Lay the tiles on the wooden floor. How to lay tiles on a wooden floor: subtleties of technology and recommendations. Preparing a wooden floor is divided into stages

Wood cladding may raise some doubts, but there is a certain technology for laying it in this way. Advice from experts will allow you to take into account all the important points during the installation process and carry out repairs in the room efficiently.

1. Is it possible to lay tiles on a wooden floor in a bathroom?

Most often, this issue worries those who make repairs in private houses and cottages. In such buildings, wood serves as the basis for cladding. In this case, cladding is acceptable, but it is worth assessing the condition of the surface and performing certain work before installation.

Further actions depend on the preliminary inspection of the base:

If the surface is in good condition, then minor processing is done and masonry can begin;
If there are serious flaws, installation is unacceptable. First, you should repair the base by replacing the necessary parts.

Calculate the required volume of material for flooring rooms, and you need to take into account the specific layout option (herringbone, offset, diagonal, rows, etc.).
When making repairs yourself, it is advisable to choose the simplest installation method, for example, cladding in rows. When laying in a diagonal direction, the consumption of tiles will increase significantly, since trimming will be necessary.

2. Preparing the base for cladding

Thinking about how to lay tiles on wood covering, you should first treat the surface of the base. Before covering, carefully check the surface. The covering can be made of boards or laminate.
The floor structure consists of rough-level boards, which are fixed on wooden joists.

Old paint can be removed using different methods:
. Mechanical method.
The point of this method is to use a grinding machine or an electric drill with a sandpaper attachment. For initial processing, grit size No. 40 is suitable; final sanding is recommended to be No. 100 or No. 80. The main advantage of mechanical action is the ability to clean fairly large areas.

. Thermal method.
For processing, you will need a high-power hair dryer that can heat the air to + 300.. + 600 degrees. The device should be kept at a distance of 250-500 mm from the floor; after heating, the paint is removed in small parts, using a scraper or metal spatula when working.

Experts advise purchasing an industrial hair dryer with a special scraper, so you can combine the process of heating and cleaning the wood from paint.

. Method of chemical exposure.
Suitable for this method various solvents. Chemical composition saturate the paint, applying it with a spatula or brush, depending on the consistency of the substance. The saturation time is 10-30 minutes, after which the paint layer softens and can be easily removed.

When organizing the subfloor, logs are installed on top of the ceilings. Then parchment (waterproofing) is laid, and the structure is completed with sheets of chipboard, gypsum board or plywood. Make sure the surface is even; logs must be installed level.

Before laying the material, chipboard sheets, plywood or gypsum boards must be treated with warm-temperature drying oil or another composition with protective properties. The device can be started immediately after the impregnation has dried.

Preparation of finishing material

Immersion in water will help displace the air from the tiles; 10-20 minutes is enough. If stains appear on the outside of the tile, then a slight moistening of the surface from the inside is sufficient.

3. Do you need a screed?

Before laying, you should check the coating and evaluate how even it is using a level. If there are significant deviations, it is necessary to make a screed before facing.

What alignment methods are there?

Wet screed . Suitable for situations where you need to enlarge strength characteristics floor. At the same time, a gap is created around the perimeter of the room, taking into account possible deformation. This condition allows the base to move without destroying the installed coating;

Dry screed method . This method the most popular because it allows you to create not only a flat, but also a reliable floor with high load-bearing capacity;
Leveling using gypsum board sheets is considered the easiest option . First of all, carefully examine the condition of the wood floor. Those bars that have rotted should be replaced with new elements. Next, the drywall is installed, the sheets are fixed with polyurethane glue, and the joints are treated with sealant. You should also soak the sheets with a primer mixture.

4. Laying the tiles

Basic steps when laying tiles on a wooden floor:

Before tiling the floor, you need to determine the location of the parts. The center is measured big wall and a line is fixed on the floor, usually it is perpendicular. Similar actions are also carried out for a short wall.
The resulting lines at the intersection point indicate the center of the room, if the room represents rectangular shape. Organize the most interesting option layouts, avoiding cutting tiles along the walls as much as possible.
It is recommended to tile the floor around the bathroom symmetrically.

