Bathroom Subfloor


  #1  
Old 12-12-04, 07:00 PM
lisaha
Visiting Guest
Posts: n/a
thanks for quick reply

the plastic water line to commode was wet. what about under the wall? it looks as if the same piece of plywood is going under the wall to kitchen back door area. wet on both sides of wall. calling a plumber to verify where the leak is.. just to be sure i dont anything. i am assuming that he will also tell me what "size" commode to replace with. i dont have a choice, i will have to do this myself. i am determined to end up with something better than the shotty stuff i have now. pulled up floor in kitchen and i see where original 3/4 plywood was patched in several places. can i lay tile directly on plywood in these two rooms? someone told me once that tile was too heavy for plywood floors to support. any truth to that?
 
  #2  
Old 12-13-04, 04:14 AM
T
Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 1,078
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
A direct to plywood installation can be risky, There are specific guidelines for fastening, gapping, species of plywood, staggering of the second layer of ply, thickness of ply depending on your joist spacing, etc. However plywood is strong enough to support tile installs, but because of the fact that there is some seasonal movement of plywood, you will get a better bonding surface with cement board. Once your leak is fixed, to check to see if the plywood is sound, once it dries out, check for soft spots which would indicate either delamination of the plywood layers from thae water or rot. Replace the plywood as needed. Don't worry about the section going under the wall, just cut along the wall and install blocking to support the cut edge of the plywood along the walls. Once the plywood subfloor issue is addressed, adding a second layer of 3/8 bcx ply then 1/4" cement board will give you a good surface for your tile, and a strong sub structure. If you only want to use vinyl, then 1/4" birch ply is a good underlayment to use over your existing subfloor. Screw the second plywood layer every 6" around the perimeter and every 8" over the field, only into the first layer and not into the joists. Use eother coated drywall screws or better yet, deck screws. 1/8" gap between sheets, 1/4" gap around the perimeter. Same gapping for the cement board, but use backer screws to set the board and make sure to set it into a layer of unmodified thinset. Use modified thinset to fill your seams and tape them and to set your tile. You can purchase matching caulk for around the perimeter, Don't grout to the wall. As for your toilet, any model will do, and use either flexible copper or nickle supply tubing with a ferel compression fitting or use the supply lines with the metal braiding on the outside.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: