What glue to use and how to glue tiles to plywood: tips for working with tiles and ceramics. How to lay tiles on a plywood floor Is it possible to lay tiles on plywood

When working with tiles, many specialists refuse concrete screed, acting as a rough coating. An interesting alternative is laying ceramic tiles on plywood. In this case, you can eliminate rather labor-intensive dirty work, as well as reduce time costs, since you do not need to wait for hardening concrete mortar, and immediately, as soon as the plywood sheets are laid, work with the tiles.

Laying on plywood - great choice for wooden and frame houses, as well as situations where there is no time or opportunity to perform screeding. Using plywood sheets, you can qualitatively level the surface by laying it on the logs. They are also recommended to be laid on top of a finished concrete floor to improve heat and soundproofing properties floor.

In terms of labor intensity and complexity of work, there are no differences with laying on concrete, the main point is right choice plywood sheets and preparation of the base.

What plywood to use

The range of plywood sheets available for purchase is quite extensive. It is important to choose the right material on which ceramic tiles will subsequently be laid. Here are the main recommendations:

1. The sheet thickness should be from 28 mm. In some cases, it is possible to choose thinner 22 mm plywood (provided that the tiles are not too heavy). If plywood sheets are laid on logs, then minimum thickness material increases to 30 mm. These are the requirements that will allow the plywood to support the weight of the tiles and not deform.
2. The grade of plywood doesn't really matter. Since the material in this case is rough, it is permissible to choose low-grade sheets (3 or 4). But it is better to refuse rejection with an abundance of defects and obvious manifestations of unevenness.
3. It is better to give preference to the FC brand. It's environmentally friendly pure material, which does not highlight harmful substances and is suitable for residential use. The choice in favor of FSF is acceptable if we are talking about cladding industrial facilities or premises with high level humidity (subject to good ventilation, this option of plywood is acceptable).
4. The linear dimensions of the sheet are not particularly important, since it is usually divided into smaller squares.

How to lay tiles on plywood correctly

Before you start tiling work, you need to choose the right one adhesive for laying tiles on plywood. The traditional composition is not suitable for concrete foundations. It is better to choose silicone or two-component adhesives that are designed for moving bases. Parquet adhesive is also suitable for these purposes.

• To prepare plywood sheets for tiling work, its surfaces are cleaned and leveled. The best option is grinding;
• To fix the plywood, either nails or self-tapping screws are used;
• then a primer is applied to the resulting base, and if the room is damp, then additional waterproofing is performed;
• The process of laying tiles is practically no different from classic version with a concrete base. First, the solution is applied in an even layer to the plywood, then the first tile is laid - ideally from the corner. For better fixation, you can lightly tap the ceramics in the corners or press down with your hand. The work uses traditional crosses, allowing you to maintain the required jointing distance;
• The grout can be applied immediately after the glue has hardened (optimally 3-4 days after installation).

You can select suitable plywood for subsequent tiling work in the PlywoodMonolit online store.

During renovation, there is always a choice in favor of one option or another. Mostly, repairs are carried out independently as funds become available. Since it can be difficult for a non-professional repairman to calculate the consequences of one or another choice, some situations arise where it is necessary to combine different, previously incompatible types of coatings. For example, wood and tiles, ceramic tiles on plywood. Seemingly incompatible materials, but modern Construction Materials allow you to “combine incompatible things.”

How to lay tiles on plywood?

This option is most preferable for frame, wooden houses. Since this design is light in weight, if there is a wooden floor or good joists, the boards over the joists are laid quickly and with minimal costs, and the walls are also leveled.

As for ceramic tiles, as a finishing material, they are very popular for both walls and floors. Ideally, the tiles are laid on a screed, but if laying it is not possible, then plywood and tiles are a suitable option.

Professional tilers have been laying tiles on plywood for a long time. Such work is very painstaking and time-consuming. But they are not much different from laying tiles on other substrates. The differences mainly come down to the preparation of the base.

Features of the base

The plywood base must be no less than 22 mm, or 28 mm (according to the European standard). If the base is laid out on logs, then the thickness of the plywood sheet is from 30 mm. This thickness ensures the rigidity of the base and prevents the tiles from vibrating and cracking.