The glue composition is used to treat 1 square meter of base in one of the corners, measured by the center of the room. In order to conveniently distribute the glue, it is better to use a spatula or spatula.
Provided the surface is flat (differences in height are no more than 3 mm), glue consumption is reduced to a minimum. In this case, it is enough that the layer is less than 5 mm, because the adhesive composition serves only to adhere the floor and tiles. To level the surface, there is a special glue on sale that can eliminate protrusions (up to 30 mm). Also, glue consumption depends on the thickness of the tile.
There is no need to mix the entire volume of glue at once, because installation takes quite a long time. The composition should be gradually diluted as needed.

You need to create pressure on the tile, then press it to the base. After this, you should continue laying, following the marked markings. Cover the entire floor area treated with adhesive.

The layout is directed from the central point to the walls, while certain gaps between the tiles must be maintained. After half of the floor surface in the bathroom is filled with tiles, the remaining part is also tiled. Next, you need to wait for the adhesive to dry completely.
Individual elements must be on the same level. If necessary, you can add a layer of glue.
We supplement the space between the wall and the laid material with trimmings. In order to carefully cut off some parts finishing material It is better to use a construction cutter.

Sometimes when laying flooring you need to go around something in the bathroom. In this case, use a precise outline, cutting it with an electric saw.

After the glue becomes hard, the tiles are impregnated with a primer.
There are collections of floor tiles in which the elements are coated with a primer. This information specified on the packaging.
A scraper with a rubber tip is capable of filling all the gaps between the elements with a solution. Excess solution can be removed with a dampened sponge the day before drying;
If the bathtub is located close to a tiled wall, the gap between the wall and the bathtub must be sealed to ensure tightness. A gap of less than 5 mm can be filled with tiled grout or moisture-resistant grout.

Tiles have long been considered good facing material. It is used today in commercial and residential construction. There are many types of tiles.

It can compete with any coating with its patterns, textures, colors and other external characteristics. Its main advantage is wear resistance, excellent fire-resistant and water-repellent properties.

Laying tiles on a wooden floor

Tile is most often used for bathroom or kitchen tiling. Craftsmen increasingly began to use it in work and residential premises. Is it safe to lay ceramic tiles on a wooden floor, and how effective is it?

Many tile manufacturers state that their products cannot be laid on wood. A plank base does not guarantee strength and rigidity for the structure.

If the moving wooden floor begins to rot, the concrete screed on it will begin to crack in a situation where the boards begin to sag. Then the tiles will collapse, and cracks will begin to appear in the floor.

Now new techniques are emerging that make it possible to lay tiles on wooden floors. In this technique, the quality of base preparation plays an important role.

Preparing a wooden floor for tiles

At the beginning of the work process of laying a new floor on top of the old one important point is the correction of defects and shortcomings that the previous coating has. Key moment when choosing a tile - this wooden base With high level rigidity and strength.

Floor preparation

The process of preparing a wooden floor can be divided into the following stages:

First, the entire wooden floor must be sorted out; boards that have flaws, rotten or cracked, must be removed. The frequency of installation of logs must correspond to their load-bearing capacity. The weight of the floor together with the tiles will increase several times.
After disassembling and reassembling the floor, you should check its evenness. We use a level capable of measuring the horizontalness of the log. During such a check, you need to leave 10 mm gaps between the rough base and the walls. These gaps are insulated with polyurethane foam. To make the floor durable, expanded clay is used, which will increase the energy efficiency of the floor and will be an excellent sound insulator.
Then the wooden base is laid. You can use boards in good condition, plywood with a thickness of at least 12 mm. This plywood is well suited for a tiled floor as a base and can support its weight.
All remaining rough coating and joists should be treated with special chemical impregnations, which will clean them from rot and fungus.
We fix the plywood and boards, providing ventilation due to the presence of gaps between them, up to 5 mm wide.
Waterproofing made of bitumen, parchment or polyethylene film laid on top of the rough base.

