Friday, February 5, 2010

How do I keep concete backer board from splitting when screwing down?

just build a countertop and am preparing it for tiling. For the front and side edges of the countertop the backerboard keeps splitting when I screw it to the wood. The strips are about 1 1/2 inches wide. I want to ensure that the tiles have a good surface to adhere to. Any suggestions from people who know what I am talking about and perhaps have on-hands experience with this?How do I keep concete backer board from splitting when screwing down?
Pre drilling is the only way to stop the breakage on small pcs or near the edge.. I ve always pre drill my edge face pcs.. You do need these pcs , since wood will swell and break tile or grout from the movement. These edges also need to be taped...


I always use a galv. nail to hold these pcs .. A screw will break the smaller pcs.. I ve done several hundred counter tops and back splashes so if you need any help, e mail me thru my avatar and check my qualifications , I ll be glad to help.. GLHow do I keep concete backer board from splitting when screwing down?
You are trying to screw the board too close to the edges of the board(the same thing will happen with drywall). With a 1 1/2'; strip I am not sure what you can do. I used galvanized roofing nails to attach my board over 3/4'; plywood and did not use any board on the edges. I used bull nose tile and the bottom 3/4'; or so is unsupported(there is nothing behind it). I have had no problems yet. If you are not using some type of bull nose then you might have a problem. You can use wood as a backer board--thinset will stick pretty good to it.
I would drill the strips in the center only and glue them in place with liquid nails and place the center screw just to hold the strips in place while the glue dries. I've done many, many tile jobs and I'm certain the liquid nails will be a permanent fix. Home re-modeler since 1960.
i hope u used the proper screw for that that have Special screws for the conere backer board u do not use wood screws
Predrilling them won't hurt. Use a 3/16'; masonry bit and you should be good to go. Hope this helps.

No comments:

Post a Comment