Read useful material on what to do when tiles crack:

Installation and strengthening of plywood flooring

To relieve the stress of a solid plywood sheet, cut it into four squares and screw it to the joists or wooden floor in a checkerboard pattern. Plywood can be attached to plank or parquet floors. When attaching plywood sheets to joists, their pitch should be from 30 to 40 cm.

Important. When strengthening plywood sheets, you do not need to skimp on screws: the more often they are strengthened, the less the sheet will sag, which minimizes its vibration.

This fastening will prevent the tiles from cracking and will preserve it flooring for a long time.

Read more: Waterproofing the floor in wooden house: what material to choose?

When laying plywood, you need to check its horizontal position building level.

If sheets are available smaller thickness, they can cover the floor according to the diagram presented above. To give the required thickness, another layer of plywood is laid on top. Laying occurs so that the seams of the top layer do not coincide with the seams of the bottom layer. To give additional hardness, plywood sheets are glued together, and upper layer additionally screwed with self-tapping screws.

Important. Since plywood changes with temperature fluctuations or changes in humidity, the sheets are fixed at a certain distance from each other and from the walls. The distance between the sheets is 0.5 cm, from the walls - 1 cm (the distance can be foamed or covered with a plinth).

Before laying tiles on plywood, the surface must be thoroughly cleaned and leveled. Grinding is usually used for these purposes.

Remember that when attaching plywood, the heads of the screws need to be recessed a little so that they do not interfere with sanding the surface.

After sanding, the surface must be thoroughly cleaned, first with a vacuum cleaner, then with a damp cloth or sponge. Then the surface is primed (preferably at least 2 layers). This will provide waterproofing and is additional protection for the wooden base.

For rooms with high humidity(kitchen, bathroom or bathroom) use moisture-resistant plywood under the tiles. Tiles on plywood in the bathroom are laid after an additional layer of waterproofing (for both walls and floors). For waterproofing, a ready-made liquid or powder waterproofing mixture is used.

Preparatory work After the primer or waterproofing has dried, you can begin laying ceramic tiles on the plywood.

How to stick tiles?

For laying tiles on plywood, as it does not have flexibility, it will cause further damage to the tiles due to the movement of the wood.

How then to glue the tiles to the plywood?

For these purposes, two-component or silicone adhesives, adhesives for movable bases, parquet glue based on modified silane ( universal adhesives Before buying, you need to check on what substrates it glues). They provide good adhesion and joint mobility. In addition, this glue is an additional waterproofing layer.

Read more: Self-leveling floor repair

Advice. Like any other tile adhesive, it needs to be mixed in small portions just before laying, so that it does not have time to dry out.

To lay PVC tiles on plywood, leveling and priming the base will be sufficient. Laying begins from the center of the room (it is located at the intersection of the line from the centers of the opposite walls, which form a cross).

First, perform “dry” installation: PVC tiles laid out so that the cut pieces against the walls are no narrower than half of the whole tile (this also applies to ceramic tiles). If necessary, the lines are moved a little to get an even and neat drawing.

Then the tiles are glued to glue or to a self-adhesive base. Next, they are rolled a little with a heavy roller or a regular one, but with force, expelling the air from under them. The tiles are laid as closely as possible to each other.

When laying tiles on walls so that they do not slide when further work, nailed at the level of the second row from the bottom wooden slats. It will hold the entire structure until it dries completely. Then it is removed and the first row is laid (most often cut tiles).

Laying floor tiles on plywood can also start from the second row (from the wall), from the center of the room, diagonally. Options depend on the size of the room, pattern, etc.

Features of gluing

Tile adhesive for plywood is applied to small areas, 1-4 tiles in size, but not more than 1 m² (due to the fact that the glue dries very quickly) with a notched trowel, which will evenly distribute the glue over the wooden base.

The first tile on the plywood is carefully laid on the glue, it is lightly pressed, and the horizontal position of its laying is checked using a building level. If there are small deviations, then tap the tile with a rubber mallet (hammer) and check again with a level.