Installing the base under the tiles

Laying tiles on a wooden base

There are three ways to install under the base tile. Each of them has its own technology:

The first case is to use a conventional screed, which is lightweight and thin. For this purpose, a metal mesh is used, attached with self-tapping screws to subfloor using beacons. Then the cement screed is poured, its thickness is approximately 3 mm. It is permissible to use a self-leveling screed.
The second case involves the use of a base made of polyurethane glue with a liquid glass base. After drying, it forms excellent moisture insulation. Such joints are suitable for laying tiles on top of a wooden floor. It can support a lot of weight.
The third case is the installation of cement bonded particleboard, moisture-resistant gypsum fiber or plasterboard for waterproofing. It is recommended to use gypsum fiber from these materials. This material is characterized by insulating properties, ductility and greater strength. The flooring is attached to the subfloor using self-tapping screws. It is important to avoid overlapping floor elements and plaster joints. By special means glue the seams of the base. Then the slabs or sheets should be covered with a soil base until completely dry. This option is good when laying in wooden house tiles on wooden floor.

Laying stages

When the base for the tiles is prepared, it is necessary to check its horizontalness with a building level. Then the tiles are laid.

Installation steps:

Preparatory work.
Marking.
Sticking.
Laying.

Preparatory work consists of correctly calculating the amount of material. Often up to 10% of the space reserve is taken into account, in comparison with the total area of the room. It is important that at this stage The ceramic tiles purchased were actually floor tiles, not wall tiles. These two types of tiles are similar to each other, but weak wall tiles are not suitable for flooring. It also does not have an anti-slip effect.

Then the tiles should be laid out in the room over the entire area in order to evaluate the appearance of the future floor externally and determine the locations for pipe openings and other communications.

It is necessary to check whether the height of the new floor allows for opening the doors. Otherwise, you will have to change the height of the doors, rehang them on higher hinges before installing the tiles on the wooden floor.

So that there is no air in the tile, it is soaked in water for 15 minutes. If the tile cannot withstand this procedure and stains form on it, then the surface of the tile should be cleaned with a damp brush.

Marking and preparing glue

It is necessary to mark in such a way that fewer cut tiles have to be used when placing them near the walls. When laying diagonally, you will have to cut a lot of tiles, and laying along the wall is carried out, starting work from the opposite side to the entrance of the room.

If according to design solution a special pattern is assumed, then it is necessary to act according this plan. It is important to consider the requirements for optimal height gender, communications and other preparatory nuances.

Then the glue is prepared. Tiles are laid on a wooden floor using special cement adhesive. To make it, use ordinary water, purchased dry powder and a certain amount of plasticizers.

Such mixtures have a short drying period (no more than 4 hours), so the glue must be used immediately or prepared in small portions. To ensure a high-quality glue consistency and good installation, it can be mixed with a construction mixer.

Apply the glue in even stripes using a notched trowel. Application begins in the center of the room, in one of the corners. For each size of tile used, you must select separate trowel sizes. The spatula teeth should have a size that is 30 to 40 times smaller than the width of the tile.

The glue dries in quite a while a short time(about 15 minutes), so it should be applied approximately 1 meter square area, and the tiles must be laid immediately.

Laying on a wooden floor

Features of adhesive for laying tiles on wood

When the tile is laid on a wooden floor, it should be pressed into the adhesive using a rubber hammer. The seal is sealed with light blows. Each surface area of the treated edges must be covered with tiles. Then another area of the room or the next square meter is processed.

First, whole pieces of tiles are laid on a wooden floor. Then they begin to fill the free space near the walls. The required pieces of tile can be cut with a special tile cutter.

After installation, the floor is cleaned with a rag to remove any remaining adhesive. Wait for it to dry for two days, then seal the seam joints. They are rubbed with fugues, which gives the floor a more aesthetic appearance.

The fugue is applied with a rubber spatula using diagonal movements. All seams must be filled, then the remaining fugue must be removed. After 30 minutes, the fugue will dry, and the floor should be wiped with a damp cloth, and after 1 hour - with a flannel. After this, the tiled floor wooden field ready.

