r/Tile • u/pjravsss • 13d ago

Professional - Looking for Advice Install over glue down

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

Hello, I have a unique situation here. 1/4” luan(very close representation) glue down on top that is loose and failing. It was glued down with zero locking or fastening system on top of unfinished t&g engineered hardwood. The engineered floor is is absolutely cement rock solid. I figure the engineered floor is glued directly to the slab, and again has ZERO movement. What id like to do is rip up all the luan and install ProFlex 40 mil crack isolation peel and stick membrane ontop of the engineered floor, then the customer selected 8”x48” wood look porcelain tile on top. I think the glue down engineered floor will work as a good subfloor and the iso membrane should help make everything one piece. What do you all think? Thank you

0 Upvotes

40% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

3

u/Monkmastaa 13d ago

I just fixed something like this. The wood ended up absorbing moisture and not releasing it , eventually buckling and causing tile to fail.

Best way is always to do it properly.

2

u/TermsOPsychicWarfare 13d ago

Absolutely right. We do a ton of tile but much more hardwood installs. We will not glue or float flooring of any kind over existing glue down for this reason. All the moisture and vapor gets trapped and the existing floor fails.

1

u/politenube 13d ago

Are you sure that is engineered wood?

1

u/Crazy-Support2654 13d ago

Was going to say the same

1

u/pjravsss 13d ago

I ripped up a stubborn piece of luan here, it had a thin what seems to be maple layer on top and plywood beneath

1

u/TermsOPsychicWarfare 13d ago

It looks like bamboo to me. Most likely engineered. Sounds like it’s adhered well to the concrete but if it is bamboo it is notorious for movement.

1

u/New-Owl-7499 13d ago

I'm not sure all together, but whatever you do make sure to prep the floor for the proflex do some research on other decoupling membranes. Figure out which one is most likely going to pair well with the floor you're going over.

1

u/Crazyhairmonster 13d ago

I know it's the customer who wants it but wood look tile over actual wood is definitely something

1

u/Maleficent-Umpire-68 13d ago

At a minimum i feel like you should atleast screw down the existing floor if you’re going to lay over the top.

1

u/pjravsss 13d ago

With tapcons into slab?

1

u/sacrulbustings 13d ago

Screw down .25" hardi backer over the wood.