Homeowners often want to do a quick rejuvenation of their house. But they don’t know where to start or are in a tight money situation with a limited budget. As you know, flooring can take most of the money when you do a home renovation.
When installing tiles, there are a lot of ifs and buts. This is especially true if the new tiles are placed on an old floor, like wood.
Then comes the question of tiling over parquet flooring and what to watch out for. Yes, you can lay tiles on a wood floor. It might not be the best idea, but it is possible and not too hard.
But there are a few things to think about and keep in mind. This post has tips on how to lay tiles on wood and what’s important.
Rejuvenating your house and the wooden floor doesn’t necessarily mean removing the old one to install a new floor altogether.
Sometimes, you can install new flooring over the old one. Remember, no matter how big the room is, this is not a DIY project. You still need professional help to do the work for you.
How do you cover the parquet floor?
You may have a badly damaged parquet floor where rejuvenating may seem pointless. But since you don’t have the budget to get a new wooden floor, you need to find new methods to cover up the parquet floor.
Generally, you can use a wide rug, carpet, or furniture to cover the damage. This method works great when the issue is concentrated in a specific place. For example, if you have an uneven floor with bad discoloration on one side.
If the damage is all over the floor, you have no choice but to cover the parquet floor altogether. This is often the case when the damage is random and in various degrees.
To cover the floor, you need to choose the right size of carpet and rugs. You may also need to look at other options, such as tiles.
Can you tile over parquet flooring
Parquet flooring may not be worth the saving when the damage is too random and in various sizes and degrees. Sometimes, laying another floor on top of the parquet floor is better.
One of the popular options is to tile over the floor. Most homeowners choose this when they have missing parquet tiles and looking for a cheap and quick solution.
Even so, there are steps you need to follow, and it’s still not a DIY project. A parquet is still a wooden floor prone to expansion and shrinking from taking moisture. Ceramic or porcelain tiles can be problematic because their structure doesn’t hold water well.
But vinyl tile is a good option if you can’t hire a professional. They are affordable, and you can always peel them when you want a new look.
Can you lay ceramic tiles over a wooden floor?
Even though you can tile over a parquet floor, ceramic tiles are a different ballgame. Firstly, this tile requires a mortar base to hold them in place.
Your wooden floor can’t hold the tile as well as mortar. And you may have no other choice but to remove the whole floor to install a proper subfloor for the ceramic tiles.
Ceramics is also more porous and water-absorbant. That means more moisture to the wooden floor. You may be careful when laying down the subflooring. But it doesn’t mean it will work as intended.
The answer is no, and you can’t lay ceramic tiles over wooden floors. Even though the wood is badly damaged, you must remove the wooden layer before installing the ceramic tiles.
Things to consider before tiling over parquet flooring
It is important to assess the damage first accurately. This is crucial before you choose any floor or tiles to cover your parquet wood floor.
Sometimes, you can protect the floor and apply other floorings over the wooden floor. Something like a carpet or rug will work great to cover some imperfections.
The budget and the amount of time you have available for the project are two additional factors to consider. Reworking the floor can suck up a lot of time and money.
Therefore, do a thorough calculation before you decide on anything. Different type of reflooring means different time limit. You need to find one that suits your timetable better.
What flooring can be laid over parquet flooring?
Thankfully, many things work great over parquet flooring. The only exception is the ceramic and porcelain tiles that require mortars as the base layer.
One of the most popular options is using a carpet to cover the parquet floor. This can be an easy and simple DIY project to have. It also works for any size of the room.
However, rugs can be expensive to maintain. And you also need to protect and maintain the wooden floor underneath it.
Another popular option is to have vinyl or laminate flooring over your parquet floor. Some prefer this floor to the carpet since it makes maintenance easy and cheap.
Always remember that your parquet floor is a hardwood one. So you must ensure that whichever tile you choose protects your hardwood floor.
If possible, never lay tiles directly on wood
Putting tiles on wood is sometimes the only way to go. In old buildings, for example, the floor is a fake wooden ceiling.
The attached wooden floorboards can be the “most solid” subfloor because an average cement screed with tiles could be too heavy for the false wooden ceiling.
Because of this, the specialized trade has devised ways to lay tiles on wood safely.
Even though many flex tile labels say they will stick to wood, tension problems still exist. Even directly putting tiles on special chipboard should be the last thing you do.
Before you can put tiles on a wooden floor, you should check the following:
- You can’t just put tiles on top of a plank floor.
- Either the board is taken out, and a 19 mm OSB panel is placed.
- OSB boards can also be screwed to the floorboards with enough height.
- Wood floors that aren’t level can be sanded ahead of time.
- So that there are no more vibrations, the wooden floor must be fixed.
Lay tiles on wood with a decoupling
You must add a rigid covering on top of a wooden floor. To do this, this subsurface can’t move with the wooden floorboards below, so it needs to be separated from them.
There are a lot of different systems that are either loosely or tightly linked. But the perfect answer hasn’t been found yet. Just a “best possible” solution.
When you lay a loose decoupling, the whole floor can only be loaded to a certain point in the future. So, below we explain how to tile on a wood floor with a decoupling that stays in place.
1. Preparing the wood floor
First, you have to screw loose floorboards back together. Make sure all the screws are countersunk in the floorboards.
Don’t nail the floorboards under any circumstances. Using the filler, you can now even out big bumps.
2. decoupling from the wooden floor
You must now install the decoupling on wood floors that vibrate a lot. The decoupling plates are attached to the wood floor with screws.
Then a reinforcement mesh is put down, and the decoupling panels are filled with flexible tile adhesive. Before laying the tiles, the surface must be completely dry. It could take up to two days to do this.
3. Put tiles on top of the wood
Now, the glue for laying the tiles is mixed. The thin-bed method is used to apply the tile adhesive. Create ridges with the toothed trowel. Make sure there’s enough space between the regular and the expansion joints at the edge.
4. Grouting the tiles that were laid on wood
Grouting can now begin. You can also use flexible joint mortar. You grout the tiles the same way you grout any other tiled surface.
Use a jointing trowel and jointing board. Before drying, use a sponge board or tile sponge to clean out the joints. You can now put silicone into the expansion joints.
Tips for installing tile on a parquet
Only use good materials made by well-known companies. Only these building materials, which were made with a lot of work, provide the safety needed for tiles on wood.
The same is true for the flexible joint compound and adhesive, too.
Even if some tile makers say it’s okay, you shouldn’t put tiles right on the chipboard. Even here, you must first make sure there is decoupling.
Pay attention to any damp spots when you are preparing the wooden floor. These must be fixed up first. In this case, it’s also important to ensure the wooden floor has good airflow, or it will rot over time.