The coating is completely identical to the tiled one, which is laid on a concrete screed. It is sufficiently durable if no mistakes were made when processing boards, plywood and joists. Treated wood can long time serve as a base under the tile covering. It also guarantees good thermal insulation.

Impregnation of a wooden floor, the use of special compounds and expanded clay improve the reliability of the tile covering, which eliminates its own shortcomings. Even the simplest floor will be an excellent base for laying floor tiles on wood.

The success of installation and long-term service life of the floor covering is determined by 50% competent preparation grounds. According to clear construction regulations, only a perfectly leveled surface capable of “holding” the weight of the ceramics and its own stable position can become a worthy basis for tiles. Due to the fact that the “windy yoke” of wood is not inclined to remain constant, laying tiles on a wooden floor for a long time was considered a pointless procedure. However, there are construction schemes, the use of which can reconcile the “playful” nature of the building material with the rigid character of the tiled or clinker finish.

How to reconcile ceramics with a wooden base?

Due to the organic origin of wood, it cannot be classified as an “unshakable” building material. It shrinks from lack of moisture, swells from excess. A new wooden floor still settles for one and a half to two years after construction, and even after the expiration of the period set for post-construction shrinkage, movement still occurs. Movement imperceptible to the human eye negatively affects the solidity of the tiled surface. Structural connections are broken, tiles peel off and crack. As a result, not only all the work goes down the drain, but also a lot of money invested in finishing.

This means that the task of a home-grown finisher is to create a kind of damper layer that absorbs the characteristic movement wooden elements. The solid outer part of this layer must be turned towards ceramic coating, and expose the elastic rear to the shocks and blows of the wood. In addition, the wood hidden underneath needs to breathe, otherwise it will quickly rot, overcome by fungi and mold.

Preparatory stage - preparation of the base

By wooden floor we obviously mean not only plank floorboards visible from the outside. This is a multilayer structure consisting of powerful beams, lags laid “in a cross” along them and a substrate located under the boards. Before tiles are laid on a wooden floor, all elements of this complex system must be thoroughly inspected and tested.

Inspection of the wooden base

Since it is recommended to finish a new wood floor exclusively with tongue and groove boards, it is not difficult to guess that the floor will have to be dismantled for inspection. After all, the floor with wooden floorboards has already served its purpose. The absence of squeaks and wobbly boards is not an excuse for laziness. It is possible that the problem that is already brewing may simply not be felt.

Attention. If the joists were laid at intervals of more than 50 cm, the floor will need to be completely re-laid, otherwise it will not support the weight of the ceramic-finished screed.

Let's assume that the design completely satisfies us. Then we carry out inspection, repair and preparation in the following sequence:

remove the existing floor covering;
we check beams and joists, replace damaged or beginning to rot elements;
we check horizontality and carry out alignment;

Note. If you raise the lag in the usual way– it is impossible to drive a wedge or place scraps of lumber under it; the board must be sewn on top, then trim off the excess, focusing on the level readings.

We generously treat all components of the wooden floor with antiseptic impregnations, preferably with mastics specified in technical specifications maximum update frequency;
After the antifungal impregnation has dried, fill all the spaces between the joists with fine expanded clay. We fill in the insulation so that between the top line of the log and the surface of this heat insulator there remains 5 cm for ventilation;
We are preparing to re-lay the floorboards; they will serve as a rough base, since gypsum fiber board or waterproof plywood, despite the convincing assurances of the manufacturers, will not withstand intense exposure to moisture and repeated temperature fluctuations. Although dry leveling with plasterboard, chipboards or plywood is quite suitable for arranging a bathroom, a small bath kitchenette and a rest room;

Attention. If you want to install tiles on a wooden subfloor covered with used boards, you will need to remove the paint or varnish from the floorboards. It is easier and cheaper to remove the coating with sandpaper or a sharp scraper. Can be quickly removed using a special chemical “wash” or a hairdryer that softens the protective decorative coating.

