We have built a small powder room and purchased an older piece of
furniture to use for the vanity. It has a top with a sink cut-out. In
addition a friend has made a 3/4" plywood top (with a cut-out for a
sink) to be screwed on, from the bottom up. The sink is self-rimming
and will sit on top of the tiles.From all that I have been reading it
is not good policy to use ceramic tile directly on plywood. However in
this case we are talking about a very small area. The finished top will
only be 38" side to side (long) and 20" front to back, at it's widest
point. The vanity is curved on the front but will sit flat against the
wall. As a powder room it will not get lots of traffic. I am going to
use 1 3/4" tiles already on a sheet and would like to keep this project
as simple as possible.Is there a way I can put the thinset directly
onto the plywood or a way that I can seal the plywood to make it
possible to eliminate having to use another underlayment?I'll save my
second question for later.Thanks

Is there a way I can put the thinset directly
onto the plywood or a way that I can seal the plywood to make it
possible to eliminate having to use another underlayment?
Yes you can put a tile adheasive (not thinset thinset is cement based)
over the plywood
Yes you can seal the plywood....but look
The simple steps in tile are set up for a reason, because they have
been proven to work. Variations of them run the risk of failure. How
prepared are you to either replace this piece or re-do it in the
future?
Loose the plywood and replace with an appropriate backer board.

As a powder room it will not get lots of traffic

If water gets to the plywood it only take one time for the wood to
expand and you are sk*%$# and your muttering I should have spent the
extra 20.00 and done it right.
Cando wrote:
We have built a small powder room and purchased an older piece of
furniture to use for the vanity. It has a top with a sink cut-out. In
addition a friend has made a 3/4" plywood top (with a cut-out for a
sink) to be screwed on, from the bottom up. The sink is self-rimming
and will sit on top of the tiles.From all that I have been reading it
is not good policy to use ceramic tile directly on plywood. However in
this case we are talking about a very small area. The finished top will
only be 38" side to side (long) and 20" front to back, at it's widest
point. The vanity is curved on the front but will sit flat against the
wall. . I am going to
use 1 3/4" tiles already on a sheet and would like to keep this project
as simple as possible.Is there a way I can put the thinset directly
onto the plywood or a way that I can seal the plywood to make it
possible to eliminate having to use another underlayment?I'll save my
second question for later.Thanks

Is there a way I can put the thinset directly
onto the plywood or a way that I can seal the plywood to make it
possible to eliminate having to use another underlayment?
Yes you can put a tile adheasive (not thinset thinset is cement based)
over the plywood
Yes you can seal the plywood....but look
The simple steps in tile are set up for a reason, because they have
been proven to work. Variations of them run the risk of failure. How
prepared are you to either replace this piece or re-do it in the
future?
Loose the plywood and replace with an appropriate backer board.

As a powder room it will not get lots of traffic
If water gets to the plywood it only take one time for the wood to
expand and you are sk*%$# and your muttering I should have spent the
extra 20.00 and done it right.

Cando wrote:
We have built a small powder room and purchased an older piece of
furniture to use for the vanity. It has a top with a sink cut-out. In
addition a friend has made a 3/4" plywood top (with a cut-out for a
sink) to be screwed on, from the bottom up. The sink is self-rimming
and will sit on top of the tiles.From all that I have been reading it
is not good policy to use ceramic tile directly on plywood. However in
this case we are talking about a very small area. The finished top will
only be 38" side to side (long) and 20" front to back, at it's widest
point. The vanity is curved on the front but will sit flat against the
wall. . I am going to
use 1 3/4" tiles already on a sheet and would like to keep this project
as simple as possible.Is there a way I can put the thinset directly
onto the plywood or a way that I can seal the plywood to make it
possible to eliminate having to use another underlayment?I'll save my
second question for later.Thanks

Italian wrote: Is there a way I can put the thinset directly onto
the plywood or a way that I can seal the plywood to make it possible
to eliminate having to use another underlayment? Yes you can put a
tile adheasive (not thinset thinset is cement based) over the plywood
Yes you can seal the plywood....but look The simple steps in tile are
set up for a reason, because they have been proven to work. Variations
of them run the risk of failure. How prepared are you to either
replace this piece or re-do it in the future? Loose the plywood and
replace with an appropriate backer board. As a powder room it will
not get lots of traffic If water gets to the plywood it only take one
time for the wood to expand and you are sk*%$# and your muttering I
should have spent the extra 20.00 and done it right. Cando wrote:
We have built a small powder room and purchased an older piece of furniture to use for the vanity. It has a top with a sink cut-out. In addition a friend has made a 3/4" plywood top (with a cut-out for a sink) to be screwed on, from the bottom up. The sink is self-rimming and will sit on top of the tiles.From all that I have been reading it is not good policy to use ceramic tile directly on plywood. However in this case we are talking about a very small area. The finished top will only be 38" side to side (long) and 20" front to back, at it's widest point. The vanity is curved on the front but will sit flat against the wall. . I am going to use 1 3/4" tiles already on a sheet and would like to keep this project as simple as possible.Is there a way I can put the thinset directly onto the plywood or a way that I can seal the plywood to make it possible to eliminate having to use another underlayment?I'll save my second question for later.ThanksReply to Italian:Thank you so much for the comeback. Did not know there was something called "tile adhesive". Weighing my "muttering" against the expense of backerboard! grin Appreciate the information.