Ceramic Tile Over Luan Plywood

This is because some believe that because luan plywood is made of an unacceptable and unapproved substrate that it cannot receive tile or cementitious backer units.

Ceramic tile over luan plywood.

There are reports that using luan plywood as underlayment for tile is unacceptable. Luan plywood is an unacceptable and unapproved substrate to receive tile or cementitious backer units cbu. There are thin set dry set mortars design specifically for adhering ceramic tile to plywood that is designated as an ansi a118 11 thin set mortar. Ceramic tile stone and or cementitious backer unit installations utilizing any luan species will not be warranted by custom.

Richardmay 27 2015 at 7 44 am. Lay down a vapour barrier overtop the concrete pad then fasten 3 4 inch plywood using a ramset to the concrete pad through the vapor barrier then install the heating system to the plywood followed by applying the self leveling mortar over top the heating system and plywood and finally installing the tiles over top that. Never have that under tile. I installed 3 4 plywood over the 5 8 underlayment.

If possible you should always use concrete board underlayments rather than plywood. I just finished prepping my 16 x 16 kitchen for ceramic tile. The books says a minimum of 3 8 underlayment grade plywood no 1 4 then use ditra or a 1 4 cement backer board both are installed in a wet bed of thinset. The preferred method for tile installations is to use a sheet of underlayment.

Luan underlayment for ceramic tile. The floor tiles became loose cracked and ugly looking over about 2 decades of use. I then installed 1 4 luan on top of this and was planning on attaching the ceramic tile to the luan. For wall installations plywood is overkill beneath the concrete or fiber board which is designed in five eighths inch material for wall settings.

This bulletin addresses the concerns of the suitability of luan plywood in ceramic tile installations. Space the field and edge fasteners correctly the top layer of plywood should be screwed down every 8 inches on the edge and every 6 inches in the field or interior section. Thin set was used instead of glue or adhesive. We have our large kitchen and hallway that was originally covered by 12 x 12 ceramic tiles on top of 3 8th inch plywood.

Bonding tile directly to luan plywood. Now i ve written on this blog that luan plywood doesn t react well to moisture that is a sure part of the process when laying ceramic tile flooring so this is no surprise the readers here. Laying tile to veneer plywood risks loosening and unbonding the veneer creating an unstable base for the tile. Plywood will expand and deform if subjected to moisture or humidity.