we lay back the boards that have become rough, leaving 3-5 mm gaps between the floorboards to ensure the possible expansion of the rough floor. We fasten the boards with galvanized self-tapping screws (one in each row joist, two in the outer ones);
if there are minor defects, holes from former fasteners or knots, they need to be puttied;
level the laid subfloor grinder or simply sand it if leveling is not required;
There should be a centimeter technological gap around the perimeter of the floor. We fill it with silicone foam or glue it with a polymer membrane tape (we bend a 30mm strip of membrane in half, attach one part to the lower edge of the wall, the other to the floor);
the gaps between the boards, between sheets of plywood, if it was used to level the floor in “dry” rooms, are also filled with foam or glued with membrane tapes;
To form a monolithic insulating layer, we treat the subfloor with heated drying oil or latex impregnation without the notorious savings.

Note. Instead of mastic, you can use parchment paper, bitumen or waxed roll analogue.

If it was decided to carry out waterproofing with drying oil or impregnation, and not with roll insulation, without waiting for them to dry completely, the prepared surface must be completely covered with a painting mesh. This will create a continuous insulating layer for laying tiles on a wooden floor, protecting against moisture and compensating for the effects of wood movement.

Lightweight screed device

Now you need to form a solid, rigid base for ceramic cladding floor. This will be a standard screed, but lighter and more sophisticated, since the wood does not need extra pressure at all.

Base for laying porcelain stoneware, clinker or tiles There are three ways to install a wooden floor, these are:

Filling standard cement screed, the thickness of which does not exceed 3 cm. First, we lay a metal mesh over the waterproofing and fasten it with self-tapping screws to the rough base, then fill in the traditional cement mortar, which can be replaced with a polymer screed.

Instead of compositions intended for forming screeds, we use KS glue with a base of liquid glass. A two-component one will do instead. polyurethane glue. After polymerization, it will also create an elastic layer that prevents cracking of the tiles due to the deformation vagaries of wood.

Note. You can make a solution with liquid glass for pouring screed yourself. To do this, you need to mix one part of water, two parts of washed and sifted coarse sand and two parts of liquid glass.

In the “dry” rooms of the bathhouse, you can do quick dry leveling with DSP boards or moisture-resistant plasterboard. We lay them “in a run” at an angle of 30º to the direction of laying the rough boards so that the butt seams do not coincide. The seams can be additionally glued with a compound designed for working with gypsum plasterboard.

Description of the tile laying process technology

Before gluing, we’ll do a preliminary “try-on” and figure out how to lay the tiles on the floor more beautifully. Trimming cannot be avoided, but it is better to place the trimmed parts in shaded areas and on the periphery of the room. Therefore, we will begin the preliminary layout from the central part and from the maximum illuminated area. We will immediately determine how many tiles will need to be cut and prepare them in advance. If you don’t need to cut a lot of tiles, just stock up on a tile cutter. For numerous cuttings of tiles, you will need a grinder.

Further installation steps ceramic tiles on a properly prepared wooden floor are no different from standard methods, So:

To begin with, it is recommended to find the center by intersecting the diagonals. We divide the room into four equal segments, drawing directions with coated painter's cord along the walls or diagonally, depending on the chosen layout.
We prepare the glue in strict accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. We do not spread it more than is required to finish 1 m² of floor.

Apply the solution with a spatula-comb to the floor surface. The size of the teeth of a comb tool depends on the dimensions of the ceramic elements. For large tiles 0.8 mm, for small ones less.
We lay the tiles on the surface treated with glue, inserting plastic crosses into the butt seams, or in extreme cases, matches.
We constantly control the longitudinal and transverse directions, as well as horizontality, by applying a block to several tiles.

Note. It is only possible to level the masonry and correct defects for now glue solution won't harden. Longitudinal and transverse directions can be adjusted by slightly moving them. The “sunken” tiles need to be separated, the missing mortar added and laid again.

All adhesive “bloopers” from the surface of the tile must be removed with a damp rag, without waiting for the solution to set. After installation is completed and the glue has hardened, the seams are moistened and rubbed.

