Do I Need A Sub Floor For Cement Board

Cement board is a type of underlayment that is now standard for most tile installations but particularly for floor tile.

Do i need a sub floor for cement board.

I need to match the height of the existing tile in the bathroom. The plywood subfloor should be at least 5 8 thick on 16 centers 3 4 preferred and securely attached to the joists preferably with screws. Here s the right way to attach cement backer board to a plywood subfloor. Cement board also provides an additional layer over a plywood or particleboard subfloor adding stiffness to the tile.

Would this calculation get me to the right height compressed thin set on top of sub floor 1 8 cement board 1 2 compressed thin set on top of cement board 1 8. Precut and fit all the cement board and then lift all of the cement boards out. Embed the cement board in latex modified thin set mortar the main reason for using thin set between the cement board and the subfloor isn t as much for bonding as it is for even void free cement board support throughout the floor. This is a distinct advantage over plywood and drywall.

The primary benefit of cement board is that it doesn t break down or expand or warp if it gets wet. So first of all if you re going to put down durock which is sort of that cement board that you re describing generally that s screwed down. They skipped putting down the thin set under the cement board even though the installation instruction specify that it is required. If the subfloor doesn t have enough stability you can usually but not always remedy the situation by installing cement backer board also called cementboard.

If it is a planked floor then y. It depends on the sub surface if it is a concrete slab then no but if it is a plywood decking yes. Apply a supporting bed of mortar or modified thinset to subfloor using a 1 4 square notched trowel. And then once the cement board is down and it s screwed in do i have to put some type of mesh tape to put the boards together and then mortar the tape.

I plan on thinsetting and screwing cement board to the subfloor then redgard then thin set and tile. If it is vinyl tile glued over a concrete slab you can clean the tile and adhere the tile directly to the vinyl. So you would screw that down to. Cement board a sheet of lightweight concrete and fiberglass mesh should be laid over top of the subfloor for any tile project.

It strengthens the floor removes bounce and gives the tile a. When installing a ceramic tile floor on a concrete subfloor you don t have to worry about flexing as long as the concrete slab is at least 1 1 8 inch thick which most slabs are.