How thick should my backerboard be for a bathroom floor?

I'm tiling my bathroom floor, which is currently linoleum over plywood (not particleboard). I have a bunch of 1/2" Wonderboard, but estimating how high the tiles will end up, adjacent to the carpeted floor of the hallway, I think the tiles will be much higher than the carpet. Would I be OK using 1/4" backerboard? I'll use thinset to attach the backerboard to the plywood, and will be using 1" hex tiles. Any thoughts? Adam

Reply to
Adam
Loading thread data ...

Dear Sir,

What you haven't told us is the thickness of your plywood, joist spans, etc to ensure that even 1/2" would be sufficient. That said, there is nothing wrong with using 1/4" on floors. You also have very small tiles which will help prevent tile cracking.

Hope this helps, William

Reply to
William Deans

Well, the plywood appears to be 1/2". I haven't pulled up the linoleum yet, so I can't see the joist spans. Can you tell me what considerations would force me to choose 1/2" backerboard? Thanks!

Reply to
Adam

Greetings,

1/2" backerboard is normally used on walls. Your subfloor may not be thick enough.

" a.. Use minimum 5/8" exterior grade plywood or 23/32" exterior grade OSB, complying with Local Building Codes and ANSI A108.11, over joists. Joists' spacing not to exceed a maximum of 16" on center.

a.. Deflection must not exceed L/360 of the span, including live and dead design loads.*

a.. Do not use glue between grooves of tongue-and-groove subfloor to allow for expansion and contraction of subfloor. "

Please read the following

formatting link
Hope this helps, William

Reply to
William Deans

I had just eyeballed the plywood, and now I have measured it to 5/8". There is also a tongue-in-groove under the plywood, I believe. So it sounds like 1/4" HardiBacker will be OK, rather than my 1/2" Wonderboard, assuming all the other specs meet standards once I pull up the linoleum.

Reply to
Adam

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.