How to lay tiles on a wooden floor: the subtleties of technology and recommendations. How to lay tiles on a wooden floor Draft floor under a tile in a wooden house

Ceramic tile continues to be one of the most popular floor coverings, despite the emergence of a large number of fashion novelties. It has established itself as a practical and easy-care material, durable enough and very aesthetically fitting into the interior. The complexity of laying tiled flooring can be called relative. This work may well be done independently, but a person without experience at first will need a consultant and assistant. Only perfect installation can ennoble the room and ensure the durability and reliability of the repairs made. One of the conditions that must be observed when installing a ceramic coating is careful preparation tiled floors. Otherwise, all the efforts made may result, after some time, in a violation of stability in the tiled canvas, the appearance of cracks and the loss of individual fragments of the tile.

Types of rough coating

Laying tiles can be done on almost any type of subfloor.

The only exception is carpet. Its soft, fleecy surface cannot serve as a good base for a tile floor. All other materials, even fairly soft linoleum and vinyl, can be used for this purpose. Old ceramic coating suitable for use if it is sufficiently reliable and stable. Even a cracked surface will not interfere if the entire tile is firmly in place. The only thing that will need to be done is to walk the grinder on a glossy surface to make it less smooth. Nevertheless, concrete floors will still be the ideal basis for tiles. A hard and durable surface will significantly increase the life of the laid tiles. In relation to them, too, preliminary preparation will have to be carried out, but after its completion, confidence in good quality laying tiled floor will increase significantly.

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Laying tiles on a concrete surface

Scheme of laying on a cement-sand screed.

A concrete surface that has not previously served as a base for flooring is likely to require little effort and complex preparatory work. The only thing that will need to be done is to carefully examine it, paying special attention to the joints between the plates and the places where they adjoin the wall. Large gaps will need to be filled with cement-sand mortar. The same will need to be done with the pits, and the bumps should be leveled with the surface. grinder. The biggest problem may be the horizontal deviation of the floor level. These values ​​are not as strict as when laying a laminate or parquet board, but when laying tiles on an uneven base, it will not be possible to achieve perfect joining even when using a thick layer of glue. Considering that the tiles that will be subsequently laid are not the cheapest construction material, it would be unreasonable to save money and effort in preparing the base, but it is better to spend cement screed to align the horizontal level.

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Carrying out a cement screed

Many types of ready-made self-leveling mixtures have appeared on sale, but their cost is not democratic. Not so complicated procedure of self-mixing cement, sand and water can save a significant amount of money. Best Proportion for this compound is obtained at the rate of 1 part of cement to 3 parts of sand. The concrete base is preliminarily cleaned with a coarse metal brush, exposing coarse-grained inclusions. This will help the mortar to better set with the base. Then, along the perimeter of the floor, beacons are placed, which serve as guidelines for determining the level of the filled mixture.

To isolate the walls from wet cement mortar, they are protected from below with a damper tape or strips of roofing material 10-15 cm wide. This also serves to compensate for the thermal expansion of concrete when installing a warm floor. Before pouring the solution, the surface is thoroughly moistened with water. The screed thickness of 5 cm will provide good strength, but you should not increase its height, remembering that concrete mass has a lot of weight. Installed beacons are removed after partial drying of the screed and the resulting voids are filled with a solution. For underfloor heating, it is necessary to lay a substrate of the type that is more suitable for the selected system and the climatic conditions of the room.

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Laying tiles on a wooden surface

Installation of tiles on wooden base is possible only if it preserves its integrity and lack of decay. The weight ceramic tiles, additionally increased due to the adhesive composition, can lead to deformation of the wooden floor, its cracking and destruction. Plank floors, which, when examined, look unsuitable to withstand a large load, are best dismantled. It is more expedient to get rid of the rotten subfloor, which will no longer be helped by any surface preparation. If a wooden planks have a reliable fortress, it is enough to make sure that they are well attached to the logs and there are no too wide gaps between them.

Loose floorboards are fixed with self-tapping screws or dowel-nails, and the gaps between the boards are puttied, previously reinforced with thin wood chips. Floor preparation from chipboard or plywood is carried out in the same way. Using a waterproofing underlay when laying tiles on wooden surface necessarily. Wood has the ability to absorb moisture well and change size with temperature changes, and the insulation of the subfloor will protect the tiled floor from instability.

Ceramic tiles are an excellent material for flooring, especially in rooms with high humidity or with a high probability of spilling liquids or other substances on the floor. Typical examples- bathroom, toilet, hallway, kitchen. They do not refuse to lay tiles in residential premises, if the floor is equipped with a heating system.

But what about the owners of private housing, in which all floors originally wooden? A similar question may arise for owners of apartments of old buildings, where the plank flooring is mounted on logs. Is it possible to lay tiles on a wooden floor?

You can immediately reassure those who are worried - this is a completely feasible operation that does not require complete dismantling of the coating to the ground or a concrete base, followed by pouring a thick concrete screed. True, you will have to work hard, since the success of such a reworking of the coating will mainly depend on the quality and strength of the wooden base.

