Laying Tile

[shane_c]

So I will be laying some tile over the holidays in the kitchen, entry and bathrooms. From what I've been reading you are supposed to only put it over plywood so the grout doesn't crack. But here's my dilemma. I know the subfloor is OSB but it seems that in the kitchen, entry and bathrooms that there is another piece of wood over the OSB that is approx 1/4-1/2" thick to bring it up to the level of the living room given that the lino needs the extra height to bring it up to the carpet (now hardwood). With the current height if I put down tile it will make it the same height as the hardwood which is what I want. If I have to go and screw down a sheet of plywood everywhere then my tile will be much higher, which is what I don't want. Is it okay to lay the tile on top of the board that's already there on top of the OSB? Any other tips for laying tile would be appreciated. Thanks!

[TimSJ]

I am looking at doing some tile over xmas as well.. any advice would be great

[Sylvanfan]

Well usually tiles are about 3/8 thick and than with the thinset mortar you're adding about another 1/16-1/8 of an inch. So with a 1/4 piece of plywood on top of your subfloor plus the tile and mortar should make the tile floor approximately 3/4 high which should match up with 3/4 hardwood planks. At worst you'll have a 1/8 gap which isn't really noticable, especially if you have a decent piece of metail edging where the tile and hardwood meet up.

My floor has a goofy 5/16 plywood on top of the OSB, but the tile and hardwood match up perfectly. Although my wood floor is 11/16" instead of the usual 3/4". But I don't think my tiles where 3/8 thick either, more like 1/4".

I also reccommend using a number system on your baseboard if you're going to re-use the existing baseboard. ie write the number on the wall and on the back of the baseboard with a sharpie. Even if you're using new baseboard it's not a bad idea as you can use the existing piece as a cutting template.

[Slava]

I am certainly no expert, but I think that you will be fine laying the tile over the floor as you described it. I layed some tile in my house a few years ago. At that point we were thinking of selling and we layed the tile over the OSB and to date the floor still looks great. My floor area was small (just an entrance) so that might have something to do with this, but basically all you want to make sure is that the floor doesn't sag/shift too much.

As far as the baseboards go, that is the worst part! I agree with the numbering system, but in the end we replaced all of the baseboard because it just didn't come together as well as we hoped (probably because I'm not in the trades!).

[shane_c]

Thanks for the replies so far. We will be putting down new baseboard as well.

[burn_baby_burn]

Originally Posted by fotze

Be exacting with the tile placement with centering and all that. Lay the tiles out before you mud it to see how it looks, takes longer but it will be worth it. A poorly done tile floor just looks terrible if you are trying to get good resale value. The moulding also is very important, do it right, think about the molding placement before the tiling. Poor molding also sticks out like a sore thumb. The buyer will say "if they do poor work on something that is visible, then what have they done with the important stuff I can't see like electrical or insulation, etc".

I did the floor in the bathroom of my basement recently. Those plastic + pieces are a must. Mine looks perfect and I used 4 of those + pieces on every corner. But measure first and lay it out. It isn't that difficult.

[V]

Yeah, the spacers are a must. Chalk lines are also obviously important, unless you've done a lot of this stuff and you have a great straight eye.

The floor as described should be fine for laying tile on top of, as long as that board you're talking about is K3. That'll swell and leave you with cracked grout, cracked tiles, etc.

[fredr123]

Watch Holmes on Homes. They're always fixing someone's tiling faux pas. Also, use hairspray on your chalk line to keep it from getting rubbed off. Saw that one on Sunday's episode.

[MacDougalbry]

I spend far too much time hanging out on the HOH forum and from everything I have read there, all I can say is that tile is waaaay more tricky than most people realize.

1) Most or all tile manufacturers recommend against laying tile on OSB. (I don't think this stops most Calgary homebuilders from doing it anyway, though.) OSB easily swells and delaminates and also is not the greatest surface for thinset to bond to.

2) If you need to build up your subfloor, 1/4" ply is not going to cut it, because the screw heads can easily pull right through plywood that thin. Also, make sure that you thouroughly screw the plywood to the OSB... also, do not screw into the joists.

3) Depending on the construction of your home and the type of tile your are choosing, you may need to beef up your joists, because minimum building code allows for way too much deflection.

4) Ditra.

[MacDougalbry]

I forgot to mention, the particle-board stuff under your lino is K3 underlayment, and you definitely want to remove that before tiling.

[Flames_Gimp]

Originally Posted by MacDougalbry

4) Ditra.

i so badly want to use Ditra under my tile but man is it expensive!!!!

[Ironhorse]

Take it from someone who knows (my dad is an old school master craftsman in tile & marble), those little "+" spacers are useless unless you deal with tile which has no dimensional variation (which is not often. YMMV).

[Flames_Gimp]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

Take it from someone who knows (my dad is an old school master craftsman in tile & marble), those little "+" spacers are useless unless you deal with tile which has no dimensional variation (which is not often. YMMV).

maybe they are usless to him, but for a beginner?

[troutman]

I only know about laying pipe.

I'm laying pipe, all night long, laying pipe, to satisfy that woman.
- David Wilcox

[shane_c]

Originally Posted by MacDougalbry

I forgot to mention, the particle-board stuff under your lino is K3 underlayment, and you definitely want to remove that before tiling.

That's not what I want to hear.

[Mccree]

Originally Posted by MacDougalbry

I forgot to mention, the particle-board stuff under your lino is K3 underlayment, and you definitely want to remove that before tiling.

And that Stuff is a BITCH To remove.

[Flames_Gimp]

just remove the subfloor all together

[Sylvanfan]

If you have to redo the sub floor.....you won't get you money's worth for the work (especially if you're planning to sell later on like I believe you've said you are). At that point you abort mission and stick to things like painting walls, redoing baseboard and cosmetic stuff. You'll only lose money making structural improvements to a house. Sad but true. In a lot of cases the less you know about building, the more you can fata the next guy over and make your dollar at his expense.

[Flames_Gimp]

we redid the subfloor it cost 170$ to replace about 600sq. ft of floor with 3/8" ply.

[Mccree]

Originally Posted by Flames_Gimp

just remove the subfloor all together

Most K3 **** is glued to the subfloor, you have to scrap that stuff off.

Messy Messy Stuff