 parts of sifted and washed coarse sand, liquid glass in the same quantity. You need to mix the homemade mixture with one part of water without biogenic and man-made contaminants.

As soon as the poured layer has hardened, the tiles can be laid on the wooden floor with a preparation created on top of it, independent of the ceiling.

When carrying out tiling work on any premises using tiles, it is necessary to lay not only whole tiles, but also parts of them. This raises the question of how to cut the tiles so that the edges are smooth. About special tools, with the help of which you can do this, we will tell you in the material: .

Method three: express option

Consists of attaching to plank floor sheets of moisture-resistant plasterboard using a two-component polyurethane glue, the elastic structure of which is not disturbed by wood movements.

First, the master needs to carry out an inspection of the structure and repairs, if necessary. In order to increase the rigidity of the floor, gypsum fiber board can be laid in two layers so that the seams of the top row do not coincide with the seams of the bottom.

It is constructed by analogy with previous schemes using the type of floating floor, according to which a technological gap should be left around the perimeter of the room. The joints are filled with sealant, then the entire area is primed with a universal primer.

Left around the perimeter expansion joint After laying the flooring and trimming the excess insulation, it is recommended to fill it with sealant and cover it with a plinth on top. This is necessary so that the water when performing wet cleaning did not leak, did not accumulate there and did not spoil the building materials.

Expert opinion

Victor Kaploukhiy

Thanks to my varied hobbies, I write on various topics, but my favorites are engineering, technology and construction.

The best way to lay ceramic tiles on a wooden floor is considered to be a two-layer construction made of gypsum fiber boards, which are installed with overlapping seams and mounted to the base using wood screws. In this case, you should pay attention to some important points:

The subfloor must be waterproofed. In this case, bitumen waterproofing is best suited to protect against moisture. Unlike various polymer films This type of water-repellent composition is applied in liquid form and penetrates into the upper layers of the wood. Thanks to this processing method, it is possible not only to protect the wooden base from various types of leaks, but also to prevent the appearance of fungi.
If glue in the form of a dry mixture is used to lay tiles, then the gypsum fiber sheets must be impregnated with deep penetration soil (for example, Primer No. 6 from Artisan). Since cement-containing adhesives are diluted to the desired consistency with water, we have one negative factor: when introduced into the structure of the gypsum fiber board, moisture changes the linear GVL characteristics– due to the swelling of the material, its dimensions increase, and after evaporation of the liquid they decrease. These movements can lead to cracking of the tile joints, and in some cases, damage to the ceramic tiles. A thin layer of primer will serve as a barrier that will prevent moisture from being absorbed into the gypsum plasterboard. If you decide to use a ready-made two-component epoxy-polyurethane composition, then no additional processing is required.
You can improve the technical characteristics of even the most inexpensive tile adhesive using a latex additive, for example, the Latexcol brand from the manufacturer Litokol. The plasticizer is suitable for any cement-based compositions and increases their elasticity, strength and water resistance.

Many questions from our readers concern the installation of heated floors. If you need to mount it on top of a wooden one and cover it with ceramic tiles on top, proceed as follows. GVL is protected with a waterproof film, on top of which it is laid construction mesh with a cell 100×100 mm. Underfloor heating pipes are attached to the latter, a wet screed of at least 3 cm thick is made and ceramic tiles are laid. During installation electrical system For heated floors, you can dispense with the concrete screed - in this case, the cable is embedded in the layer of tile adhesive. As for the requirement that the floor in sanitary and hygienic premises should be lower than the level of other rooms, in our time it can be considered irrelevant. By using a leak warning system that automatically shuts off the water supply when sensors placed on the floor get wet, you can reduce the risk of flooding to a minimum.

The above three preparation methods are just a hint that requires improvement taking into account the technical specifics of the object. Variations on the theme of constructing a kind of stationary “tray” over a freely moving wooden base a lot more. It is important to take into account the principle: the rigid substrate should not destroy the floor and, conversely, the subfloor should not destroy the screed with the tiles attached to it.