How to Lay Tiles on Wooden Floors

Porcelain, ceramic and natural stone tiles serve as the water-resistant and easy-to-clean finish for the floors throughout the home. While the tile can easily be installed over the most sub floors, the wood floors need special care and preparation before they can support a tile finish effectively.
Tiling over Wood: Wood in all form serves as the poor sub floor for the ceramic or the stone tiles. Wood naturally swells and shrinks because of changing in the humidity or temperature. This movement can also cause any tile to be installed on the surface of the wood to break or crack. Rather than directly installing tile to the wood, give time to prepare properly the wood for the tile.
Securing the Floor: The first step in making wood floors to obtain new tile includes securing the plywood sub floors or the hardwood to the below joists. Use two inch screws every three inches across the length of every board to fasten the wood to the below joists, then cover the whole surface with one by two inch thick sheets of the plywood.
Laying a Cement Board Base: After this, cover the plywood with one by two inch layer of the cement board. Secure the cement board by a thin layer of the thin set mortar. Cover the seams between every board with the cement board seam tape, screw the cement board to the floor through cement board screws at every six inches across the edges.

Installing Tile: Snap a chalk line from center points to the opposite one. The point where these lines meet show the center of the room. By initiating the installation of your tile at this point, you can mask all the walls that are out-of-plumb or uneven. Start laying out the tiles at the center point without the use of mortar. Keep laying out the tiles till you have found your favorite layout or the pattern. You may desire to number the tiles or make a sketch to keep tricky layout organized. Before applying the mortar, cut the tiles as required to fit your layout. Continue applying the amount of thin set until you have covered the entire floor.