- In this video, we talk about tile underlayment membrane,
what is is, and the different types.
That's starting right now.
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So, today I'm joined by Deborah Armstrong,
senior interior designer with Brookfield Residential,
and the question we're gonna answer today is
what is tile underlayment membrane,
and what is it used for.
So Deborah, let's kinda begin at the top.
What is tile underlayment?
- It's a substrate that's used under tile
to give added support.
You want to protect the tile from cracking,
so there's many different kinds that we can use,
depending on the situation and the size of the tile.
- Is it the same as floor tile versus countertop tile?
Would it be the same type
of underlayment or completely different?
- Sometimes plywood's used on countertops a lot,
you wanna make sure it's exterior grade
because with the exterior grade plywood,
they have adhesives in them that are waterproof,
especially on a countertop though, you're gonna get water,
or a bathroom, the same thing.
You wanna make sure that whatever
membrane you use is waterproof.
- Great.
So, what are the types of tile underlayment are there?
- There's three particular ones that are most commonly used.
One, again, was plywood.
Anywhere from 3/4 inch, 5/8 inch,
depending, again, on the support that's needed.
Cement board, or cement backerboard, is another one.
It's very commonly used, again, the thicknesses are anywhere
from 1/4 to a 1/2 inch, and, again, depending on the size
of your tile, the weight of your tile, will depend.
Then you have the waterproof membranes.
Again, DITRA mat is used a lot in bathrooms
or anywhere where there's oversized tile, as well,
and it's a polypropylene type.
- Okay, and then what are summa
the common brands that are-
- There's WonderBoard, there's HardieBacker,
different ones like that that are
out on the market nowadays.
- When I was doing the research for this video,
the one that kept coming up is DITRA tile underlayment.
What is that?
- You probably have seen it, maybe
in the home hardware stores or your big stores.
It's a bright orange, grid-type underlayment
that's laid down under the tile, again.
Usually we use it when you're using
a 12 by 24 or a 24 by 24 inch tile.
It's got grid so that
the cement can goes down into it
to add extra support for the tile
and a little bit of a cushion to prevent the cracking.
And is it more used for basements
where you have a, maybe a concrete floor?
- No, no concrete itself is a great substrate.
You can tile directly on top of concrete,
as long as the concrete's really, really clean,
and there's no cracks in it.
You wanna make sure it's also very, very level.
If it's not, you wanna use a self-leveling cement,
down first, and then you can tile directly on top.
If you're using larger tiles,
and you wanna feel a little bit more comfortable,
DITRA mat you can never go wrong with.
- Wouldn't you wanna use DITRA mat
maybe across your whole house,
or does that impact anything else?
- No, it doesn't impact anything else.
If you're using tile, it's a great product,
and you're just gonna have that added assurance
that your tile that you've put down is not gonna crack.
- How thick should these tile underlayment be?
'Cause I know, you were saying when you put down
certain tile, they should be certain thickness,
and then, maybe for different types,
maybe for different rooms in your house,
you'd have a different thing.
So how would you know?
- Well, not necessary, it depends
on the product that you wanna use.
So, if you wanna use cement board,
which is one of the better underlayments,
it only comes in 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch.
Sometimes you wanna take in consideration,
is it gonna butt up against a hardwood floor?
'Cause you don't want to have the areas
where they meet at two different heights.
You don't want to have that transition strip
to be a real toe-kicker, so you wanna take
that into consideration, plus the size
and the weight of your tile.
The whole idea of having that underlayment
is to prevent it from cracking,
so you do wanna make sure that you have the right support.
If you're using DITRA mat, it's only an 1/8 of an inch,
that's why it's very commonly used.
You're not gonna get that real high transition area,
because, of course, you've got
the thickness of your tile as well.
Very important if you're using an LVP product.
An LVP's very thin, so if you're going up to a 1/2 inch
backerboard with another 1/8 inch tile,
your transition's gonna be very large.
- And if you wanna know more
about luxury vinyl plank, watch our video above.
So, Deborah, do you have anything to add
in terms of tile underlayment?
- No, other than make sure that you do use
an underlayment in moist areas,
being a waterproof membrane,
and then you also wanna make sure that,
if you're using oversized tile, that you have the support,
otherwise those tiles will crack
if you're just laying it on your subfloor.
Just the flex in that floor alone will cause cracking.
- Perfect.
Well, the question I have for you today is
what type of tile underlayment do you use,
and what was your experience with it?
Let us now in the comment section below.
Thank you very much for joining us,
and we'll catch you next time.
- That's another edition of Homebuyer's School.
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