The second tile is laid next to the first one, and so on. Special crosses or pegs are inserted into the seams between them, which regulate the thickness of the seam.

Advice. The thickness of the seam depends on the size of the tiles that are laid on the plywood. The larger the tiles, the wider the joint, but not more than 0.5 cm.

Then lay out the third and fourth tiles and align them with the first two and the floor. In this way, fill the entire space of the walls or floor with whole tiles, and after they dry, lay out the cut pieces.

Read more: Wooden floor in the country house - we do it ourselves

The advantage of glue for wooden bases is that it dries very quickly. After a few hours, you can safely walk on the floor and carry out further work.

Important. During installation, any protruding adhesive must be removed from the surface immediately so that it does not leave a dark stain.

The process of laying tiles on plywood

After the floor has dried, the seams need to be processed (before starting work, you need to remove all the crosses or pegs from the seams).

They are treated with grout designed for these purposes. It may be slightly lighter or darker than the overall color of the tile, or traditional white.

It is applied rubber spatula movements directed perpendicular to the seams (for more complete filling of the seams). Grout is optional protective layer, which prevents moisture from entering the base. , they are given time to dry.

After this, the tiles are thoroughly washed with a cloth. You need to wash it carefully so as not to wash out the fresh grout from the joints and with a light cloth so as not to paint them. Then all the tiles laid on the plywood are rubbed with a dry cloth or sponge. This completes the installation work.

More details this process you can see in the video below. We recommend that you read it (it’s short).

If it is difficult for you to do this work yourself, then you can delegate them to a high-quality repair team. All you need to do is leave a request in the form at the bottom right of our website.

Modern construction technologies are constantly evolving, allowing the consumer to take advantage of a huge number of possibilities for the use of conservative materials. In this regard, the question of whether it is possible to lay tiles on plywood receives not just a positive, but a detailed answer.

Today you can veneer anything, the surfaces are:

• wood;
• brick;
• concrete.

The first option is quite often interesting for beginning craftsmen. The answer to the above question can be answered positively for the reason that plywood is Lately has taken a strong position and is used not only for cladding ceilings and walls, but also as floor insulation.

Plywood is chosen by consumers for many reasons. This material is suitable for covering surfaces that have an impressive area. Although laying tiles on plywood is possible, a number of nuances must be observed. For installing heated floors, this approach is not relevant, because a concrete screed will be required.

Plywood selection

Tiles are a fairly heavy material, so you need to choose the right one plywood sheet, which will have the appropriate density and thickness. It is one thing to purchase such a base for the ceiling and walls, and another thing for the floor. In this case, the instructions recommend purchasing material whose thickness is 28 mm or more.

The problem may lie not in the moment of laying, but in the consequences when insufficient sheet thickness leads to deformation. There is not much to say about the material itself. It is only necessary to note that it is environmentally friendly. Plywood can be moisture-proof, in this case we are talking about its veneered variety, which is not inferior to clay brick.

Glue selection

When answering the question of whether it can be laid on plywood, you must decide which adhesive to choose. Some experts recommend preferring suitable look solution, while others advise buying universal option for wood. The main feature of such compositions is that they allow the finish to adapt to the movement of the base. Among their ingredients, highly elastic components should be highlighted, namely:

• fiberglass;
• microfiber;
• silane;
• silicone

However, this list is not complete, because there are other polymer modifiers. Once you have decided whether it is possible to lay floor tiles on plywood, you should also learn about some other nuances. They consist in the fact that the glue for installing ceramics on wood should be quite liquid, which will eliminate the need to tap on the finishing surface after installation. The mixture should spread over the surface on its own.

Among non-standard solutions should be highlighted:

• liquid glass;
• liquid Nails;
• NC varnish.

In the latter case, we are talking about a composition to which foam shavings treated with acetone are added. However, all these methods do not provide a 100% guarantee of reliable fastening, so it is better to use specialized mixtures.

Additional preparation of plywood

Due to the fact that it is almost impossible to lay on clean, smooth plywood, it is necessary to take care of preparation. To do this, the surface should be given higher adhesive properties. To begin with, it is treated with an antiseptic, then applied. This is true even for moisture-resistant sheets. Then, to improve adhesion to the coating, a sickle mesh is fixed to the surface.

