1. Use a very thick subflooring material for this as you can or find. This will be important when moving on to the grout and tile work.
2. Stiffen the floor to ensure that the new subfloor will be stronger than the previous flooring.
3. Nails may not be strong enough for installation and may pop out. So, you should use a ring shank nail, which is basically a screw.
4. Put down a layer of Luan plywood as an isolation membrane, and to protect the tile from cracking. If necessary, Luan plywood is a bit expensive, but is worth it if you are looking for a quality job. You can staple or nail it in for installation.
5. Another method might be to screw the Luan or cement board before doing any of the actual flooring work.
Using Luan Plywood as (Sub) Flooring
If you are looking at an inexpesive way to do flooring, you can use Luan Subflooring, as Finished Flooring. The trick here is to cut the plywood sheets into tiles, about 4x4. You can also do it in 2x2' or 2x4'. This way it doesn't look like you just cheapened out and painted the subfloor. Make sure to properly sketch the layout of the room you plan to floor so you can make the proper adjust with regards to full plywood sheets, and those that you will have to specialty cut to create a uniform look around the room.
Great Tips For Bending Plywood
You don't need to pad between the subloor and the plywood, although I wouldn't recommend against it. (An acoustical foam underlay will help reduce noise). Lay the plywood sheets on top of the foam padding underlayment. Use glue and then use screws at the corners, as you lay the plywood. You can also use glue alone with no screws, however that might result in some curling of the plywood flooring, and of course you don't want that.
For the screws, you can spend a little bit of money, and get something different. You can use flat face screws, with 2 dimples. They are called tamper resistant screws, to be honest, I don't think the wood species matters. Once you have finished installing and screwing the plywood in, using wood putty or filler to fill the holes ad the sand it smooth.
Using plywood (luan/birch) as a top flooring is a unique and cost effective method for home improvement. Of course the cost cannot be beat, and you can throw down a mat or carpeting in high traffic areas, for example outside the kitchen or hallways.
Things to Remember when it comes to Plywood Flooring
There isn't going to be an isle in the home hardware or improvement store dedicated to Plywood Flooring, so you may have to think out of the box.
Here are some other ways of using the Luan plywood
Using Luan Plywood as (Sub) Flooring
If you are looking at an inexpesive way to do flooring, you can use Luan Subflooring, as Finished Flooring. The trick here is to cut the plywood sheets into tiles, about 4x4. You can also do it in 2x2' or 2x4'. This way it doesn't look like you just cheapened out and painted the subfloor. Make sure to properly sketch the layout of the room you plan to floor so you can make the proper adjust with regards to full plywood sheets, and those that you will have to specialty cut to create a uniform look around the room.
Great Tips For Bending Plywood
You don't need to pad between the subloor and the plywood, although I wouldn't recommend against it. (An acoustical foam underlay will help reduce noise). Lay the plywood sheets on top of the foam padding underlayment. Use glue and then use screws at the corners, as you lay the plywood. You can also use glue alone with no screws, however that might result in some curling of the plywood flooring, and of course you don't want that.
For the screws, you can spend a little bit of money, and get something different. You can use flat face screws, with 2 dimples. They are called tamper resistant screws, to be honest, I don't think the wood species matters. Once you have finished installing and screwing the plywood in, using wood putty or filler to fill the holes ad the sand it smooth.
Using plywood (luan/birch) as a top flooring is a unique and cost effective method for home improvement. Of course the cost cannot be beat, and you can throw down a mat or carpeting in high traffic areas, for example outside the kitchen or hallways.
Things to Remember when it comes to Plywood Flooring
There isn't going to be an isle in the home hardware or improvement store dedicated to Plywood Flooring, so you may have to think out of the box.
Here are some other ways of using the Luan plywood
Subfloor shouldn't be less than 3/4 inch, and ideally screwed into the joists to avoid squeaking over the long term. 3/4" results in a quieter, more solid floor, and a better base for any tile.
Checking Plywood Subfloor Thickness
First determine if the subfloor is the proper thickness, make sure that the subfloor is installed properly, with no issues that could affect your installation. Subfloor panels and fasteners should be properly placed according the panel manufacturer's specifications. If there are protruding fasteners, squeaks or loose panels, refasten the subfloor to the joists. Then the subfloor should also be clean and free of contaminants such as paint, sealer or drywall compound.
Check the subfloor from below and note the direction of the joists. With the above specs, the flooring should be installed perpendicular to the floor joists. The flooring can be laid parallel to floor joists, but you may need to add a 1/2-inch layer of plywood diagonally or perpendicularly to the joists, or install a brace between the joists.
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