Proper substrate for ceramic tile
I have a couple of bathroom floors that I need to lay ceramic tile in. The current flooring is 3/4″ subfloor, luan underlayment, then sheet vinyl. What is the proper way of preparing the floor for tiles? Go over everything with 1/4 hardibacker? Remove the vinyl, then hardibacker? Not sure the best method. Both floors are very solid, no give or bounce to them (house is about 15 years old). Thanks for the help.
Replies
Neither luan or vinyl are good substrates and should be removed. If the subfloor is plywood in good condition then that can stay. I would add an extra layer of plywood, glued and screwed. Make sure your joists are appropriately sized to get L/360 deflection or better. The John Bridge website has a lot of good info including a calculator for checking deflection.