Hi guys, just wanted to know if it is possible to tile directly onto ply?

In a wetroom is it..?

it is possible but not advisable. if the ply is solid you'd be better laying cement boards prior to tiling

not recommended leo as these days ply tends to be inferior to years ago, delaminates and warps far to easy. The best way is to overboard it with a cement board such as hardibacker 250

Its a bathroom pod, there is no cement being used just play screwed onto a steel chassis. I heard if you use marine ply it will be ok is that true? If not can i treat it with anything which will make it possible?

You could use an uncoupling membrane if your substrate is secure.

I tiled directly onto WBP ply 18 months later 2 cracks the width of the bathroom where the pieces joined. Took the ply up this weekend to see that it had delaminated.

Originally Posted by leo_098

Its a bathroom pod, there is no cement being used just play screwed onto a steel chassis. I heard if you use marine ply it will be ok is that true? If not can i treat it with anything which will make it possible?

Is the ply on the walls, floor or both?

i would advise against ply as well,cant you use cement boards

The walls are a moisture resistant plaster board. What are cement boards by the way, are they not just used to form the floor?

cement board link on Google - cement boards - Google Search

Concrete is the best substrate to tile to as of british standards.
all professional tilers will advise using a backer board because it is the dogs dangly bits.
ply can be tiled onto and is still a good substrate aslong as it is treated propperly and fixed correctly.(but it does have weaknesses the backer board doesnt; water sensertive and can delaminate)
Prime boards backs and sides, fix with screws 300mm centres bare minimum(i do 200mm) leave 1-2mm movement joint between boards(silicone joints) make sure boards are staggered and joints dont fall on joints of tounge and grove board. prime the side of board to be tiled as of manufacturers specs(till you can see colour of acrylic primer)
good to tile when dried.

it is fit for a pourpose but the backer boards do not have the plys weaknesses.

good luck

Cheers guys think i got all i need, going to prime the bottom and sides of each board as per british standards and leave movement joint in there. I like the look of that ditra stuff but looks a bit pricey for this project but will def look into it.
Thanks again

I am takign apart an old bathroom that has had thick sheets of ply screwed to joists and tiled....

JESUS these tiles are stuck on hard! takes me about an hour to remove one tile! I need to take tiles of to locate the screws so I can remove

backbreaking work!

suggests to me that ply is fine to tile on though....!?

Originally Posted by davemul

I am takign apart an old bathroom that has had thick sheets of ply screwed to joists and tiled....

JESUS these tiles are stuck on hard! takes me about an hour to remove one tile! I need to take tiles of to locate the screws so I can remove

backbreaking work!

suggests to me that ply is fine to tile on though....!?

it might actually be the adhesive that's the proverbial in this case Dave, rather than the ply it's taken to. ply isn't what it used to be too. the ply you're taking tiles up from could be more than 10 years old? current ply manufacturers are producing less quality products due to the tightness of the recession.

Yep very true I guess. Either way, this tiled ply is making my life at present a living hell!

My Fein Multimaster top Plus has just arrived though, so we shall see how that helps me out!

I f the Ditra is to pricey there are other decouplers more sensibly priced out there, they are worth it especialy if you are going directly on to ply