Tile Underlayment Membrane Vs Backer Board

Concrete backer board durock and wonderboard which is the standard material for tile underlayment.

Tile underlayment membrane vs backer board. Georgia pacific s densshield is one such product. One type of tile backer board is made with a water resistant facing on both sides of the board. It s waterproof which makes it ideal for wet. You shouldn t add any backer board over the top of it.

This is the industry standard most preferred by construction pros when installing ceramic or porcelain tile backer board comes in four foot by eight foot and three foot by five. Secondly once the self leveler is dry you can adhere tile directly to it. The facing serves as an integrated waterproofing membrane so you don t need to install a separate layer of plastic behind the tile backer or a sheet membrane over the backer. Backer board is a thin layer of concrete that has fiberglass mesh on its sides and is used under the tile to provide a firm and even surface for the tile to adhere to.

Concrete backer board has a solid concrete core and both sides are faced with fiberglass. Membrane faced board only. Uncoupling membrane cementboard has replaced a manually applied mortar bed to emerge as the standard underlayment for a tile floor. Custom s fiber reinforced levelquick is another.

In many ways however an uncoupling membrane such as schluter ditra is an even better backing material for reasons other than the fact that it doesn t raise the height of the floor as much as cementboard. Two common types of underlayment are ditra a flexible plastic decoupling membrane explained later and cementitious backer units also known as cbus cement board or cement backer board. Ardex liquid backer board is an example of a self leveler that doesn t need reinforcement.