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I will soon be tiling a den floor which is now carpet over a concrete slab and a kitchen floor which is vinyl on plywood over a crawlspace. I recently laid tile in a nearby bathroom on the same level as the kitchen. I used 1/4 inch concrete backer board on top of the plywood. It brought the tile up to the level of the nearby hardwood. I plan to do the same in the kitchen, but what should I use on the slab? Would it be safe to just use mortar on the slab and then install the tile? Are screws and mortar the best way to secure the backer board to the plywood?
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Ryan: Tile over a concrete slab is really what you're accomplishing when you install the backer board! It's probably the best backing that you could have. As for the tile in the kitchen...
My wife would shoot me if I did that to her! Are you sure you want to tile that area??? I know that it's easier to clean, and it's the "in thing" right now, but it's murder on the feet and legs, not to mention what happens to the glass or dish that gets dropped. ('Course, my wife loves to cook, and spends a great deal of time in her kitchen, contrary to many cooks these days, and she's *lots* older than me!)
If you go ahead with the tile over wood, the backer board is a good way to solve the problem, but I would suggest that you look into using the coated screws, so that they don't cause a problem later. (Stainless would probably also work, and might be easier to find.)
HTH
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Tile in the kitchen is great. Drawbacks are needing to cover feet in the winter (feels great in the summer on bare tootsies, though), shows dirt, no doubt about how many times a dropped glass will bounce (none), can be hard on feet, and chairs don't slide well over the recently popular rough varieties. Overwhelming pluses are winter dirt and water is easy to clean up, glass would have broken anyway (though maybe not as dramatically), allows for small, area rugs in standing areas (like in front of sink), lasts forever, doesn't squeak. Nothing wrong with tile in the kitchen, really.
Galvanized roofing nails are an adequate and inexpensive way to secure the cement board. Screws are rarely needed and are probably the wrong answer for the thinner, harder cement boards, where the screws will tend to twist off.
*Hi guys,I prefer roofing nails to screws for installing tilebacker. Simply put i wouldn't have anything but tile in the kitchen.Tile over concrete is no problem but, cracks in the substrate will radiate through the tile. Use a quality thinset.If you want a high quality thinset TEC full flex is great. joe d
*Are you going to pull up the vinyl prior to installing the tile. If not you might want to. The best way to install the the tile on the plywood is the following. First use a good, flexible thinset mortar to adhere 1/4" or 1/2" concrete backer board to the plywood. Also use screws to secure the backer board while the thinset cures. Using the thinset will ensure there are no voids underneath the backer board which could cause cracks in the grout sometime in the future (tile is a long term surface not something you can change easily like carpet or vinyl). Then use thinset and a coarse fiberglass tape to cover the joints in the backerboard. To attach the tile use a good full flex thinset (as was mentioned TEC is a good brand). Spending the time and money to do it right now will pay off in a long lasting floor. One thing you have to consider is how much the present kitchen floor deforms or deflects under load. If it is a lot than Tile probably is not a good idea. This will depent a lot on joist size and span as well as the species of the Joists (ie SPF or Hem/Doug fir).In regards to installing the tile on the slab, you can install the tile directly on the concrete.....but if the slab ever cracks or shifts so will your tile. You have to decide if you want to take the risk. An isolation membrane can be installed prior to the tile. This will allow the slab to move a little without cracking the tile. Taunton Press's book "setting tile" is a great resource and has instructions on installing the isolation membrane. If you don't want to buy it check out your local library.Have fun
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I will soon be tiling a den floor which is now carpet over a concrete slab and a kitchen floor which is vinyl on plywood over a crawlspace. I recently laid tile in a nearby bathroom on the same level as the kitchen. I used 1/4 inch concrete backer board on top of the plywood. It brought the tile up to the level of the nearby hardwood. I plan to do the same in the kitchen, but what should I use on the slab? Would it be safe to just use mortar on the slab and then install the tile? Are screws and mortar the best way to secure the backer board to the plywood?