Plywood must be primed several times. This will not only improve the quality of grip, but also provide additional protection material from moisture. Since you already know whether tiles can be laid on plywood, in the next step you can move on to installation work By standard scheme. When facing walls, at the first stage, a support rail is installed so that the material does not slide down.

An important point that must be taken into account when laying tiles and installing the plywood itself is that the material will change depending on the linear dimensions when exposed to external environment. For this reason, it is necessary to leave small gaps between the plates, as well as around the perimeter of the room. This will compensate for the movement of the sheets. To prevent voids from forming, they can be filled with polyurethane foam.

Conducting training

Now you know whether it is possible to lay tiles on plywood. However, when carrying out such work, it is important to pay attention Special attention preparation. It is important to bring the surface of the wood to perfect smoothness. In order to achieve ideal results, you can screw a few more screws into the material. The main condition for this is the requirement that the screw heads are tightly recessed.

Before starting work, you need to prepare a certain set of tools and materials, including:

• Sander;
• elastic glue;
• roulette;
• waterproofing;
• building level;
• hammer with a plastic nozzle;
• Bulgarian;
• grout solution.

Carrying out waterproofing

Many home craftsmen are wondering whether it is possible to lay tiles on plywood. Even if you do not have relevant experience in carrying out such work, then you know that such work can be carried out. At the next stage, the technology involves waterproofing. This step is necessary because wood, when exposed to moisture and temperature differences, undergoes rotting and deformation. Even during the installation of the panels, waterproofing can be laid under them, which can be mastic or polyethylene.

Before laying the tiles, the plywood must be coated with a primer in several layers, and mastic must be used for this. This composition will require 5 hours to completely absorb and dry. With this processing, the above question no longer arises.

Carrying out masonry

The glue dries quite quickly, so you should not rush to mix the entire volume of the solution at once. The mixture is laid in an even layer on the surface. After this, you can lay the first tile. You need to start from the corner where the whole product will be located. Ceramics are mounted with some pressure on its surface. In order not to deform the tile, it is necessary to tap the corners and central part with a plastic hammer.

Laying tiles on plywood is accompanied by adjusting its position for some time until the glue completely hardens. Once you are done with the first row, you can start the second. The crosses that are installed between the tiles will help you maintain a certain size of the seams. The average seam should not be more than 3 mm, however, sometimes tiles are laid with seams up to 7 mm, which is true for those rooms whose conditions are characterized by temperature changes. Before laying tiles on plywood, you should become more familiar with the technology. It provides for the creation flat surface using cladding. In this case, you should use a building level.

For reference

Even a novice master should know whether it is possible to lay tiles on plywood. The answer to this question should be positive. However, before starting work, you need to familiarize yourself with some nuances. Among them, it should be noted that the glue may contain hardeners. In this case, manipulations should be carried out quite quickly, otherwise the glue will quickly set and you will not have time to align the products horizontally.

Conclusion

It is also important to remember about the features of plywood selection. You should not take thin sheets in the hope of saving money. good foundation can only be obtained with a 25 mm blade. Now you know whether it is possible to glue tiles to plywood, but you should remember that such a base, even if it is moisture resistant, can deform over time under the influence of moisture. Therefore, it is recommended to use additional waterproofing agents.

When people want to lay some surface with tiles, they are interested in the result being extremely smooth and aesthetically pleasing. With each such repair, the question arises - how much primer is needed before laying the tiles? Previously, people often resorted to laying tiles on cement mortar– the wall/floor was treated with ordinary PVA glue. Times have changed, mixtures have become more reliable and of higher quality. Specialized solutions are sold in various construction stores in an exceptional variety. Is it worth resorting to them when finishing the next room, or can you do without them? Or do you need a primer for the floor under the tiles?

About the primer

A primer is a special composition that is usually applied to the floor/wall before the actual process of laying tiles. Its main tasks include improving adhesion between the cladding and the base. There is also an improvement in water-repellent and antiseptic properties. In some cases, when the base is metal, there is protection against corrosion, so the question of whether it is necessary to prime the floor before laying tiles does not even arise.

