tiling on hardboard?

[hawthorn]

I have a wooden kitchen floor covered in hardboard ( I took up the vinyl floor covering). Can I lay ceramic tiles on to the hardboard ( which is nailed to the floorboards)?

 

[BobProperty]

I have a wooden kitchen floor covered in hardboard ( I took up the vinyl floor covering). Can I lay ceramic tiles on to the hardboard ( which is nailed to the floorboards)?

You shouldn't. It will probably crack or come loose in a few months. You should overboard the floor with 12mm WBP ply screwed at 200mm centres then tile with a suitable adhesive.

 

[snapdragon]

I respectfully disagree. I believe you want to be tiling on something like cement board or Ditra, not directly over plywood. If your flooring is already thick enough (needs to be stable to prevent cracking later: two layers of 5/8" plywood at least) then use cement board. You have to put thinset under the cement board, then screw down every 6 - 8", then use thinset to set your tile. The adhesive that comes in tubs is junk.

 

[Mudster]

SUbstrate preparation differs substantially between the UK and USA, 12mm ply is perfectly acceptable on solidly constrcuted joists and floorboards.

These are generally more substantial than the start point in the USA, also people will generally not pay for correct preparation in the UK, our tiling industry is not regullted as it is in the USA.

Personally I use Aquapanel which is a UK version of Duroc, Iv'e always considered ditra matting a waste of time, and I've seen as many failures as sucsses with this product.

 

[snapdragon]

mudster: thanks for perspective. Would you say that US regs are overly stringent or that UK has more tile failures? Either way, shouldn't he be tiling over something other than straight plywood?

 

[Mudster]

I find US specs generally over engineered, I find UK specs generally under engineered, a middle ground is usually where I aim.

Remember also that our houses and floor areas are generally much smaller when compared to USA properties, movement is often directly related to surface area. So small bathroom in the UK that my only be between 25 and 50 sq/ft require less reinforcement as it's subjet to less vertical and horizontal flex.

12mm ply is the minimum reinforcement that works with ceramics and porcelain, with natural products we generally reinforce to higher specification.

 

[snapdragon]

Very interesting. This makes me feel better about the "substandard" tiling job I'm doing in my kitchen! Thanks.