Taking on the laying of tiles, if there is at least any, even the smallest, suspicion of the instability of the wooden base is the height of recklessness. This is explained simply:

  • Wood is a fairly flexible material, tending to assume its original configuration after deformation. But what is "forgivable" wooden floor(slight deflection, springing, etc.), absolutely unacceptable for ceramics. Each individual tile is very rigid, not bendable. In the case of a “game” of the floor, it can simply crack.
  • Another case, if, for example, ceramic tiles are small. cement-containing tile adhesive also does not like dynamic bending loads. It will definitely go into small cracks, begin to delaminate, and the tile, even retaining its integrity, will simply move away from the base.

At the same time, one should not forget that the load on the coating will increase significantly - in addition to everything else, the ceramic tile itself has considerable weight, mortars, other possible structural elements of the created multi-layer "pie" of the floor. Thus, the wooden base must have guaranteed static. This is what needs to be achieved at the first stage of work.

It is clear that the first step is always careful visual inspection, the application of efforts on the most problematic areas of the wooden floor in order to identify its possible vibrations and sources of squeaks. If there are any, then questions should not arise at all - the coating is subject to a thorough sorting and repair, and not only in places of instability, since strengthening the floor in one place does not guarantee that it will not appear in another. It is necessary to understand the cause, and eliminate it at the root.

Sometimes after dismantling the floor, a "terrible" picture appears

Moreover, experienced craftsmen always advise, in all cases of laying tiles on a wooden base, to carry out its complete enumeration. If a ceramic coating is planned, then one must think that this is for the long term, and not for a year or two. Where is the guarantee that a defect or the process of wood decomposition that has begun today, which does not manifest itself in any way today, will not be detected in just a month or even a year, when the tiled flooring is already fully laid? To carry out repairs, you will have to remove all the tiles, dismantle wooden base- and all due to the fact that the preparation was not shown due integrity. Isn't it better to be completely, 100% sure of the reliability and stability of a wooden floor before you start laying tiles?

Let such a prospect not be particularly frightening - compared to the complete dismantling of a wooden floor and pouring a new concrete screed to replace it, this procedure is much simpler, requires much less labor and financial investments.

So, the usual scheme of a wooden floor is a plank flooring mounted on logs. The logs themselves can be installed according to concrete base. Another option - they are a system of double wood flooring, with a rough and finishing floor and the space between them, which can be filled with thermal insulation material. With any kind of floor revision, the boardwalk will have to be completely removed in order to open the logs for their inspection, repair and alignment.

  • If the condition of any of the logs causes even the slightest concern - there are cracks or areas with signs of wood decomposition, it is subject to unconditional replacement.
  • In the case when the distance between adjacent lags exceeds 500 mm, it will be necessary to install additional bars, otherwise even the thickest batten can give a bend in this place.
  • Be sure to align the lag horizontally. If they are securely embedded, and there is no way to change the height of the supports, this can be achieved. urging using a planer, or, conversely, building it up with a wooden plank.
  • Of course, if there is a subfloor, it should also be given a certain repair - replace dilapidated or cracked boards, eliminate possible distortions, squeaks, etc. When it is ready, both it and the logs are covered with a layer of dense waterproofing film.
  • If it has already become possible to get to the log and the subfloor, you should take the opportunity and treat all the details with antiseptic and water-repellent compounds. You should not attribute your unwillingness to carry out this procedure to the fact that such processing was carried out earlier, during the initial laying of the floor - the compositions are inexpensive, the process itself will not take much time, but the durability of the structure will increase for sure.
  • Literally every board of the removed flooring is checked for integrity, the presence of weak areas, cracks, clogged and bent unnecessary nails, etc. All boards with significant defects should be disposed of and replaced with fresh ones.
  • An important action that should not be forgotten is the cleaning of the finishing floor boards from old paint layers in case the subsequent laying of tiles is planned directly on them. Creating a reliable base for tiles involves working with a cleaned wood structure.

Such cleaning can be done in several ways:

So, paint or varnish can be removed in advance by scraping or using abrasive materials - grinding and polishing machines, sandpaper or special attachments for a “grinder” or an electric drill.

Apply sometimes chemical method cleaning - washing off the paint with solvents. However, this is not the most the best option, because organic solvents are actively absorbed into the wood, violating its natural qualities and for a long time reminding of themselves with an unpleasant pungent odor.

The thermal method is widely used - using a building hair dryer or even blowtorch. Under the influence of high temperatures, the paintwork either burns out or melts to such a state that it is easy to remove it with an ordinary scraper (trowel).

  • Before proceeding with the reverse installation of the floorboards, it is possible to think over additional floor insulation. Expanded clay can be poured between the lags, mineral wool mats or expanded polystyrene plates can be laid. Additional thermal insulation will never hurt anyone.
  • The reverse flooring of the boards on the logs is not “solid”, but leaving a gap of 3-5 mm between them, it is necessary so that the wooden floor under the tiles has the opportunity to “breathe” and to compensate for possible linear fluctuations of the material. Another option is to drill through holes in the boards in random order. Be sure to leave a gap near the walls around the entire perimeter of the room, about 10 mm. All gaps left can be slightly closed with adhesive tape or mounting foam.
  • After the final installation of the floorboards on the logs with the help of self-tapping screws, a thorough quality control of the coating is once again carried out. If no shortcomings are identified, you can proceed to preparing the base for laying ceramic tiles.

Several ways to prepare the base for laying tiles

So, a repaired solid plank base has been obtained. How to proceed further in order to fully adapt it to laying ceramic tiles?

1. The tile is supposed to be laid directly on top of boards

  • First, you need to create a thin, but stable and reliable waterproofing layer. To do this, the wooden floor is thickly treated with hot drying oil, but this method is quite outdated, and besides, it is very unsafe, so it is better to use a latex impregnating composition. It is applied thickly with a wide brush on the floorboards, which immediately after that, without waiting for the composition to dry, are covered with a fine-mesh fiberglass painting mesh.
  • When the latex composition is completely dry, for reliability, the mesh should be fixed on the floor surface with galvanized self-tapping screws with wide caps.
  • The result is a durable waterproofing coating, which, in addition, has certain reinforcing properties.
  • Now it is tedious to achieve good adhesion of the tile adhesive to the resulting base. You can do it this way. Preparing a solution consisting of 2 parts large-fraction sand, 2 parts silicate glue (often referred to as " liquid glass”), and one part of water. After thorough mixing, the resulting composition is evenly applied thin layer over the entire floor surface.

After complete drying, it will turn out rough monolithic surface ready for laying ceramic tiles.

Video: an example of laying tiles directly on the boardwalk

2. It is planned to fill a thin screed

  • If you look at the opinions of many experienced craftsmen, then some of them are categorically against laying tiles directly on a plank base. Their suggestion is to pour a small light screed over it.
  • The initial process - impregnation of the floorboards with a waterproofing composition, does not change.
  • Further, along the perimeter, a damper tape should be glued to prevent deformation and destruction of the screed near the walls.
  • A system of beacons is installed, based on the thickness of the screed of about 30 mm. Between the beacons, you can additionally lay a thin metal or fiberglass mesh.
  • For screed, you can use a standard base cement-sand mortar with fine seeded sand (1: 3), but it is better to use special dry building mixes that have in their composition fiber optic microreinforcement and plasticizers. Such a screed matures faster and is more durable for such conditions. In addition, nothing prevents the use of the technology of pouring a self-leveling compound.
  • After hardening and full maturation of the screed, it is treated with a primer, after which it can be considered ready for laying ceramic tiles.

3. The floorboards will be covered with plywood (chipboard, OSB)

If there is no desire to dilute the dirt with pouring the screed, the room does not belong to the category of high humidity, but it has a fairly intense dynamic load, then the plank base can be covered with plywood sheets 10 mm thick. The thickness may be more, but we should not forget that this is an extra load on the logs and floorboards. By the way, here you can save on the floorboard - it is enough to lay it with an interval of even up to 150 -200 mm.

The work is carried out in next sequence:

  • The plank base, after antiseptic impregnation, is covered with a waterproofing material. In the case described, this role can be played by waxed, waxed or bitumen-impregnated construction paper, or even ordinary polyethylene film not less than 200 microns thick.
  • Plywood sheets are laid out staggered, so that between them there must be a compensation gap of 5 to 10 mm. A similar gap is left around the perimeter of the room along the walls.
  • The next step is to create a waterproofing reinforcing layer and prepare the surface for laying tiles. Here, in se in exactly the same way as described above for a wooden floor: latex impregnation → paint mesh → treatment with a silicate-sand composition.

After that, you can proceed directly to laying the tiles.

4. Wood floor close up gypsum fiber sheets (GVL)

This method is somewhat similar to the one described above (with plywood), but it also has its own characteristic features:

  • As a rule, GVL are equipped with a locking part for pairing adjacent sheets. In these places they are connected with a special adhesive and self-tapping screws. The use of self-tapping screws around the entire perimeter of the GVL and in its center is not required.
  • If the strength of the wooden base of the floor allows, and the operational features of the room require special reliability of the coating, GVL can be laid in two layers. In this case, the second should be oriented perpendicular to the first. Coincidence of joints is not allowed.

Approximate scheme of the resulting "pie" with two layers of GVL

  • The GVL surface after treatment with a primer does not need any additional manipulations - it is ready for laying ceramic tiles.

The very process of laying tiles on a prepared wooden floor surface in principle, it is no different from conventional technology, which is discussed in detail. The only thing you should pay attention to is the brand of tile adhesive. It is best to choose the composition "for complex surfaces”, and for some adhesive mixtures, the instructions for use directly indicate the possibility of their use for laying tiles on a wooden base. Such installation of tiles will be more reliable.

