Can I Lay Vinyl Tile Directly Over Plywood

The plywood will expand and contract at a different rate as the tile causing cracks to develop in the grout lines or tiles over time.

Can i lay vinyl tile directly over plywood.

No matter how firm the subfloor. A number of different types of substrate are used for tile including plywood. But a number of precautions must be taken to ensure a successful installation. In most cases 4 by 8 foot sheets of particle board or plywood must be installed in preparation for the vinyl floor install.

If you re installing new plywood use galvanized screws to fasten it and countersink the screw heads. A poor ceramic installation will delaminate from the subfloor split at the grout lines or worse crack directly across the tile. Vinyl flooring is usually not installed directly over the subfloor in residential applications. Loose areas on an existing plywood subfloor can cause peel and stick tiles to lift over time.

While you can lay tile directly over a concrete slab using thin set adhesive don t make the mistake of applying tile directly to a plywood subfloor. How to lay self stick vinyl floor tiles. The basic premise for any surface is the same. Our plywood is really old and cracked so i was concerned that it would be too absorbent so i chose not to mop the plywood but we always mop the concrete.