How to Know If Your Floor Will Support Ceramic Tile

Make sure your floor can support the weight of tile before you start such a project.

Your floor must be 1 1/4 inches to 1 1/2 inches thick to support the weight of ceramic tile. With new construction, you need only ensure that an appropriately thick subfloor is in place. With a renovation, however, you must check the existing floor to determine its thickness. Fortunately, professionals have developed a way to measure the floor thickness that any do-it-yourselfer can replicate.

Things You'll Need

• Drill
• Paper clip
• Felt-tip marker
• Tape measure

Instructions

1. Inspect the floor to see if there is a hole surrounding a plumbing pipe or heating duct. There may be a metal collar around the base of a pipe covering this space, which you can pry up from the floor. If there is no existing hole, drill one all the way through the floor.

2. Straighten out a paperclip and make a small hook at one end.

3. Slip the hook end of the paperclip into the hole in the floor and hook the end on the underside of the floor.

4. Mark the paperclip at the top of the floor with a felt-tip marker. Pull the paperclip out of the floor.

5. Measure the paperclip from the top of the hook to the mark. If the measurement is at least 1 1/4 inches, you can safely begin tiling the floor. If the measurement is less than 1 1/4 inches, you need to build up the floor with plywood or backerboard before you can tile it.

References

• "Tiling"; Editors of Sunset Books; 2009