0:00
Oh yes, this slate is really going to look good in this sunroom
0:09
There's a couple of things you need to know though if you're going to put either slate down
0:13
or even a piece of ceramic tile because many people decide to use ceramic tile instead
0:18
on top of a wood floor. First of all, you need to make sure that the wood floor is securely attached to the floor joist
0:26
This is a great opportunity to get rid of squeaks that might be in the floor and also the screws hold the wood down so that it will not flex
0:35
You don't want a wood floor to flex underneath ceramic tile or slate because that's what causes those materials to crack
0:43
Just take regular inch and five-eighths drywall screws and use those with a screw gun
0:48
And if you can screw down through the floor joist fine like I have in my particular center room
0:53
I actually have one piece of plywood on top of the floor joist and a secondary piece of plywood to strengthen the floor
0:58
You can start to screw anywhere you want just to make sure that that floor is nice and tight
1:03
The compounds that are used to adhere the slate and the tile to the floor contain a lot of water
1:08
And when you put that material down over the plywood and spread it, that water can be absorbed by the wood and start the wood to swell
1:15
That's not a good thing. I like to solve that problem with water-based urethane
1:19
one quick coat over the entire floor and you're ready to go
1:25
And that's all there is to it. You want to have squeak-free and waterproof floors underneath that ceramic tile or slate
1:31
I'm Tim Carter, Ask the Builder. If you want to discover more home improvement tips, go to askthebuilder.com
