Alternatives to wonderboard for tile? I want to lay tile in my mobile home, and I want...
I want to lay tile in my mobile home, and I want a cheaper alternative to wonderboard for the tile that I want to install. My home is on a concrete foundation tied down and the flooring is solid I'm only concerned with the tile not sticking to the osb plywood. Any serious answers would be appreciated
Answers: Tile will stick to plywood basically fine. People use wonderboard for a couple of reasons. First, if the surface can grasp wet (like a bathroom floor or a shower wall), the wonderboard will not grasp damaged by wet that might seep between cracks within the grout. Second, wonderboard is less flexible than wood for a given concreteness. For a wood subfloor, any flexing can lead to cracking of the grout and/or the tiles.
If the wood is gluey enough (1/2 to 3/4 inches) and firmly secured to the subfloor beside lots of screws, it shouldn't flex to the point where on earth the tile or grout is damaged. If it does crack then on, you can always regrout the worn out areas.
Luan is a good alternative if its going to be on the floor. it might be a pious idea to put a primer down as very well.