The mixtures are produced on the basis of various high-quality components that combine film-forming properties. These are drying oils, various resins and other similar components, varying each time. Modern soil mixtures are technologically advanced, diverse, and highly reliable; there are many options for which primer to use before laying tiles.

Should I prime the floor and walls?

This question is for experienced craftsmen may seem incorrect, because the role of primer in any modern repair and decoration work is very great. Do I need to prime the floor before laying tiles? Almost always yes. If the surface is loose, porous or crumbling, this process is mandatory; there is no doubt about the need to treat the floor/wall. Dense concrete base or properties similar to it do not need to be primed, although it is advisable to do so. There are a number of reasons that make this process important. She:

• Helps strengthen the surface by playing a binding role. The composition will densely saturate the pores, significantly strengthening its structure, making it less dependent on dynamic/static loads. A primer for walls under tiles in the bathroom reduces the sedimentation of bacteria.
• Reduces the consumption of material used for subsequent processing. This is especially true with ceramics, but is also true with painting and wallpapering.
• Improves grip. The adhesive component will stick to the treated wall/floor better than to the untreated one, so the layout will be of better quality. It is important to consider the combination of the type of soil and the adhesive component used.

Choice

There are several types of primer compositions used in residential areas. They are similar in application, but have different properties and characteristics.

Important: try not to take cheap soil. Such soil is easily determined. It is quite easy to identify from the packaging, where there will certainly be a text warning about the potential need for reapplication. If this warning is present, the need for reapplication arises in the vast majority of cases. But it will not be of such quality. This primer for tile adhesive is not optimal. It’s better to overpay a little for soil than to get insufficient quality results.

Main types:

The choice depends on your specific needs and the characteristics of the floor/wall you intend to work with.

The compositions may differ in their properties - some are designed for deep penetration into the material being processed, others improve “adhesion” without providing such impregnation. It is necessary to read the instructions for use before working directly with the mixture.

For different materials

When you work with different materials, then the requirements for primer compositions may vary greatly, and the technology for working with them may also differ.

How to wash?

Let's figure out how to wash the primer from the tiles. It's worth starting with the usual wet rag. If the mixture gets into a place where it is not needed just now, there is a chance to wash it with regular warm water, to which you will add soap. Rub thoroughly; the primer may come off the ceramic. Try not to miss a minute, absorption occurs quickly. You can cover the stain with damp cloths for a couple of hours and try again. If this method does not help, take special remedy for cleaning plumbing fixtures. What cleans sanitaryware should also work on ceramic products. A good option is windshield wipers.

If there is more a difficult situation and time is lost, you need to resort to a special cleaner polyurethane foam. It is necessary to soak the resulting stains, then remove them with a scraper.

If there is no cleaner available, any available solvents found in the house will do, preferably using alcohol based. This can be gasoline, acetone, turpentine, kerosene and other options. If all else fails, you will have to remove the stains from the tiles using a special scraper with a rubber blade. An undesirable option, but a necessary one.

But try not to let the soil get on the ceramic; it is usually quite difficult to remove the stain.

Always follow the instructions when preparing the mixture, because it is usually sold as a concentrate, which must be diluted strictly according to a certain rate.

Laying tiles on plywood yourself

Always pay attention to the specifics of the concentrate, as you may not be purchasing a mixture general purpose, but a special one that will be suitable for specific highly specialized conditions. As an example, a primer for bathroom tiles should provide greater bactericidal protection due to high humidity.

After the mixture has dried, perform an initial check by running your palm over it. If it smudges, it’s worth reapplying the primer; if not, you can proceed to laying out the tiles. It is better to apply the mixture using a soft roller. The differences in unevenness should not exceed 10 mm.

Laying tiles on plywood

Before laying tiles on plywood, you need to prepare the base.

Specifics of laying ceramic tiles on plywood

Laying tiles on plywood involves using plywood laid in two layers so that the tiles lie evenly on the base and do not peel off. Thus, the minimum thickness of plywood is 2.2 - 2.8 cm. Even better, to increase the overall strength, plywood glued in two layers is suitable. In addition, the plywood should be secured very tightly to the base to minimize deformation.

