How to glue tiles on wood: preparing floor and walls

The tile is a very durable and easy-to-use finishing material, especially in rooms with high humidity or high operating load. But far from always the surface on which it is required to stick the tile is concrete or brick. In apartments quite often there are wooden floors and partitions. How, then, to stick the tile on the tree and how durable will such a coating be?

Is wood base and ceramic compatible?

Tile is a material that extremely painfully endures any, even the most insignificant, deformations of the base. The tree, in turn, constantly changes its geometric dimensions with changes in humidity and temperature. Therefore, a tile, simply glued to a wooden base, will last a very short time. Soon it will begin to peel off, crumble or become covered with cracks.

Wooden floors under a layer of tile will also have a hard time. The tree must breathe, and under a layer of tile it is almost impossible. Without the presence of a waterproofing layer that separates the wooden floors from the tiles, they rot quickly enough.

To achieve a positive result, it will be necessary to build a multi-layer structure that will allow you to combine materials of different characteristics, such as wood and tile. The main and most difficult part of the repair work will not be devoted to gluing tiles, but to preparing a quality foundation for it.

Preparing the floor for gluing tiles

There may be many training options and materials used for this procedure. An important role is played by the condition of the wooden floor. Access to it will be completely closed after laying the tiles, so all unreliable elements must be replaced. In addition, the tree is less durable, so it is better to be safe.

The weight of the tile will significantly increase the load on bearing logs. If there is no firm belief that they will cope with their task, then you should reduce the distance between them by adding the right amount of lag.

Let's consider two options:

1. The condition of the old wooden floors is close to perfect. They do not bend, creak and have no visible defects.
2. Wooden floors require partial replacement of elements, including the addition of lag.

Option number 1

In the case when the wooden base does not require repair and replacement, preparatory work will include the following actions:

1. • The floorboards are completely cleaned from the paint coat. This can be done mechanically, using chemicals or using a construction hairdryer. Then the surface of the tree is impregnated with an antiseptic solution.
   • A layer of waterproofing is laid. It can be a glassine or a vapor barrier membrane (the rough side should be facing inside the room).
   • To obtain a perfectly flat base of the wooden floor, you can use thick plywood or chipboard. They are much less susceptible to deformation under the influence of the external environment than wood. The sheets are stacked in a checkerboard pattern, a compensating gap is left along the perimeter along the walls, which is then filled with polyurethane foam.

You can attach the tile to the tree on a special epoxy-polyurethane adhesive that retains elasticity after hardening. This allows you to compensate for minor fluctuations in the base.

Such tile glue is quite expensive. Can ceramic tiles be glued to wood without it? There are two options:

• With a sufficient height of the room, you can make an additional screed. Sheets of plywood or chipboard are impregnated with hot linseed oil or latex. Reinforced mesh is laid on the still-frozen impregnation. Its edges should go a little on the walls. After drying the impregnation, additional fixing of the mesh with self-tapping screws is performed. The screed is made by various self-leveling solutions, usually based on liquid glass.
• Another option is to align gypsum sheets. They are attached to the wooden floor in a checkerboard pattern, achieving minimal gaps between the individual elements.

A prerequisite is the presence of a compensating gap between the wooden floor and the wall. But the glue in the case of using a screed or gypsum fiber will require the most ordinary cement, since the tile will be attached to a reliable foundation, not subject to deformation, and not to wood.

Option number 2

If there are problems with the wooden base, you will have to disassemble the structure completely. This will allow you to replace the damaged floor elements, add and align the logs, update the waterproofing and insulation.

It is important not to forget to leave a gap between the insulation and floor boards for natural ventilation.

The further algorithm of actions will be the same as in the case of a floor in good condition.

Preparing a wooden partition

To prepare a wooden wall for tiles, you must adhere to the following algorithm:

• On the walls you need to glue or attach a stapler layer of waterproofing - roofing felt.
• A metal stucco mesh is fixed on top of the roofing material with an indentation of 1–1.5 mm from the wall surface.
• The wall is plastered with cement mortar.carefully leveled.
• On slightly dried, but still moist plaster, notches are made for better adhesion to the tile.

After the plaster has dried, you can proceed to the cladding.

Experts recommend that for better adhesion to the adhesive, soak the tile in water for 8-10 hours before sticking to the wall.

To many, this way of preparing a wooden wall for laying tiles seems too laborious. You can use a worthy alternative - to sheathe wooden walls with moisture-resistant drywall or gypsum fiber, and already on these materials gluing tiles without problems.

Laying tiles

The process of gluing tiles to a wooden base will be easier, given some of the nuances:

• Before laying the tile should be wiped off from dust.
• On the floor, tiles are laid from the middle of the room, and on the wall, laying should begin from the bottom of the corner closest to the entrance. So incomplete fragments will be less conspicuous if the tile has to be cut.
• A thin layer of adhesive mortar is applied with a notched trowel to an area approximately one and a half times larger than the dimensions of the tile. It can not be moved strongly during installation.

• It is necessary to control the level of each element of the masonry, especially for the floor.
• To adjust the position of the tiles use a rubber mallet.
• Emerging excess solution is cleaned immediately with a wet rag.
• After the glue has hardened, grouting of joints with a special composition is performed.