The quality of the tiling wooden house directly depends on the preparation of the base. Laying tiles or porcelain stoneware can be performed both on floors on the ground and on beams. Let's talk about how to properly prepare the base for laying tiles on a wooden beamed floor with your own hands.

Basic requirements for tile floor construction

Porcelain stoneware or tile floors must comply with operational construction and sanitary requirements presented to the premises where they are arranged. If this is a private wooden house, then tile floors are most often arranged in wet rooms (bathroom, sauna, etc.) or where water can get on the floor (toilet, kitchen).

The tiled floor washes well and withstands frequent wet cleaning, therefore, the tiles are also laid in rooms where there is a strong contamination of the floor surface ( utility rooms, hallway, etc.). The quality of a tile or porcelain stoneware floor is determined by its following properties:

  • tough and solid construction gender;
  • smooth, non-slip and even surface;
  • resistance to high temperatures;
  • moisture resistance;
  • high abrasion resistance;
  • resistance of the coating to the chemical attack of substances (acids, alkalis).

To contain unexpected water leaks in bathrooms and toilet rooms, the floor in them is arranged at least 15 cm lower than in adjacent rooms. The junction of the tiled floor to the wall must be protected by a waterproof skirting board.

The clearance when laying a two-meter control rail for tiling on the floor surface is provided for up to 4 mm. When arranging a slope in the construction of a clean floor, its size is allowed 0.2% and 2 cm. The deviation in height between adjacent tiles should not be more than 1 mm.

When laying tile flooring for adhesive compositions, the adhesion strength for separation is allowed at least 0.5 MPa for cement adhesive compositions and 2.0 MPa for polymer adhesives.

The air gap in the floors along the wooden beams should not be connected to the smoke channels of stoves and fireplaces, as well as ventilation ducts. With a room area of ​​more than 25 m 2 air space in the floors it is partitioned off with boards, dividing into compartments with an area of ​​\u200b\u200bno more than 5x6 m 2.

Floors made of piece materials (tiles, porcelain stoneware), with insufficient rigidity of their design, become “unsteady”. This creates compressive stresses in top layer hardwood floor and leads to the destruction of the tile coating.

The maximum deflection of the beam should be no more than 2 mm. The deflection of a wooden deck is limited to 0.1 mm (calculated for a concentrated load of 0.6 kN).

Permissible loads on the flooring are determined by the calculation of the deflection and "unsteadiness" of the beam ceiling and wooden flooring. As a result, for a given span of a beam (plating) and the load on them, the required section of these elements is selected.

These constructive measures are used both in the construction of the house and in the reconstruction of the floor. In the latter case, the structure is checked for the effect of existing loads and spans of floor elements. If as a result of the installation of a floor made of tiles (porcelain stoneware) there is an increase in weight load-bearing structure, this is also taken into account in the calculation.

The classic composition of the floor in a wooden beamed ceiling:

  1. Wooden beams.
  2. Draft floor from a continuous flooring of boards or wooden shields laid on a cranial beam bar.
  3. Insulation and vapor barrier for rooms with different temperature regime operation (attic and basement floors).
  4. Clean floor.

The design of the wooden floor: 1 - cranial bar; 2 - draft floor; 3 - beam; 4 - vapor barrier; 5 - waterproofing; 6 - insulation; 7 - air gap; 8 - clean floor (floorboard)

For a clean tile or porcelain stoneware floor under a tiled floor, an even and rigid base is required. It consists of solid boardwalk, screed and adhesive composition. It is possible to reduce the compressive stress of the “clothes” of the floor by installing a reinforced or dry screed, as well as using a damper tape around the perimeter of the coating.

Floor preparation for a clean tile floor

All wooden elements the existing floor to be tiled must be inspected. To do this, the floor is opened up to the rough flooring and beams. In case of detection of defects in biocorrosion or wood strength, replacement or repair of damaged structural parts is carried out.

Even if the wooden elements are not damaged, they must be thoroughly antiseptic. Insulation and vapor barrier also need to be checked for loss operational properties(caking, wetting, decay, integrity violation, etc.). The heat insulator, which increases the coefficient of thermal conductivity when wet, must be protected from above with a vapor barrier.

At the same time, one should not forget about the air gap that separates the insulation and the top flooring from the boards, the size of which is at least 3 cm. If it is possible to leave the existing flooring, its surface is cleaned of the old coating (paint, varnish, etc.). For this you can apply building hair dryer, chemical "washes", sandpaper or a simple scraper.

Before laying the wooden covering along the perimeter of the floor, a compensator for possible wood deformations from a damper tape is installed on the wall. It is attached to the wall with an adhesive coating or some kind of fastener. Instead of tape, you can use mounting foam.

Boards are laid with gaps of 3-5 mm, also to prevent deformation stresses in the flooring. It is advisable to fill all the gaps between the individual elements of the wooden coating with an elastic sealant.

Since the installation of a tile floor is justified in rooms associated with frequent use water, wood flooring defended roll materials, bituminous, bitumen-polymer mastics or moisture-proof cement mortars in at least 2 layers.

