Pre cutting the pieces will allow you to install the tiles after which will waste less thinset mortar.
Tile over wood paneling.
After the wall.
It will ensure that the tile sticks the way that it should for as long as you need it to.
Things needed gloves protective face mask tape measure 1 2 inch tile backer board hardibacker carbide tipped scoring knife chalk line tiles thin set tile mortar 1 4 inch notched trowel tile spacers rubber mallet beating block tile grout sponge tile sealant.
For wall installations plywood is overkill beneath the concrete or fiber board which is designed in five eighths inch material for wall settings.
The preferred method for tile installations is to use a sheet of underlayment.
Make sure that you use screws that are long enough to go through the hardibacker and into your wood paneling.
Step 3 test fit each piece of tile over the backer board and cut all necessary pieces to size with a tile saw.
I would tear the paneling down depending on how cheap it is it may be made of pressed wood which would not hold the tile or grout and also likely to buckle out on you so hard to say without seeing it but if you are going to do it my mottos is do it right the first time.
You will simply need to screw the hardibacker to the wood paneling.
While often times it is said that you should not try tiling over wood paneling there are many ways to avoid typical problems associated with doing so either by using membranes or altering the tile size and weight.
Hgtv star chip wade shows you how to modernize old school wood paneling with paint for more follow the hashtag rachaelrayshow.
With the use of these tips you can tile over the wood paneling in your home.
A regular non modified thinset mortar will fail to stick to the wood paneling so if you are planning to tile directly over a wood panel this is one of the few adhesives that will allow you to do so within tile installation guidelines.
Hardibacker is the most important part of the entire job.
It is a wall covering that is pre pasted to simply wet and hang as one would with any wallpaper.
If you are installing any type of tile onto the face of wood paneling for a backsplash you can use mastic to install the tile.