How to Install Tile on Plywood
- 1). Walk slowly over each section of the floor looking for any areas that move under your feet. At each point of movement, sink a galvanized wood screw straight down with your screw gun. Also sink screws every foot along all the seams between the plywood boards. All screw heads must be completely under the surface.
- 2). Paint the plywood with a thick layer of sealing primer, rolling it on with a floor paint roller. Let it dry for 24 hours.
- 3). Lay two lines over the floor with your chalk snapline, from the middle of each side of the floor to the same point across the room, so there are four quadrants on the floor. The two lines should intersect squarely at the center of the floor.
- 4). Spread a layer of thin-set mortar over the intersection with a notched mortar trowel. Cover as much area as you can reach from one position. Make the mortar about 1/8 inch thick.
- 5). Press four floor tiles in the mortar at the intersection, putting tile spacers between them.
- 6). Spread more mortar and lay additional tiles, building out from the middle along the lines in a grid pattern. Do the whole floor, cutting the tiles at the ends, by the walls, with a tile cutter. Let the mortar set overnight and pull the spacers out.
- 7). Spread grout over the tiles in sections, using your grout float to scrape the grout over the tiles and forcing it into the spaces. Use a damp sponge to wipe up the excess grout from the face of the tiles. Let the grout set for two to three days.