Screed device

Next, you need a leveling screed device. For the dry version of the underlying layer, moisture-resistant plywood sheets, wood chipboard, wood fiber boards are used. They are attached to the wooden flooring with self-tapping screws, and the joints are filled with the appropriate sealant or adhesive for fixing the tiles.

The screed on the layer of moisture insulation from the cement-sand mortar is made according to bituminous mastic with sand dressing (sand fraction 1.5-5 mm) or rolled waterproofing layer with factory dressing. On a wooden floor, the screed must be reinforced. These can be grids:

  • from metal wire VR-I with a diameter of 3-5 mm;
  • polymer nets made of polypropylene;
  • fiberglass alkali-resistant with a diameter of 4-6 mm;

Scheme of laying tiles on a wooden base: 1 - cranial bars; 2 - floor beam; 3 - wooden flooring; 4 - vapor barrier; 5 - thermal insulation; 6 - waterproofing; 7 - floor board; 8 - roll or coating waterproofing; 9 - reinforced screed; 10 - tile

Fiber is also used to reinforce the screeds. This is a fibrous material that is made from polypropylene, basalt or glass. There is also steel fiber, which is added directly to the dry mortar and mixed thoroughly. Then water is poured in, and stirring continues for another 10 minutes.

The thickness of the screed in this embodiment is 10-15 mm. Compensation elastic gap along the perimeter of the floor is performed to the entire height of the screed. The floor of cement-sand tiles must actually be separated from the structure of the wooden floor and walls (floating floor) so that the integrity of the tiled floor is not violated in case of possible deformations of the wood.

The next step is the application of an adhesive composition that matches the floor covering. These can be cement or polymer adhesive compositions. So, for example, polyurethane is quite suitable two-component composition glue. The thickness of the layer should be 2-3 mm.

It is possible to lay a floor made of tiles or porcelain stoneware on a wooden floor. It is important to take into account all the recommendations of professionals and regulatory requirements for the technology of the device of this floor.

Laying tiles on a wooden floor is not the best option in many ways. It's all about perfect different characteristics two materials - ceramics and wood:

So if you have a choice, try to refuse this idea. If you still decide to lay tiles on a wooden floor, be prepared for the fact that the amount of work will be large.

First important rule: Do not tile on a new wooden floor, in a new building or on a new floor. At least several years must pass (one, and preferably two years), during which the main shrinkage occurs.


Before laying tiles on the floor, it is necessary to carry out preparatory work. Their main task is to create conditions acceptable for both wood and ceramics. There will be several stages, and as a result, the base must meet the following requirements:

  • Access of air to wood is provided.
  • The load is distributed evenly and is not excessive.
  • The base is immovable.

In baths, most often the need arises in the washing room: constant humidity creates ideal conditions for the development of rot and fungi. Therefore, they try to protect wood with ceramics. In other rooms, it is better to consider other flooring options.


First of all, in the room where you plan to lay tiles on a wooden floor, this floor needs to be disassembled: remove the boards. Next, a careful and captious inspection of all components of the structure is required: beams, lags, boards, insulation, hydro and vapor barriers. All the ingredients of the pie.

If there are any signs of destruction, it is necessary to eliminate them. When examining the wood, you can see the following:


Many types of wood-destroying fungi can develop only in conditions of sufficiently high humidity - at least 20%. In dry rooms, this occurs with poorly made waterproofing. Therefore, we check the status along the way waterproofing materials. If there is damage somewhere, we eliminate them, if necessary, lay / apply another layer of insulating materials. Only with effective waterproofing, the wooden floor will serve for a long time: fungi simply do not develop with insufficient moisture, even if there are spores in the wood.

Strengthening, leveling and processing

If the logs are laid in increments of more than 50 cm, additional ones must be installed, otherwise the structure will not withstand the weight of the new flooring. When installing new elements, do not forget to treat them with antiseptics and fungicides.

Next, check the floor for horizontality. This is done with . Usually there are deviations: shrinkage is usually uneven, somewhere it will sag more, somewhere less. All deviations are corrected: lags are leveled. The excess is cut off with a planer, to increase the level, wedges are hammered under the logs or pieces of bricks and other materials are placed. In some cases, nothing can be pushed down, then the board is stuffed from above, removing the excess height with a planer.


The next step is antibacterial and antifungal treatment. For a wooden floor under a tile, you need to find a composition with the longest period between two treatments. Then, according to all the rules, it is required to process all the wooden elements.

For a bath, many people prefer to use only natural impregnations. Most reliable way- impregnation with hot drying oil. For normal protection, it must be carried out several times. At least three, but five is better. A new layer of hot drying oil is applied after the old one dries. You can check this by touch: the surfaces should not stick.


Processing with hot drying oil - effective method antifungal treatment

When processing, make sure that the drying oil does not cool down. When hot, it destroys spores, bacteria, larvae, and also becomes more fluid, penetrating deeper. So that heat is the key to effective protection.

