When performing repair work in wooden house It is important to know how to lay tiles on such a special material. Wood has distinctive properties that affect not only the cladding process itself, but also further exploitation coverings. Nevertheless, you cannot do without tiles in the house, so you need to look for a way out of this situation.

Installing tiles on a wood base has a number of differences

Features of a wooden surface

Laying ceramic tiles in a wooden house is a special process. The conditions of such premises differ from standard ones, since wood has some specific characteristics:

• Dynamism. When changing temperature regime or humidity, the tree moves and takes on a different volume, expanding or shrinking.
• Shrinkage. It occurs over time, which affects the shape and condition of both the walls and the floor.
• Moisture susceptibility. Any increase in humidity affects wood, especially relevant for the bathroom and kitchen. It is important to ensure good hydro- and vapor barrier.
• Corruptibility. When wood is constantly wet, it rots, becomes moldy, and becomes infected with fungus. Also the enemy of this material is insects. They prevent damage by carrying out proper antiseptic treatment and covering the boards with a protective layer, for example, varnish.

When laying ceramic tiles in a wooden house, a number of specific characteristics are taken into account

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 screed. But what should people do if they have wooden floor?

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 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 and the necessary renovation work. 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 wood floor preparation can only be used when the wood floor is practically in perfect condition: It is durable, dry and fairly smooth.

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 equalized by help 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.
• Joints plasterboard sheets needs to 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 high speed performance of work and the relative cheapness of preparing the foundation.

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 cement or polymer based. 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 relieve internal stress 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 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, a mixture of polystyrene foam and nitrocellulose varnish (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.

Thanks to the range of colors, textures, patterns and other external characteristics, it can compete with almost any coating, but still the main quality of the tile is its wear resistance, as well as good water-repellent and fire-resistant qualities.

Features of masonry

It is stereotypically believed that tiles are most often used for kitchen or bathroom tiling. But increasingly, craftsmen are resorting to using it in living and working spaces, and not just in the kitchen. One of the most difficult questions for a professional when working with tiles that need to be laid in place of an old floor is this: is it safe to lay ceramic tiles on a wooden floor and how effective is it?

Most tile manufacturers unanimously declare that their products cannot be laid on wood, since a plank base does not guarantee rigidity and strength for the entire flooring structure.

If a sufficiently flexible wooden floor begins to rot or the concrete screed on top of it begins to crack, when the boards begin to sag, the tiles will also collapse and cracks will form in the floor.

But to the delight of craftsmen who are looking for new ways and who are not afraid to experiment, today techniques are becoming known that make laying tiles on a wooden floor possible. Of course, the most important role in this technique is played by the quality of foundation preparation.

Preparing a wooden floor for tiles

At the very beginning of work on laying a new floor on top of the old one important point is to correct those shortcomings and defects that the previous coating has. If we talk about tiles, the key here is to purchase a wooden base high level strength and rigidity.

Preparation of a wooden floor is divided into stages:

1. First, you need to completely go through the entire wooden floor, remove boards that have flaws, cracks or are rotten. It is important to make sure that the frequency of installation of joists corresponds to their load-bearing capacity, because together with the tiles, the weight of the floor can increase several times.
2. After the floor has been disassembled and rebuilt, you should make sure it is even. To do this, use a level to measure the horizontalness of the log. During this check, it is important to leave a gap of 10 millimeters between the walls and the rough base. These gaps will need to be insulated with foam. In order to make the floor more durable, expanded clay is used, which will also become a good sound insulator and increase the energy efficiency of the floor.
3. Next, the wooden base is laid. These can be boards, if they are in good condition, as well as plywood, the thickness of which is at least 12 millimeters. This plywood is perfect as a base for a tiled floor and will support its weight.
4. The joists and the rest of the rough floor need to be processed chemical impregnations, protecting them from fungus and rot.
5. The boards, as well as plywood, need to be secured, while providing for ventilation due to gaps between them up to half a centimeter wide.
6. Waterproofing made of polyethylene film, parchment or bitumen is laid on top of the rough base.