Preparing the base

The plywood needs to be sanded and cleaned. Any surface for tiles must be level. Two layers of primer are applied to a perfectly flat and smooth surface. After you apply a coat of primer, you should wait until it dries for five hours, then do the same for the second coat. If laying tiles is done in the bathroom, then before applying the primer, the plywood must be treated with a special solution for waterproofing.

You should choose an adhesive that is designed for problematic surfaces (plywood, drywall). Before purchasing it, read the instructions to make sure that this mixture is suitable for use with plywood surface and your tile type. In addition to traditional tile adhesives, special two-component polyurethane adhesives can be used.

Laying tiles

Laying tiles should begin from the second row, since the first row will be trimmed to the right size and it fits into the very last place. It is recommended to install the first tiles on the farthest wall of the room. The horizontality of the laid tiles must be constantly checked by a level.

For some time, until the glue has hardened, the tiles can be adjusted to achieve the desired result. To accurately align the seams, crosses are installed between the tiles. The size of the seams is usually 2-3 mm, but if indoors high humidity or constant temperature fluctuations, the seams can be increased to a size of 5 mm.

The adhesive mixture dries within 2-4 hours, so it is better to prepare small portions. To stir the glue, use a special mixer to achieve homogeneity of the glue mass. Laying tiles is also done on a small area at a time within 1 sq.m. The glue applied to the surface of plywood and tiles will begin to set within 20 minutes. Therefore, all manipulations for laying and adjusting the tiles must be done during this time.

The final stage is grouting, but in this case it is no different from the usual tile laying procedure.

Often a situation arises when it is necessary to lay tiles on plywood. This procedure is required when it comes to changing the floor or when adding wall structures. However, the plywood base is very different from the concrete one due to physical properties material, and therefore the technology of tiled cladding here will be somewhat different. Below is a detailed analysis of how to lay tiles on plywood, where you can see the difference.

What is this article about?

Installation pitfalls

In order to achieve a high-quality result and at the same time not encounter premature collapse of the cladding, when laying ceramics on plywood base There are two main factors to consider.

1. The main component of the plywood structure is wood, which has certain properties that are manifested under the influence different conditions. For example, under the influence of water, wood can become wet and swell, and when it dries, on the contrary, it can dry out and shrink in size. In other words, such a foundation will not be static, but will always be in a dynamic state. This can cause damage to the top coating and even its destruction;
2. One of the components of plywood material is resin, the presence of which does not affect better side on the adhesive properties of the base. Therefore, tiles are glued to plywood differently from the classical understanding of this facing process.

Then how to glue tiles to plywood if this cannot be done in the usual way. And is it possible? Modern industry has already provided a solution to this non-trivial problem. To carry out the fastening of ceramics for such a situation, there is a special adhesive composition and auxiliary products have been developed.

Suitable adhesive

Therefore, it is very important to correctly determine adhesive composition, onto which tiles could be glued to a base made of wood material. Here you need to take into account the following nuances:

1. With the veneered variety of plywood material, delamination can occur, and therefore it is recommended to use compounds that do not penetrate deeply into the structure of the materials;
2. Plywood sheets are quite flexible finishing materials. Under an excessively large load, their bending is not excluded. The gluing of tile elements must be done taking into account that they cannot come off in the event of an accidental impact or when the sheets sag.

Therefore, elastic types of adhesives are the most best option choice. But the use of other alternative compositions is not excluded. Distinctive feature The advantage of such means is that when the base transitions to a dynamic state, they allow the tile to move simultaneously with it.

Their composition necessarily includes the inclusion of such highly elastic components as fiberglass, microfiber, silane, silicone and other modifying polymer additives. Such compositions are usually presented in liquid form, which allows you to skip the moment of tapping the cladding - when pressing on the elements, the mixture is independently distributed on each of the glued sides. However, ceramic coating can be glued to plywood with other types of adhesives. For example, like this:

• liquid Nails;
• NC varnish, foam shavings;
• liquid glass;
• polyurethane foam.