When heating drying oil, be careful: even vapors can flare up. Therefore, drying oil is heated not on a tile, but above tiles, and a piece of tarpaulin or felt is kept nearby to quickly cover the flared container. As soon as the smell of drying oil increases dramatically, remove the heat source - a couple more moments and the vapors will flare up.

Board preparation

While the antibacterial treatment dries/absorbs, it is necessary to treat the floor boards. If the previously served ones are in a normal state, they can be installed again. But be sure to remove the varnish or paint with which they were coated before that.


Removal paintwork possible using:

  • Building hair dryer. Set the temperature to about 200-250°C and direct the air flow to the surface. The paint swells up with bubbles, you immediately pry it with a spatula, a knife with a wide blade, a scraper. The use of a blowtorch is undesirable: the wood overheats, loses its properties and quickly collapses.
  • Chemical washes. They are available in a wide range in any hardware store or market. They are a gel-like mass. Apply to the surface with a spatula or brush. After a period of time, the paint softens and is removed with a spatula. Everything is fine, but if you need to process large area, a lot of washes are required, and this is not cheap.
  • Clean with a spatula or sandpaper. This is the cheapest, but also the most inefficient way. In the sense that it is inefficient, that it takes a lot of time and physical effort. The paint is removed faster if there is a grinder.

Definitely do not reuse boards that have been warped or damaged by pests. It is better to replace them. After cleaning the paint, the boards are also subjected to antibacterial treatment. After drying, you can lay the subfloor under the tiles.

subfloor flooring

The first step is to conduct insulation. The main requirement for insulation (except for low thermal conductivity): non-hygroscopicity of the material. So that fungi and mold do not develop under the floor must be dry. Secondly, it should be light: we need to make the load as small as possible. Extruded polypropylene possesses these qualities. Plus, bacteria and fungi do not multiply on it: there is no nutrient medium for them. Among the shortcomings of this material is its unnatural origin, the fact that it does not conduct air and costs decently.

The second material that can be used is expanded clay. It is, of course, heavier than polypropylene, moreover, it is more hygroscopic. But it is natural and conducts air.


The most common insulation when installing floors in a bath is expanded clay

Having chosen a heater, it is laid out on top of a layer of waterproofing. The thickness is such that there is a distance of 5-7 mm to the boards laid on the logs. This is a ventilation gap that will provide the wood with normal conditions, allowing excess moisture to be removed.

The floor will now be rough - it will fit finishing coating. Treated old boards are a great option. They are laid across the log, but not close, as before, but leaving gaps of 3-4 mm. Along the perimeter, along the walls, they also leave a ventilation gap: about a centimeter wide. These distances will allow the wood to expand as conditions change, and the gaps will then be covered with skirting boards.

To make it easier to work with concrete, plasticizers are added to the solution. If the surface is not smooth enough, you will have to level it (remove bumps and fill in depressions) and apply another layer of self-leveling mixture. To make the solution more homogeneous, it is desirable to process it

After the screed has dried (takes several weeks), the preparation of the wooden floor for tiles is completed. You can start styling.

Dry screed for tiles

Not all rooms require the use of "wet" screeds. For dry, you can prepare the floor for tiles using:

  • moisture resistant drywall (the most fragile of all the proposed material, use only in extreme cases);
  • GVL boards (gypsum-fiber sheets);
  • CSP (cement particle board);
  • moisture resistant plywood.

But this option of preparing the floor for tiles is only suitable for dry rooms - locker rooms or rest rooms in a bathhouse, corridor or hallway in a wooden house. laying tiles washing bath, in the bathroom or kitchen, it is necessary exclusively for a “wet” or “semi-dry” (with additives) screed.


Using sheet materials, laying GVL, TsSP, etc. It has general rules. They need to be laid so that the joints of the sheets do not coincide with the joints of the boards or lags. This is possible only if they are placed at an angle of 30-45 ° to the boards. Moreover, the laying should go apart - the sheets should be displaced one relative to the other.

Stacked board materials fixed around the perimeter and in the center with self-tapping screws. The distance between the fasteners is 25-30 cm. Then the seams are filled with compounds intended for moisture-resistant drywall. After drying, the seams are polished. We can assume that the preparation is over: we proceed to laying the tiles.

How to lay tiles on the floor in a bath and sauna, read the article "Laying floor tiles in a bath or sauna with your own hands."

Floor preparation options for tiles

Schematic representation of the "pie" for preparing the floor for tiles

As you can see, laying tiles on a wooden floor is not easy. A lot of work and a lot of time is required. Is there any way to speed up and ease the process? It is highly undesirable to skip any steps. There is only one option: if, after dismantling part of the floor, you find that there are no “sores” and no troubles. At the same time, the floor is insulated, it is even and there is no need to level it. Then you can immediately start laying the subfloor from the boards, but be sure to remove the paint or varnish. You can not skip the impregnation with protective compounds and the creation of a waterproofing layer.

You can speed up the process of laying the subfloor somewhat if you use not old boards (we don’t use new ones - they can still crack), but slab materials. Not everyone trusts them: it is not known how the same GVL or DSP will behave under the tile, and even during wet room. Therefore, to use them or not - decide for yourself.