More and more often you can see tiles as flooring not only in the kitchen or bathroom, but also in other rooms. Sometimes it becomes necessary to lay the material on old surface, and the question arises of how to properly lay tiles on a wooden floor. You will learn about all the possible nuances of this process in our article.

Previously, this approach to laying ceramic tiles in the house was not recommended for the reason that wooden surface was considered insufficiently tough and firm. Due to an unreliable foundation, the structure can become mobile, and the concrete screed laid on top can quickly deform and the tiles fall off. In addition, you yourself wooden boards susceptible to rotting. However, modern technologies and materials make it possible to solve the above problems, making laying tiles on a wooden floor possible. The basis of this process is proper preparation wooden base.

Surface preparation

The preparation of a wooden floor for tiles begins with the elimination of defects on the surface. This will help make the floor harder and more durable. The durability of the new one will depend on the reliability of the old coating. To achieve the expected result, you need to follow several steps.

First of all, we remove the boards. If they do not have significant damage, we leave them for the base. At this stage, the main thing is to open full access to the lags.
Next, we examine the logs for evenness using building level. Leveling if necessary: this is very important to obtain a level surface.
We leave 1 cm of free space between the walls and joists and, using polyurethane foam, waterproof it.
To obtain additional heat and sound insulation, we fill the space between the joists with expanded clay.

If the previously removed boards are of good quality, you need to put them back. You can also lay moisture-resistant plywood up to 12 mm thick, which will not sag under the weight of ceramic tiles.
To prevent rotting and mold from appearing on the joists and main floor, we treat them with appropriate protective agents.
When attaching boards or plywood to the joists, small gaps (about 5 mm) must be left between them to ensure ventilation of the wooden material.
To protect the base from moisture, it is necessary to lay a layer of hydro- and vapor barrier on the subfloor. It can be polyethylene, parchment or bitumen paper.

Base structure

There are several ways to create a base for laying tiles on a wooden floor. Let's take a closer look at each of them.

Fill the floor with concrete screed. In this option, the installation of the screed has the same principle as when creating a simple floor, it differs only in greater lightness and less thickness. To do this, you need to put a metal mesh on top of the waterproofing layer and attach it to the subfloor with self-tapping screws. Next, we set the beacons according to the level and fill the screed with a layer of 3 mm.

We strengthen the floor with polyurethane two-component glue or a composition based on liquid glass. Experts advise using this method when using a low-quality base. If the wooden floor begins to rot and deform, the glue will prevent the ceramic tiles from cracking. However, it is difficult to say that such compositions are effective, because they are not yet widespread enough.

We lay sheets of moisture-resistant plasterboard (GKLV), cement-bonded particle boards (CSP) or gypsum fiber sheets(GVL). The last option is the most optimal, since GVL sheets have a lower cost than DSP and have greater elasticity than plasterboard. This material, in addition, has sound and thermal insulation properties, and when using special impregnation it also becomes moisture resistant.

The sheets must be secured to the subfloor with self-tapping screws. In this case, you should pay attention to the fact that the joints of the sheets pass over the boards and not between the cracks. After fastening with self-tapping screws, we glue the seams with special glue. If the rigidity of the resulting floor seems insufficient, it is better to lay another layer. When installation is completed, the sheets are covered with deep penetration primer. You can start laying tiles only after the soil has dried.

Tile laying process

Before starting work, you need to check the surface level. You can start laying tiles with your own hands only if there are no significant deviations. Laying tiles on a wooden floor is carried out in several stages:

tile preparation;
creating a laying scheme on the floor;
mixing the adhesive composition;
laying tiles;
sealing seams.

To complete these steps you will need the following tools:

notched spatula;
rubber spatula;
rubber hammer;
tile cutter or glass cutter;
two containers for composition and glue;
building level;
marking cord;
roulette.

And to protect your hands while working with glue, it is better to use gloves.

