kenmac15

Hi all I'm going to tile the kitchen floor & I need to put some wood sheets down, now what I need to know is can I put MDF down or does it need to be ply ?

Jaz

Absolutely no MDF or particle board. Need to know more.

In the flooring biz "tile" means ceramic tiles. Is that what you're doing? We can walk you through the process.

Jaz

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Tile 4 You LLC
Troy, Michigan
www.tile4you.com

I've NEVER made a mistake....I thought I did once....but I was WRONG!

CallMeVilla

Plywood covered with cement board (1/4") ... making sure you do not overlap the seams.

kenmac15

Yep ceramic tiles,the base is screed but the living room floor has 14mm laminate floor so the kitchen floor is going to be 6mm lower so need to add 6mm in height

CallMeVilla

You will also need a transition strip where the laminate and the tile meet. You have many choices, including a "wood look" strip . . . just sayin'

nealtw

Hardy makes 1/4" or 6mm backer board

kenmac15

All the help & suggestions welcome so no need to just say lol

dthornton

Like villa and neal said - use backer board (over plywood). I just did my kitchen floor, and it turned out beautifully ... I took mine down to the subfloor. The reason you need backer (concrete) board is that a wood floor will flex, eventually cracking your tile. The backer board won't flex like that. I suggest that you trowel a thin layer of thinset on your floor, then screw down your backer board (using screws specifically made for that purpose). The thinset under the backer will fill any (minor) imperfections in your floor to help prevent flex. I'm just a DIY-er, SO, any of you pros disagree with my advice, or have a better way?

CallMeVilla

YES, my bad, I should have indicated a thin layer of adhesive between the plywood and cement board. Stabilizes the floor. I hold the tile back 1/4" from the bottom plate of the wall, then cover the gap with the baseboard. Some people like to use caulk along the line of the tile and baseboard to seal mooisture ... but I find it gathers dust.

Also, if you are using larger tiles, I back-butter them before dropping them down. This guarantees best adhesion. If you are installing travertine, this step is a MUST because there are so many voids in the back of those tiles.

GOOD LUCK!

Jaz

We haven't gotten to blessing the framing for tiles yet, no idea if the floor system can handle tiles. Natural stone tiles require an even stiffer subfloor.

Ken, if you wanna do the job right let's start at the beginning. Give us the; size of the joists, species and grade, their on center spacing and the unsupported span to the inch. Then what you have or planning for the subfloor and underlayment. Followed by your plans for tiles.

You also forgot to indicate where you're located, it makes a difference sometimes.

Jaz

__________________
Tile 4 You LLC
Troy, Michigan
www.tile4you.com

I've NEVER made a mistake....I thought I did once....but I was WRONG!