In construction, one of the issues may be the use of materials of different properties in common. Many people have doubts about how to lay the tiles yourself on a wooden floor and whether it can be done. When working with your own hands, it is important to carefully study all the pitfalls of the process so that there are no problems during the construction or operation of the house. If you choose the right materials and stack them in accordance with the technology, you can avoid many troubles.
When the need arises
Many old-style buildings have wooden floors. In addition, during the construction of houses of the following categories, it will be necessary to lay ceramics on a wooden base:
- wireframe;
- frame-shield;
- lumber;
- timbered.
In all these cases, the construction of the house involves the presence of wooden floors, so when using ceramic tiles as a finishing material, you need to properly lay it.
The most important question in this case: is it possible to lay tiles on a wooden floor. Laying is possible, you just need to consider some of the features of the base. The main rooms in the house where you want to put pottery are:
- Bathrooms
- bathroom facilities;
- kitchens;
- halls;
- corridors;
- hallways;
- utility rooms (for example, laundry).
In all these cases, the best option, except how to lay the tiles with your own hands, can not be found. Since this particular material has high strength, wear resistance, moisture resistance and ease of cleaning.
Preparatory stage
Before laying the tiles on the wooden floor, you need to conduct a thorough inspection of the base and make sure its stability. The need is caused by the following factors:
- Different deformation abilities of ceramics and wood. In the case of a tree, some bends and deflections are possible: the wood can easily adapt to minor deformations due to its own flexibility. Ceramics is a tough material that needs a tough base. If you lay it on an unstable base, then large-format products of floor tiles will crack. The only way out of this situation is to replace the flooring in the house and strengthen the base. But it will be correct to prevent this and to verify the stability of the wooden floor or ceiling before starting work.
- If a small-format tile is used, with unsatisfactory quality of the base, it is not he who gives cracks, but cement joints. This problem is also not pleasant, since dirt accumulates in cracks and crevices, they worsen the appearance of the coating. In the bathroom, moisture is added to the cracks. With great instability of the base, the floors in the house become uneven, which adds to the problems during operation.
It is important to remember that tile has a fairly large mass. Laying tiles on a wooden floor creates additional load on the floors and the draft structure. When conducting a thorough visual inspection, it is required to identify:
- sagging of the flooring boards in the bathroom and other rooms where it is planned to lay the tiles with your own hands;
- creak of the floor;
- damage by fungus, mold or other organisms;
- instability of all or individual elements of the system;
- looseness of fastenings.
If at least one of these problems is identified, the floor needs to be repaired, strengthened or reassembled. In some cases, the complete disassembly of the wooden floor and pouring the cement screed will be an effective way.This is true for houses of old construction with wooden floors. If we are talking about a house with wood floors, the question may arise of strengthening the supporting structures.
Depending on the condition of the floor, a method of performing the laying of ceramic tiles is chosen.
Good condition
If we are talking about a new building or with the preservation of wooden floors and floors, you can perform the work in the following order:
- Preparing a wooden floor for tiles. First, all wooden elements are treated with antiseptics. These compounds will prevent wood damage by mold, fungus and harmful microorganisms. Processing is required. Fire retardants can also be used as additional protection for wood. These substances increase the resistance of the material to fire. The event is not mandatory for the construction of a house with their own hands, is carried out at the request of the future owner. The next step before laying tiles in the bathroom, bathroom or in the kitchen (wet rooms) is a layer of waterproofing. Various leaks can occur in the bathroom, which can lead to flooding or damage to wooden structures. As protective materials, roofing material, linocrom, hydroisol, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film are used.
- After completion of the preparation, gypsum fiber sheets are laid on the floor and fixed with self-tapping screws. It is important to choose a moisture-resistant material, this is especially true for rooms with wet processes (bath, bathrooms, kitchens). Stacking is carried out in reverse, which means the absence of extended joints in any direction. Before laying tiles in the bathroom or other rooms, the fiber sheets are fixed to the base with self-tapping screws. The step of fasteners in this case is 15 cm. At the joints, the material is fastened to glue. Then, to ensure ventilation, holes are drilled in arbitrary places, after which the joints are primed. When the primer dries, glue for the ceramic tile is applied to the gypsum fiber. The composition should be suitable for work with drywall.
- Tile. Work should start from the brightest corner of the bathroom or other room. Crosses are used to create seams. To smooth the surface and remove excess glue from under the tiles, you will need a special rubber hammer.
After the solution has dried, crosses are taken out and grouting is performed.
Logs are in good condition and flooring is damaged.
If flooring boards rotted in the room of the bathroom, toilet or kitchen, they will need to be replaced. Do this in the following order:
- Dismantling of old flooring and floorboards.
- Checking the integrity of the lag, the quality of their fastening, evenness of laying.
- If the logs are in good condition, proceed to the preparation of wood. To do this, it is treated with protective compounds, such as antiseptics or flame retardants.
- Lay waterproofing. Materials that can be used are indicated in the previous paragraph. The layer is fixed between the lags.
- If necessary, provide insulation between the bars. You can use mineral wool (mats or plates), polystyrene, foam, polyurethane foam, expanded clay.
- Fasten new flooring boards. Mounting is performed on self-tapping screws. In this case, it is necessary to provide gaps between the boards of 5-10 mm. They are needed so that the boards do not lead when the wood is deformed.
- After the work is performed in the same way as in the previous case, starting from point 2.
Poor condition of the floor
If the structure is badly damaged, there are two options for the development of events:
- complete replacement of the wooden floor (flooring and log);
- removal of the floor and pouring concrete screed.
The second option is best suited for houses with reinforced concrete floors. The first is considered in the case of wooden structures. Screed is preferable, because over time, such floors do not bring problems.
As the wood ages, defects such as creaking, rotting, sagging will reappear. But if tiles are laid on the flooring, it is not easy to eliminate them, a serious repair will be required with laborious removal of the floor covering.
After replacing the base with a wooden one, the work is performed as if the floor was in good condition, starting from point 2. If a decision is made to fill the screed, the installation is carried out according to the appropriate technology.