If you will make a subfloor for tiles from cement-bonded particle boards, plywood or GVL, they are laid in a run-up: so that the seams overlap. A gap of several millimeters is left between the plates - to compensate for the movement of wood. They are then sealed with compositions for working with drywall. They are fixed with galvanized self-tapping screws, the caps are sunk into the material. When impregnating, the creation of a reinforcing belt is unnecessary - the rigidity of the plates themselves is sufficient, but more attention needs to be paid to waterproofing: so as not to create conditions for destruction.

conclusions

Laying tiles on a wooden floor requires serious preparation. There are many works, they are diverse, require significant funds and time. However, everything must be done correctly, otherwise either the wood will rot or the tile will bounce and crack.

The practicality and functionality of a floor covered with ceramic tiles is undoubtedly at the very top. high level. Their the best sides tiled floors are shown in the kitchen, bathroom and many other areas. Tiles as a floor covering are most often laid in houses where concrete slabs are used for floors, while completely forgetting that laying tiles on a wooden floor is quite real.

The reason for refusing to lay tiles on a wooden floor was the requirement for subfloor under the tiles. The fact is that ceramic tiles require a rigid, fixed base, otherwise the bonding solution laid under it will crack and collapse, and with it the tile. Therefore, those who dared to make such a floor covering had to pour thick layer concrete screed, and this is a very time-consuming and costly business in terms of materials. In addition, such a design significantly increased the weight of the floor, which negatively affected the structure itself. Modern developments in construction have made laying tiles on a wooden floor accessible to anyone who wants to update their wooden floor without resorting to time-consuming and voluminous work.

Preparing for laying tiles

First of all, you need to decide on the tiles for the future floor. To date, the choice is huge and limited only design fantasy and financial possibilities. When choosing tiles, you should be careful not to confuse floor tiles with wall tiles. The fact is that in appearance they are very similar, but the strength and surface of the tiles are different. Floor tiles has more high strength than wall, and its surface is created with an anti-slip effect. Together with the tile, we also choose glue for it. The brand of adhesive will depend on the type and size of the tile, its moisture absorption capacity, operating conditions and the substrate on which the tile will be laid. Along the way, we select the grout for the seams.

Important! You should choose a grout of the same company as the glue. When choosing a color, it is necessary to take into account the clarification of the grout after it dries.

As for the tool, in order to lay tiles on a wooden floor, you will need:

  • a conventional spatula and a grater with teeth for applying glue;
  • rubber spatula and sponge for rubbing seams;
  • glass cutter or tile cutter, in extreme cases, you can use a grinder;
  • mixing containers adhesive solution and grouts;
  • tape measure, square, marking cord, laser level;
  • hammer with a rubber nozzle;
  • drill or screwdriver;
  • mixing nozzle on the drill.

Why preparation is required

According to the technology, tiles on a wooden floor can only be laid on a well-prepared base. To do this, first of all, it is necessary to carry out a complete revision of the wooden floor, which usually consists of several layers: the floor covering, the substrate, the subfloor and the log. If the floor is old, then each of the layers may have certain damages and defects that will not allow you to make a durable tile flooring.

To fix defects and create solid foundation you will have to do the following:

Preparation of a wooden floor for tiles consists in repairing and leveling the rough base

  • We completely remove the floor covering and substrate. If the subfloor and logs do not creak and fail when walking on them, then we leave them as a base.
  • If the logs and the draft floor require repair, then we completely remove the draft boards. Rotten and damaged logs are replaced. We lay a new substrate under the sagging logs and set it horizontally in level.
  • We protect the logs and the subfloor from rotting, fungi and mold, treating them with a special protective impregnation, and let them dry.
  • After drying, the space between the lags under the top is covered with expanded clay.
  • We lay the boards of the subfloor, leaving a gap between them of 5-10 mm. We fasten the boards with self-tapping screws.
  • We lay parchment on the subfloor and lay a new substrate on top.

It remains to create a reliable substrate for the tile. You can make it with a traditional concrete screed, or you can use the principle of a dry screed.

Leveling with concrete screed

The concrete screed will be quite heavy, and not everywhere it can be equipped. But if there is a desire, and the conditions allow it to be done, then the following must be done:

  • The draft floor is reliably waterproofed.
  • We lay a metal mesh on top and fasten it to the subfloor with self-tapping screws.
  • With help laser level install beacons on the walls. The height from the subfloor to the lighthouse should be 3 cm.
  • Pour the concrete screed and let it dry completely.

Dry leveling method

This type of screed is preferred for wooden floors due to less stress on the floor structure. It is done as follows:

Dry screed from GVL under the tile

  • On top of the waterproofing of the subfloor, we lay sheets of GVL (gypsum-fiber sheet), GKLVU (moisture-resistant gypsum board), DSP (cement-bonded particle board), and moisture-resistant plywood. The sheets themselves are stacked in one or two layers.
  • We fix the sheet with self-tapping screws in increments of 15-20 cm.

Important! The sheets are laid in such a way that the joints of the sheets fall into the middle of the subfloor board.

  • We glue the seams between the sheets with special glue for drywall sheets.
  • The surface is treated with a primer deep penetration, let it dry, and glue the paint grid. After that, once again we process with a primer.

Important! The floor should be even, so at all stages we check its horizon with a level. If laying tiles on a wooden floor is carried out in rooms with high humidity, then it is necessary to make high-quality waterproofing. To do this, the joints are glued with strips of polymer membrane waterproofing, 30 cm wide. At the wall-floor joints, we make an overlap of 5 cm on the wall.

Laying the finish coat

Regardless of what the basis is, concrete screed or gypsum-fiber sheets, it is necessary to follow a certain sequence of work. This will make laying the tiles much easier. To lay tiles on a wooden floor, the following steps must be followed: marking the floor, laying the tiles, and grouting the joints.

Floor marking - the basis of aesthetics

Diagonal tile laying pattern requires careful marking

The layout is based on the center lines of the room. For conventional way laying mark the transverse and longitudinal lines. The transverse line connects the middle of the long walls of the room, and the longitudinal line connects the middle of the short walls. Diagonal marking lines connect the corners of the room. They are used when tiles are laid diagonally.

The lines are applied to the base with a marking cord. Using the drawn lines, we lay out the tiles over the entire area, starting from the center of the room. First, lay it out in the direction of the corner next to the door. Next, move to the next corner so as to complete the layout near the door. All this is necessary to see the flooring as a whole. This is done first of all in order to reject tiles with uneven edges or other defects. Secondly, if there is a fireplace, stairs, bathroom or any other central objects in the room, they should be highlighted. To do this, you need to put a full-size tile or a tile of a different color around them. Thirdly, it is necessary to select and prepare right amount cutting tiles.

To cut with the least amount of waste, the tiles must be soaked for 45 minutes in water. The cutting itself must be done with a roller glass cutter or a special mechanical tile cutter. If there is neither one nor the other, you can use the grinder. Trimming can be done at the marking stage or during tile laying. This is for everyone to decide for themselves.

A clear sequence of work

  • First of all, we prepare the adhesive solution. To do this, pour a certain amount of water indicated on the package with glue into the container and add the glue mixture itself. First, by hand, and then with a drill with a mixing nozzle, carefully knead the mixture until the consistency of sour cream. Leave for 10 minutes and then mix again.

Apply glue to the leveling layer of plywood with a notched trowel

  • Now you can start applying glue to the surface with a notched grater. To do this, apply the adhesive mixture to the base using a spatula. Then smooth with the smooth edge of the grater. Finally, to evenly distribute the mixture over the entire surface, we draw a jagged edge at an angle of 45 degrees.

Important! The thickness of the adhesive layer should be 2-3 mm higher than the height of the teeth of the grater. You can start laying tiles on the floor from the center of the room or corner, using as guides centerlines. The main thing is to finish near the doors.

  • The adhesive application area should not exceed 1 m 2, otherwise it will be very difficult and inconvenient to lay the tiles.

For the formation of even beautiful seams use plastic crosses

  • We lay the tiles on the base covered with glue. We firmly press it to the floor with our hands. Tiles large sizes tap with a rubber mallet from the center to the corners.

Control horizontality by setting the level on several tiles at the same time

Important! Tiles can be laid in a suture and seamless way. To create uniform seams between the tiles, we lay special delimiters in the form of crosses. We remove the inter-seam crosses after the partial hardening of the glue on the recently laid floor area. When laying clinker tiles, glue is applied to the floor surface and to the tile surface.

  • After laying at least three tiles, we check their plane with a level. If there is a warp, remove it with a rubber mallet, tapping it on the raised edge. Remove excess glue with a spatula.
  • Having laid the tiles in this way over the entire area, let the glue dry. Then we proceed to the last stage.

Finished grouting

Grout will increase the aesthetic qualities of the cladding

Important! Seams can be overwritten only after the glue has dried. Otherwise, you can break the tiled floor by moving the tiles while walking on them. Just before grouting, we fill the places where the crosses were with the adhesive solution, and while we are preparing the grout, let it dry.

  • Joint grout is prepared in the same way as tile adhesive. The difference is only in quantity and consistency, it should be like a paste.
  • With help rubber spatula fill in the interstitial space. We remove the excess with the same spatula and re-cover the seam.

  • Once smeared last seam, give the grout about 30 minutes for partial polymerization and proceed to washing the floor. To do this, using a sponge dipped in warm water, remove the remnants of the grout and adhesive solution. It is not worth delaying with a sink, because after drying, the grout is very poorly removed from the surface of the tile.

Video lesson: styling technology

A detailed video instruction will help you visually study the process of ceramic flooring.

Finally, after an hour, rinse the floor again and let it dry completely. After a week and a half, the tile covering laid on the wooden floor will be able to withstand heavy loads. Properly and efficiently performed work on laying tiles will allow such a coating to serve for more than a dozen years.