Is it possible to lay ceramic tile directly over plywood in a bathroom? If so what type of adhesive should I be using??

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Is it possible to lay ceramic tile directly over plywood in a bathroom

For proper bonding over ceramic tile adhesive like Laticrete's 317 thinset mixed with their 333 liquid latex. The plywood quality should be of better quality and top layer should be at some good distance from the joints of the bottom layer.

plywood is not a stable subfloor for tile, and I don't care what you put down. that's 1940s technique, the mud floor, and it would need a layer of metal lath and at least a half inch of concrete to work. when it does.

cement board, hardie backer or equivalent, or a Schluter Kerdi waffle substrate, bonded with modified thinset to the subfloor, are all the current recommendation. you bond your tile to those items.

tile needs to set on a stable, never-moving substrate, and any sort of wood need not apply. the thing about the Kerdi is that it provides movement isolation, so the top is held constant by tile and thinset, the bottom is held constant by tile and thinset, and the Kerdi foam itself takes up any stresses. if that is too sci-fi for you, concrete board attached with a tubload of ceramic-coated floor screws is fine.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: swschrad,