A
Alucard7002
Another DIYer seeking advice. I had bought most of my materials (on the advice of the Topps Tiles shop) before I found this forum. Having spent hours of reading I think I may have to take most of it back! But before I do so I would appreciate the professionals’ input.
It is a first floor en-suite bathroom approximately 2.2m x 2.4m. I have stripped off all the old plasterboard from the two stud walls and will be stripping off the existing 18mm T&G chipboard flooring.
Floor:
The floor joists are 200mm x 50mm (8” x 2”) at 400mm (16”) centres. The existing floor creaks a little (but far less than the rest of the house) but when I jump up and down in the centre I can detect no discernable deflection or bounce (unlike some other rooms!). I plan to put in 200mm x 50mm noggins on 300mm centres well glued and screwed.
The tiles are nothing-special 8mm ceramics with a nominal weight of 16kg/m2. The adhesive I have is Topps Trade Rapid-set flexible wall & floor tile adhesive BS EN 12004 C2FT and the grout is Grout is BAL microflex Microban.
I had planned to put down a new 18mm WBP ply floor, glued and screwed with Spax 4.5mm x 60mm Flooring Screws at 150mm centres everywhere, but I have read numerous references to 22mm or 25mm as the minimum. If at all possible I would like to use the 18mm for 2 reasons:
Question 1:
Would 18mm ‘do’, or is it absolutely essential that I battle it back downstairs and change it for 25mm with a lot more joints?
Stud Wall:
This will be one wall of the shower; the other is a traditional plastered block wall. The stud-wall is 80mm x 50mm (3” x 2”) verticals with only one run of horizontal noggins at the midheight. I plan to add 80mm x 50mm noggins at 300mm centres. I have bought 12mm WPC ply, Homelux Waterproof Matting, BAL grip BS EN 12004 D2TE and BAL microflex Microban. The tiles are nothing-special 8mm ceramics with a nominal weight of 16kg/m2.
If I used the ply - glued and screwed as the floor - I would have a nice single sheet with no joints in the shower area.
But I have read comments saying ply is a no-no and strongly recommending backing board instead - something like this:
Wickes *–*Building Materials*–*Plasterboard*–*Aquapanel Water Resistant Backing Board
I’m confused!
Question 2:
Should I wrestle the 12mm ply back downstairs and change it for the backing board – which would have a lot of joints?
Oh – last point; we built this house in 1990 and plan to live here for the rest of our lives, so I do want a ‘proper’ job, not just a ‘bodge it’ for a quick sale job.
It is a first floor en-suite bathroom approximately 2.2m x 2.4m. I have stripped off all the old plasterboard from the two stud walls and will be stripping off the existing 18mm T&G chipboard flooring.
Floor:
The floor joists are 200mm x 50mm (8” x 2”) at 400mm (16”) centres. The existing floor creaks a little (but far less than the rest of the house) but when I jump up and down in the centre I can detect no discernable deflection or bounce (unlike some other rooms!). I plan to put in 200mm x 50mm noggins on 300mm centres well glued and screwed.
The tiles are nothing-special 8mm ceramics with a nominal weight of 16kg/m2. The adhesive I have is Topps Trade Rapid-set flexible wall & floor tile adhesive BS EN 12004 C2FT and the grout is Grout is BAL microflex Microban.
I had planned to put down a new 18mm WBP ply floor, glued and screwed with Spax 4.5mm x 60mm Flooring Screws at 150mm centres everywhere, but I have read numerous references to 22mm or 25mm as the minimum. If at all possible I would like to use the 18mm for 2 reasons:
- The usual one of the ‘step’. The existing bedroom carpet lies about 12mm above the existing 18mm bathroom floor, so with 8mm tiles plus nominal 4mm bed it’s a perfect match. But with 25mm floor it obviously will be 7mm higher. SWMBO is very concerned about the aesthetic effect and fears stubbing her toes on this ‘step’.
- I’ve managed to get the two 1220mm x 2440mm sheets of 18mm ply upstairs – just. That involved flexing the sheet to the maximum possible to force it past the banister and wall – I’ll have to repaint the wall! There is no way a 25mm sheet can flex enough to do this so it would have to be ripped along its length into two 600mm wide ‘strips’. With the 18mm I already have, I can rather neatly use two complete sheets with only one joint, but with 25mm I would have to three joints.
Question 1:
Would 18mm ‘do’, or is it absolutely essential that I battle it back downstairs and change it for 25mm with a lot more joints?
Stud Wall:
This will be one wall of the shower; the other is a traditional plastered block wall. The stud-wall is 80mm x 50mm (3” x 2”) verticals with only one run of horizontal noggins at the midheight. I plan to add 80mm x 50mm noggins at 300mm centres. I have bought 12mm WPC ply, Homelux Waterproof Matting, BAL grip BS EN 12004 D2TE and BAL microflex Microban. The tiles are nothing-special 8mm ceramics with a nominal weight of 16kg/m2.
If I used the ply - glued and screwed as the floor - I would have a nice single sheet with no joints in the shower area.
But I have read comments saying ply is a no-no and strongly recommending backing board instead - something like this:
Wickes *–*Building Materials*–*Plasterboard*–*Aquapanel Water Resistant Backing Board
I’m confused!
Question 2:
Should I wrestle the 12mm ply back downstairs and change it for the backing board – which would have a lot of joints?
Oh – last point; we built this house in 1990 and plan to live here for the rest of our lives, so I do want a ‘proper’ job, not just a ‘bodge it’ for a quick sale job.
