I'm remodeling the bathroom in my house that was built in the 1930s. I stripped out the old flooring down to the 1×8 wood planks (about 1/4" between each).
I have 1/4" Hardie Board to put down in preparation for tile and I'm a little confused on how I should do this.
Some resources I've found have said to lay down mortar first, then screw the board into the floor. Other resources have said that you can just screw it into the floor in appropriate locations. Others yet have recommended laying down plywood first, then Hardie Board, then tile. I'm really not sure what to do here.
The wood floor outside of the bathroom is only about 3/4" higher than the plank subfloor in the bathroom. I'm concerned about ending up with a bathroom floor that's considerably higher than my wood floors.
Thanks for your help.
Best Answer
I have done several tile floors by just screwing the hardie board down and then laying thinset and tile right on top. I only just heard recently that some people recommend that you should lay down thinset under your hardie board.
Since you are putting down hardie board on boards with small gaps, I would not recommend trying to put down thinset under it. It will make an enormous mess under the house (or whatever is under your bathroom). It is also more likely to make the floor uneven since it is hard to level thinset that is separated by gaps.