We were told this morning by the guy who is laying ceramic tile in our
porch that the 1/2" plywood I put down is not suitable and will have to
be replaced. Apparently, the problem is that the type of plywood is
something used for cabinets, and he said the tiles won't adhere
properly to the surface. At a glance, the texture of the upper surface
resembles masonite

When I bought the plywood, I specified what it would be used for and
this is what they sold me. I dutifully put down most of a 4X8 sheet
with screws every 4" and construction adhesive!

I don't want to have to tear up the plywood again, and I'm hoping I can
use very thin plywood glued or otherwise attached to the 1/2" plywood
that is there now. I can get away with a little extra height for the
tiles, but I want to use the thinnest plywood I can get.

Can anyone recommend a glue or other method to attach thin plywood (or
even veneer) to whatever the hell surface is on the plywood I already
put down?

_

Gord wrote:
We were told this morning by the guy who is laying ceramic tile in our
porch that the 1/2" plywood I put down is not suitable and will have
to be replaced. Apparently, the problem is that the type of plywood is
something used for cabinets, and he said the tiles won't adhere
properly to the surface. At a glance, the texture of the upper surface
resembles masonite

When I bought the plywood, I specified what it would be used for and
this is what they sold me. I dutifully put down most of a 4X8 sheet
with screws every 4" and construction adhesive!

I don't want to have to tear up the plywood again, and I'm hoping I
can use very thin plywood glued or otherwise attached to the 1/2"
plywood that is there now. I can get away with a little extra height
for the tiles, but I want to use the thinnest plywood I can get.

Can anyone recommend a glue or other method to attach thin plywood (or
even veneer) to whatever the hell surface is on the plywood I already
put down?

Step #1 is to find out exactly what it is (MDF?) that you put down.

Step #2 is to determine if it would be suitable should you put a
1/8"-1/4" layer of ply on top. I suspect not...not because of lack of
adhesion (which is horse hocky) but general characteristics.

--
dadiOH
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It probably is MDF on one side. I didn't think about it when I put the
stuff down.

Anyway, wouldn't attaching more plywood by gluing and screwing it down
effectively give me a thicker plywood?

_ Gord

What's underneath the plywood?

"What's underneath the plywood? "

That's what I I was wondering too. That's a big part of the equation
here. The floor has to be stiff enough for the tile. . Plus as
already pointed out, finding out exactly what the material is that you
have put down is essential.

The subfloor is 3/4" tongue and groove. I also put extra blocking
between the 10" joists underneath that, so there should be no problem
with stability. What I hope to do is attach additional plywood that
can get around the problem with adhesion for the tiles.

I have an apartment that I rehabbed and I had the same softwood 3/4" t&g,
and I put ordinary
sheathing plywood over it (1/2"). This was before all the cement board
products were out. I put down ceramic tile with a high grade mastic (from
American Olean, I think). This was not cement based like thinset.
Not a single tile or a single grout joint has budged in 23 years.
I believe your contractor is just wanting to use cheap thinset and making
you pay for underlayment
that will tolerate the cheap adhesive.
It might be a good idea to simply change contractors at this point, and get
someone that knows adhesives.

bill

"Gord" wrote in message
oups.com...
The subfloor is 3/4" tongue and groove. I also put extra blocking
between the 10" joists underneath that, so there should be no problem
with stability. What I hope to do is attach additional plywood that
can get around the problem with adhesion for the tiles.

Is there an adhesive that would stick tiles to an MDF surface on the
plywood?

From what I have found through Google, it seems that MDF is not
suitable.

Someone in an old post recommended "tile backer board", but this seems
to be available only in 1/4" thickness. I don't need extra thickness
and I would like to get something 1/8" or less.

I don't know, but that's a pretty specific question you could ask
someone in the tile adhesive business.

bill


"Gord" wrote in message
oups.com...
Is there an adhesive that would stick tiles to an MDF surface on the
plywood?

From what I have found through Google, it seems that MDF is not
suitable.

Someone in an old post recommended "tile backer board", but this seems
to be available only in 1/4" thickness. I don't need extra thickness
and I would like to get something 1/8" or less.

I would like to thank everyone for their suggestions. It turns out the
surface was MDF, judging by the amount of smelly, noxious dust produced
when I tried sanding it off with an angle grinder.

I gave up on the goal of keeping the level the same, and opted to put
down additional 1/4" plywood using screws and yellow glue. The building
supplies store manager gave the materials for free when I told him how
I was sold the wrong type of plywood, so I'll just chalk it up to yet
another bitter experience.

Thanks again,

_ Gord