First you need to calculate the number of tiles that will need to be laid on a wooden floor. To do this, you need to divide the area of the room by the area of one tile. Taking into account the possibility of pruning and the spoilage factor, we add 10% to the final result. When buying tiles, do not confuse floor and wall tiles, as they look very similar, but have different properties. Floor tiles undergoes additional processing, making it more durable and less slippery.

Now you need to lay the tiles over the entire floor area to analyze its quality and appearance. Immediately make the corresponding holes in the tiles that will need to be placed near the pipes.

We check the possibility of opening doors with a new level, which will be obtained after installing the material on a wooden floor. If opening the doors becomes problematic, remove them from their hinges and trim the lower part.

Next, you need to put the tile in water for 20 minutes to displace the water from it. If dark spots form on the surface of the material, it is not necessary to soak it in water. In this case, just wipe inner side ceramic tiles with a damp brush.

We divide the wooden floor into 4 rectangular sections. To do this, using a coated cord, draw lines between opposite walls so that they intersect in the center of the room. Based on the resulting lines, we lay the tiles in such a way as to minimize the number of cut tiles near the walls.

When laying tiles diagonally on the floor, there will be much more cutting. If you lay a whole tile along the wall, then you need to start work from the opposite to front door corner. The window line should be parallel to the tile line. On the axes, the rows must be placed perpendicular to each other. The width of the joints is determined when installing crosses between the tiles.

Laying tiles on a wooden floor is done using a special cement adhesive. To create it, you need to mix the dry mixture with water in the proportion specified by the manufacturer. To improve adhesion to tiles, you can add 10% plasticizers to the solution. Considering that the mixture dries in just a few hours, the composition should be prepared in small portions. It is recommended to mix with a construction mixer.

Apply the composition to the surface with a notched trowel in even stripes, starting from any corner of the room. You should choose a spatula depending on the size of the tile. Apply glue to an area of no more than one square meter, since it dries on the surface in just 15 minutes.

Laying tiles

Place the tile on the surface with the applied adhesive composition. Press it tightly and tap it with a rubber hammer. We cover the prepared area and move on to the next one until we finish the entire surface.

To maintain the same distance between the tiles, you can use plastic spacers. Do not forget to constantly check the level of the tiles, since after 10 minutes the glue will dry and it will be impossible to correct the position of the tiles with your own hands. After installation, all that remains is to give the surface a finished look by sealing the seams.

If you still have questions about whether it is possible to lay tiles on a wooden floor, watch the training video where you will get tips on how to properly perform the installation technology.

In houses built according to modern building codes, they use concrete plates. But the owners of “Khrushchev”, “Stalin” and private houses are not so lucky - their floors are most often made of wood. The service life of wood is much shorter than that of concrete, as are its moisture-proof properties. Laying tiles on wood will help protect it from moisture, prevent mold, and extend the time of use. This article will introduce you to the process of finishing a wooden tile base with your own hands.

Floor revision

Before you start laying ceramic tiles, experienced craftsmen Be sure to inspect the wooden floor. You need to carefully inspect the surface and assess the condition:

Finish floor. Linoleum, laminate or tile is used as a finishing coating. Before laying tiles on a wooden floor, it is better to remove this layer;
Waterproofing layer. - a guarantee that it will not be affected by rot and collapse will not occur. If the hydraulic barrier has been used for more than 10-15 years, then it is already quite thin and worn out.
Subfloor. To install the subfloor use cheap material low quality, so it is susceptible to warping, cracking, which reduces strength;
Lag. Wooden logs are made of wood High Quality, they are treated with antiseptic compounds, which allow them to remain strong and undamaged even decades after the construction was commissioned. If the joists are in good condition, they do not need to be replaced before laying tiles on the bathroom floor with your own hands.

Note! Laying tiles on top of an old floor is a bad idea, since at almost the same cost, you will not be able to eliminate squeaking, get a flat surface, and will also lose several centimeters of usable space.

Preparing the floor for work

High-quality laying of tiles on a wooden floor is impossible without careful preparatory work. The following activities must be carried out in the bathroom:

Sequentially remove all damaged layers of the wooden floor: decorative coating, finished floor, waterproofing, subfloor, joists. Naturally, complete dismantling of the floor with your own hands and subsequent replacement is associated with large financial costs, however, this is the only way to achieve the best result;
Remove construction waste and carry out wet cleaning;
Level the base of the floor using wood mastic;
Treat the ceiling with a deep penetration antiseptic compound, fire retardant, and leave to dry. It is better to apply antiseptics in several layers to reliably protect the bathroom floor from rotting and fire.

The preparatory stage of laying tiles on a wooden base is precisely the feature that distinguishes this process from working with concrete floors. If the condition of the floor allows you to use it as is, you just need to remove a layer of paint or fix it to plywood with a thickness of 10 mm or more to level it and prevent squeaking.

Installation on a solid floor

If the condition of the floor is satisfactory, then there is no need to dismantle it. Before laying the tiles, it is enough to get rid of the decorative covering, once again check the strength of the plank base, and then follow the plan:

Apply an antiseptic preparation to the entire surface of the bathroom floor, which is necessary to protect the wood from damage as a result of the activity of harmful microorganisms;
Cut sheets of moisture-resistant drywall and secure them to the floor using self-tapping screws. You can tighten the screws using a screwdriver. Place fasteners around the entire perimeter of the bathroom every 10-15 cm;
Glue the edges of the drywall sheets together with special glue, seal the joints with silicone sealant;
Apply the primer using a roller or brush and leave to dry;
After drying, lay the tiles on the new base in the usual way.

Try to place the drywall so that as few joints as possible are formed, since they are vulnerabilities into which water can penetrate.

Installation on strong joists

If after the inspection it was decided to remove the floor to the joists, you need to use another method of installation with your own hands:

Rip off the decorative floor covering, the finished floor, which can be chipboard, plywood or boards. And then, using a nail puller, remove the finished floor nailed to the joists;
This is followed by treating the boards with a moisture-proofing compound, an antiseptic, or a combination preparation that combines these functions. Choose deep penetration compounds, apply them in several layers so that they are absorbed 1-3 cm into the wood;
Level the floor, install beacons or bars to control it;
Lay or thermal insulation; experienced finishers recommend using fine-grained expanded clay, as this option is optimal in terms of price and quality;
We fix the floor board perpendicular to the joists with a gap of 3-5 mm, using polyurethane foam seal cracks, joints, corners;
Install a waterproofing layer, which can be used as a film, roll material bitumen-based or polymer mastics;
Next, you can lay moisture-resistant drywall, as described in the previous section.

If you decide to pour a screed, on average you will need 15 kg of cement mortar per 1 square meter. m, in order to raise the floor level by 1 cm, despite the high consumption, it is better to mix it in parts so that you have time to apply it before it dries.

Tile installation

When the wooden base of the floor is ready to lay tiles on it, you can begin the actual laying work. The technology for this process is the same as if the bathroom had a concrete floor. Laying tiles on a wooden floor is as follows:

Prepare adhesive for tiles. Construction stores They suggest purchasing liquid nails, cement mortar or special glue for these purposes. Experienced finishers do not use floor tiles for laying floor tiles with their own hands;
Soak ceramic tiles in water for 10-15 minutes to improve adsorption between it and the adhesive;
Apply the adhesive in an even layer to the floor surface using a “comb,” the so-called wide notched trowel. Do not process large plot immediately so that the glue does not dry out prematurely, especially if you work slowly. The glue must be applied in one direction;
Take a tile, apply a thin layer of glue on it, place it on the surface of the base so that its sides are parallel to the walls. Tap the tile with a rubber hammer and check its correct position using a building level;
Insert a plastic cross, which is used to create even seams between the tiles. And then install the second tile in the same way as the first. So complete the first row, remembering to check yourself with the level.

If you look at reverse side tiles, you will see a small arrow indicating the laying direction recommended by the manufacturer; make sure that it coincides throughout the entire laying area.

A wooden floor is not a reason to refuse installation of ceramic tiles. We hope you have received enough information to start renovating and creating your ideal bathroom.