Installation of base under tiles

There are three ways to install the base under the tiles, each of which has its own technology:

• In the first case, a conventional screed is used, which is thin and light. For this they use metal mesh, attached to subfloor self-tapping screws using beacons. After this, a cement screed is poured, the thickness of which is about 3 millimeters. It is also acceptable to use a self-leveling screed.
• In the second case, a base made of polyurethane glue on a liquid glass base is used. It also, after drying, forms a good insulation against moisture. Such joints are suitable for laying tiles on top of a wooden floor and can withstand heavy weight.
• In the third case, they are installed on the waterproofing cement bonded particle board, moisture-resistant plasterboard or gypsum fiber. The third of these materials is more recommended because it has greater strength and ductility, as well as insulating properties. The flooring is attached to the rough flooring using self-tapping screws, avoiding gypsum fiber seams and floor elements. The seams of the base are glued with special compounds. In some cases, you can use 2 layers of gypsum fiber. Then the sheets or slabs are covered with a soil base until completely dry. This option is good when laying tiles on a wooden floor in a wooden house.

Laying stages

After preparing the base for the tiles, you need to make sure that it is horizontal, which is checked using a building level. After this you can lay the tiles.

The installation steps are as follows:

• Preparation;
• marking;
• glue;
• direct installation;

At the preparation stage, you need to correctly calculate the amount of material that will be used. Usually up to 10% of the tile area reserve is taken into account, compared to the area of ​​the entire room. The main thing is that at this stage it does not turn out that the purchased ceramic tiles are wall tiles and not floor tiles: these two types of tiles are similar to each other, but the wall tiles are fragile and are not suitable for flooring. It also does not have an anti-slip effect.

After this, the tiles are laid out over the entire area of ​​the room in order to visually evaluate the appearance of the future floor, as well as to identify places for holes for pipes and other communications.

It is necessary to check whether the height of the new floor allows the doors to be opened. Otherwise, you will have to change the height of the door, rehang it on higher hinges before installing the tiles on the wooden floor.

It is important to get rid of air in the tile; to do this, soak it in water for 15 minutes. If the tile does not withstand this procedure and stains appear on it, then you should simply clean it bottom surface tiles with a damp brush.

Marking and preparing glue

The marking should be done in such a way that you have to use as few cut tiles as possible, placing them near the walls. When laying diagonally, you will still have to cut a lot of tiles, and along the wall, laying is carried out starting from the side of the room opposite to the entrance.

If design solution assumes the presence of a special pattern, then you need to act in accordance with this plan, taking into account the need for communications, optimal height gender and other preparatory nuances.

Next comes the preparation of the glue. The tiles are laid on a wooden floor using a special cement adhesive. To prepare it, use purchased dry powder, ordinary water in an amount that depends on the instructions, as well as a certain amount of plasticizers.

Since such mixtures usually have a short drying period (no more than 4 hours), the glue should be prepared in small portions and used immediately. For good installation and high-quality consistency of the glue, it is best to mix it with a construction mixer.

The glue is applied in even stripes using a notched trowel. Begin application in one of the corners, in the center of the room. For each size of tile, it is worth selecting separate sizes of the spatula and its teeth. In this case, the teeth should have a size that is 30-40 times less than the width of the tile.

The glue dries in a short time (up to 15 minutes), so you need to apply it about one square meter area, after which the tiles are immediately applied.

Laying on a wooden floor

When laying tiles on a wooden floor, you need to press them against the adhesive using a rubber hammer and lightly tap to seal the fit. Each section of the treated edges of the surface must be covered with tiles, after which the next square meter or area of ​​the room is processed.

First, whole pieces of tiles are laid on a wooden floor, and only after that they begin to fill the free cells of the floor near the walls. The required pieces of tile are cut with a special tile cutter.

After installation, the floor is cleaned with a rag, removing any remaining adhesive. Drying is expected for two days, after which the seam joints are sealed. They are grouted with fugues, which give the floor a more aesthetic appearance.

