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I’m planning to have carpet in a dining rm. removed and replaced with tile.
Someone told me if the plywood sub-floor was in good shape I could place the tile without underlayment. Has anyone done this successfully?
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I personally dont recomend it, I always try to use something like Hardibacker or other equiv. product in high traffic areas such as what your speaking of. Also keep in mind you dont want to take any short cuts in this area due to the ammount of pressure that table legs and or chair legs place in such a small area (psi) and are more likely to pop at a later date. Keep it as solid as possible, save on Tylenol later!
*Underlay it! I personally just finished repairing my own tile faux paux and it was a pain in my behind.I used Bonsal thinset the second time thru over existing 1/2" underlayment with wonderfull results. If there is room for 1/4" concrete board in your application do it...
*John, the flexing of your subfloor between the joists will likely cause your new tiles to crack. Especially if they're big tiles. Use a layer of hardibacker over thinset mortar to thicken and stiffen up your floor before tiling.
*Thanks alot guys for the input. I will use backerboard probably "Hardi". Also it seems it will help keep the adjacent carpeted surface at the same level.
*John,I just finished installing tile in the bathrooms & laundry area of a cabin I am building up in eastern Arizona. I used 1/4" hardibacker over 1/2" OSB over 5/8" OSB (three layers). I did this in the bathrooms making sure to adhere the hardibacker to the OSB with a trowled (1/4") layer of thinset. In the laundry area I used 1/2" cement backerboard over 5/8" OSB. Again, using thinset to adhere the backerboard to the OSB. I ended up buying the backboard at Home Depot in 3' x 5' sheets. I later found out that a local drywall supply house sells backerboard in 4' x 8' sheets. Just an FYI that you dont have to settle for the smaller sheets at your local home center. The cost per s/f was comparable. Oh....dont forget to nail the backerboard in a grid pattern every 6 - 8 inches with 1 1/4" galvanized roofing nails.good luck!