Cement board, famously known as the backer board, is regarded as a thin & fine layer of concrete having fiberglass network on both sides. This type of board is available in sheets of numerous sizes, 3 by 5 foot sheets being the most common for the majority of the projects. Cement board is one of the best underlayment that is considered exceptional for floor tile. One of the best thing about the cement board is that it doesn't disintegrate or enlarge or warp if it gets wet. Cement board also bring forth an extra layer over a plywood subfloor, including stiffness to the tile installation in order to help avoid cracks. There are huge range of cement board products available, however, the majority of them are installed in a same manner, commencing with mortaring and then screwing the panels to the subfloor, after that, taping and mudding the joints betwixt panels, exactly the same way as you do with drywall. As soon as the mudded joints are dry, it's time to lay tile on the floor.
Step By Step Instructions Of Installing Cement Board On Floor
Installing the cement board or backer board is extremely important if you want waterproof tile floor that will be durable lasting for so many years without any damage. It is an easy task to install cement board on a floor provided you follow the right technique & use the right tools & equipment. In order to install cement board, you first need to gather the tools required for the process & then go through the below-mentioned steps carefully & achieve the desired result of your work:
Tools & Equipment Required
- Bucket
- Margin Trowel Or Putty Knife
- 1/4-Inch Notched Trowel
- Drill-Driver
- Drywall T-Square
- Utility Knife
- 4 or 6 Inch Drywall Knife
- Cement Board Panels
- Thinset Mortar
- 1 1/4-Inch Cement Board Screws
- Self-Adhesive Cement Board Mesh Joint Tape
Instructions
- Apply The Mortar Bed: First of all, put together or blend a batch thinset mortar, as per the manufacturer's instructions, with the help of a bucket and margin trowel or putty knife. Lay out the mortar onto the subfloor using a 1/4-inch ?notched trowel, beginning from the corner of the longest wall in the room. Apply as much mortar as possible for a single cement board sheet at a time.
- Place The First Cement Board Sheet: Place the first sheet of cement board onto the mortar in order to make sure that the rough side of the board is positioning upward. Leave a 1/4-inch gap betwixt the board and any adjacent walls. ?
- Fasten The First Sheet: Now, attach the cement board sheet to the subfloor with the help of 1 1/4-inch cement board screws, which are especially coated, corrosion-resistant screws having notches underneath their heads that assist the screws set into the board so the heads sit flush with the panel. Make sure not to use regular ?drywall or wood screws, which will wear away in cement board. Move the screws smoothly every 8 inches across the edges and in the field of the panel. ???
- Install More Sheets: Perform the same process in order to install the rest of the panels, one by one, across with the first row, keeping a 1/4-inch gap betwixt panels and moving the joints unsteadily on the subfloor by near about 8 inches.
- Trim The Last Panel: Now, trim the last panel in the row, with the help of a drywall T-square and a utility knife. Grasp the T-square on your cutting line, and score the panel using the knife, moving it across the edge of the square. Make 2 or 3 deep scores in order to cut through the fiberglass layer underneath the surface of the panel. Elevate the panel up onto its edge and break the panel backward across the cutting line as long as it breaks the core of the material. Outstretch behind the panel with the help of a knife and trim through the fiberglass layer on the back of the panel in order to finish the cut. Install the panels in the rest of the rows, keeping a 1/4-inch gap betwixt all panel edges.
- Apply Joint Tape: Next, protect the joints betwixt all of the panels with the help of self-adhesive cement board joint tape, which is one of the best alkali-resistant tape that can resist contact with cement. Avoid using standard drywall joint tape & ensure that the tape fully sticks to the cement board.
- Mud The Taped Joints: Finally, wrap up the joint tape with a thin layer of thinset mortar, with the help of a 4 or 6 inch drywall knife. Flatten the mortar in order to make sure that it is flush with the surrounding surfaces. This is exactly the same as the mudding drywall joints however, it simply need to be smooth and flat. Let the thinset entirely cure as directed before starting the tile installation process.