In order to apply the fugue correctly, it must be applied with a rubber spatula using diagonal movements. All seams must be filled, after which the remaining fugue is removed. After this, after half an hour the fugue dries out and the floor needs to be wiped with a damp cloth, and after another hour with a flannel. This completes the tile floor over wood.

This way, the result is absolutely identical to a regular tile coating laid on a concrete screed. It has sufficient strength if no mistakes were made when processing joists, plywood and boards. Treated wood will serve as a base under a tiled floor for a long time. In addition, it will also provide good thermal insulation.

Thanks to the use of expanded clay and special compounds, impregnation of a wooden floor, it improves the quality of the tile covering, getting rid of its own shortcomings. Thus, even the simplest floor becomes good reason for styling floor tiles on the tree.

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 neighboring 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 logs remaining after dismantling worn-out floorboards and damaged substrate;
• flooring made of moisture resistant plywood, sheets of OSB or chipboard, of course, with logs 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 installation flooring. There are many different methods for implementing dry leveling, such as:

• ready-made sets of adjustable floors with screw plastic supports, thanks to which you can install joists or immediately plywood sheets possible 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, gypsum board, OSB cut into quarters with 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 applied to 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 must purchase a two-component polyurethane adhesive composition, characterized by elasticity, and not ordinary tile adhesive.

Before attaching the ceramic elements, the created plywood coating 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 adjoining 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 the load-bearing capacity of wooden floors is not enough to install a full leveling layer. There are more specific feature: screed by 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 treated with 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 board in case of 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 roll 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. Close homemade mixture you need one part of water without biogenic and man-made pollutants.

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 moisture-resistant plasterboard using 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.

It is recommended to fill the expansion joint left around the perimeter after laying the floor covering and trimming off excess insulation with sealant and cover it with a plinth on top. This is necessary so that when performing wet cleaning, water does not leak out, accumulate there and 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:

1. The subfloor must be waterproofed. For protection against moisture in this case, it is best suited bitumen waterproofing. Unlike various polymer films, the water-repellent composition of this type is applied in liquid form and penetrates into the upper layers of 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.
2. If glue in the form of a dry mixture is used to lay the tiles, then the gypsum fiber sheets must be impregnated with soil deep penetration(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.
3. Improve technical specifications Even the most inexpensive tile adhesive can be made using a latex additive, for example, the Latexcol brand from the manufacturer Litokol. The plasticizer is suitable for any composition on cement based and allows you to increase 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 a construction mesh with a cell of 100×100 mm is laid. Pipes are attached to the latter underfloor heating, make a wet screed with a thickness of at least 3 cm and lay ceramic tiles. During installation electrical system warm floor type from concrete screed you can refuse - 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. There are many more variations on the theme of constructing a kind of stationary “tray” over a freely moving wooden base. 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.

Ceramic or tiles It is very popular as a covering for walls and floors. This finish is beautiful, durable, and easy to clean. Laying tiles is not difficult; with some skills, you can do it yourself. Particularly common is the decoration of household premises, kitchens, and bathrooms with tiles, 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 have decided to decorate a wooden floor or bathroom walls with ceramic tiles?

Why is it difficult to lay tiles on wood?

The question of whether it is possible to reliably lay tiles on a wooden base causes a lot of controversy among experts 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 a tile, for example, directly on the floorboards, then it 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?

1. Ceramic tiles cannot be laid on a new wooden floor. This process can only be carried out after 2-3 years, when intensive shrinkage has ended. wooden structures.
2. 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 the underground space is small, then it is better to remove the old boards, fill the gaps between the joists with insulation and make a high-quality cement-concrete screed.
3. 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 sheets of moisture-resistant plywood, chipboard, and OSB are laid on top of the old floor covering. 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.
4. 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.
5. Some experts advise making the base for the tiles not from wood chips, but from sheets of moisture-resistant plasterboard or its variety of gypsum fiber boards. This material is more environmentally friendly and is not subject to deformation or rotting at all.
6. New construction industry are polymer leveling mixtures for floors. 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.
7. 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 polyurethane two-component adhesive composition, which is characterized by elasticity.