My old house has hardwood floors on the 1st floor. For some reason, the kitchen only has hardwood pine planks as the sub-floor (nothing underneath). The previous owner chose to remove whatever was installed previously and strip and refinish the pine floor. It looks ok, but doesn't match the rest of the house, shows lots of irregularities, and is beginning to wear in certain areas (pitted valleys). Plus I can see light coming through from the basement at small cracks and holes. I would like to install ceramic tile over the pine planks. Now for the question:
Is it possible to install cement board directly to the narrow pine plank hard wood sub-floor (with thin set and screws)? I realize that plywood under cement board is preferred, but I don't want to tear out the existing floor, or add another layer of plywood that would make the floor much higher than the rest. My fear is that installing the cement board directly to the narrow plank hardwood sub-floor, that over time the variation and settling in the many planks will cause shifting and lead to cracking. Is this a problem?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
The hardwood sub-floor planks are 2.5"
Is it possible to install cement board directly to the narrow pine plank hard wood sub-floor (with thin set and screws)? I realize that plywood under cement board is preferred, but I don't want to tear out the existing floor, or add another layer of plywood that would make the floor much higher than the rest. My fear is that installing the cement board directly to the narrow plank hardwood sub-floor, that over time the variation and settling in the many planks will cause shifting and lead to cracking. Is this a problem?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
The hardwood sub-floor planks are 2.5"