However, such solutions are not the highest quality in terms of gluing surfaces, so you should always choose specialized, proven compositions.

Installation work on the base

Beginners may still have doubts about whether it is possible to lay tiles on plywood. For professional tilers, laying tiles on plywood floors is nothing new. However, the whole process as a whole is quite labor-intensive and painstaking. The technology for installing tiles is identical everywhere, the difference lies only in preparing the base and choosing the appropriate adhesive.

According to the European standard, laying tiles on plywood, chosen as a substrate, is allowed only if the thickness of the latter is in the range from 22 to 28 mm.

When laying plywood boards on joists, their layer can reach about 30 mm. With this thickness, the base provides the necessary rigidity, at which the laid layer of cladding cannot vibrate and crack.

To eliminate the possibility of tension on the whole canvas, it is divided into 4 pieces. Which are fixed to plank floor or a log system in a staggered arrangement. If you need to lay the substrate on the logs, the gaps between them are 30-40 cm.

When fixing plywood, you should not limit the use of self-tapping screws, since attaching them more frequently will ensure minimal deflection of the sheet, which will reduce its vibration. In addition, the screws are screwed in so that their heads are recessed into the thickness of the plywood. This measure is dictated by the need for unhindered grinding of the surface when preparing it for laying tiles and the laying technology itself.

When laying plywood, always monitor its horizontalness using a building level.

However, in practice situations arise when there are fewer sheets specified thickness. But it is not possible to obtain material with the required parameters. What to do then? Use thin material It's also possible. However, in this case the substrate is made of several layers of plywood. In this case, the squares should be laid so that the seams at the bottom of the underlying layer do not overlap the top ones. To give additional hardness to the substrate, the sheets must be glued to each other and reinforced with self-tapping screws.

Please note: due to the dynamism of plywood under the influence of factors such as humidity, temperature changes, the base squares should be placed at some distance from each other and from the walls. The gap between the plywood fragments should be 5 mm, between the plywood and the walls - 1 cm. Subsequently, the void will be covered with a plinth or foamed.

After sanding, remove dust from the surface so as to glue ceramic tiles on plywood with an uncleaned and unprepared surface is almost impossible. This is done using a vacuum cleaner, a damp sponge or a soft rag.

Another important reminder regarding the base for flooring in rooms with high humidity (kitchen, bathroom). That is, for such rooms they choose not standard plywood, but a moisture-resistant variety. But before gluing the tiles to the plywood, the latter is covered with an additional layer of waterproofing material (this is done on both the wall and the floor). As a waterproofing agent, a special mixture is purchased already mixed or in powder form.

When the primer and waterproofing are dry, the preparation stage is considered complete. After which you can start gluing the tiles onto the plywood.

Installation work with tiles

Having selected a suitable adhesive (two-component, polyurethane, for moving bases, parquet) and prepared the base, the installation of floor tiles on plywood begins.

Initially, the layout of the elements is done “dry”. The tiled pattern is laid out so that, according to the pattern, the cut elements (constituting at least half of the tile) are located against the walls. If necessary, the center line, which is struck first, is moved slightly in order to create an even and beautiful drawing cladding.

Elements can be glued to tiles glue solution or fix with self-adhesive materials. Then they are rolled over them with a roller, expelling air bubbles. Tiles and plywood are laid with the elements tightly adjacent to each other.

When laying tiles on the walls, a wooden plank is nailed at the height of the second row to prevent the elements from sliding down. This strip will become a support for the entire canvas until the adhesive layer dries. Therefore, it will be removed and the first row will be filled with cut elements.

Since laying tiles on plywood on the floor is also possible different ways, then they start laying out the elements here either from the second row or from the point of intersection of the central lines.

Spreading plywood glue mixture It is recommended to limit the area to 1-4 elements, and not to process an area of ​​more than 1 sq. m. In this case, the product is distributed according to wooden base with a notched spatula. After the adhesive layer has dried, the seams are jointed, having first removed all the crosses, clamps and pegs from them.

That's all the subtleties regarding the question of how to glue tiles to plywood.