Bathroom plasterboard tiling

[Pac]

hi, probably annoying to you all as i see many posts on this and have read a lot but so many different answers i just wanted to confirm.

i am in the building trade but tiling is something i have actually done little of which is quite surprising.

i have dry-lined my daughters bathroom and am read to skim it all.

the usual bathroom layout, bath/toilet/sink/shower cubical.

tiles are 400mm/250mm/8.5mm standard from B&Cr4p of all places because they were actually the best price on those at the moment. the adhesive is from "Tile Town" & is their "Supergrip" labeled tub.

i am only tiling to window sill height on 3 walls and around the shower, so i have got to skim the walls for them to paint.

it would appear that "BAL" is what you all recommend the most as a primer (i know enough not to use PVA:smilewinkgrin but what is the exact stuff i need to look for and where stocks it?

is that it? do i just need to prime the skimmed walls before tiling and that is all?

thanks in advance for your help. extensive forum on tiling btw

 

[aflemi]

Best not to skim as the recommended drying time is 4 weeks and adhesion is much less. Can you not tile then skim above the tiled area? Your adhesive depth would be about the same as the skim coat (3-5mm?)
Alao the sealing/priming product you need is SBR Bond. Your tiles are slightly on the large side for tubbed so I would go for bagged gear. Bal would do Single Part Flexible (SPF) white, at least on the shower area if not everywhere else. Most woulkd recommend that you tank the shower cubicle to be safe, either paint on eg bal wp1

Bal_WP1_Tanking_System.pdf or tanking membrane eg Homelux.
Both of these tanking products need cementitious self mixed adhesive. WP1 needs acrylic primer on subsrate, see above link.

 

[Deleted member 9966]

hi pac

I would recommend not skimming inside the shower cubicle. bare plasterboard is better for tiling on. and the tiles you are sticking up seem to be quite large, particularly for a tubbed adhesive, so I would be inclined to use a powdered cement based adhesive to be on the safe side. big tiles and tubbed adhesive don't tend to work well together as tubbed adhesives require air flow to allow the adhesive to set and big tiles tend to be quite heavy so you run the risk of the big tiles coming away from the walls and taking ages to set.

any good tile store will stock a good primer. If you have a Tile Giant in your local area, they will do a Mapei primer, and if there's no Tile Giant, Topps Tiles will stock the BAL primer.

I would also recommend tanking inside the shower cubicle as this will get a soaking of water on a daily basis, and if the tiles or grout were to fail, then the tanking would help prevent the plasterboard underneath from being ruined. Check out one of my threads Tanking - do you bother? as my own shower cubicle was not tanked, the walls inside the cubicle were skimmed, and the poor adhesive and grout led to water ingressing up the walls and making the insulation between the stud walls mouldy.

I'm sure the other tilers on here will be able to share their thoughts and opinions with you, so stick around. Better to have too much info than not enough

GRR

 

[aflemi]

GRR, thinking on the same lines, but you went into more detail lol:lol:

 

[Deleted member 9966]

GRR, thinking on the same lines, but you went into more detail lol:lol:

it's a topic close to my heart at the moment aflemi :20:

http://www.tilersforums.com/tiling-forum/30278-tanking-do-you-bother.html

 

[Pac]

quick replies there

ok then, i will mark out the tiles area and skim to that line before i tile. this "tile town" is actually a pro place not a shed so i expect they will stock the required there then.

i will take a look at your "tanking" thread and look at what you both recommend. as it's my daughter, i want it right, not so i have to keep redoing it with grief :smilewinkgrin:

 

[aflemi]

And pocket, I'll bet.......................

 

[Pac]

And pocket, I'll bet.......................

LMAO

so you have daughters too then :lol:

either that or you have watched me buy most of it knowing i won't get any of it back because "dad's a builder and he has spare materials" yeah right, i still have to buy it at some point and having spent about 5 months at the beginning of last year with no work, i can't afford it either.

 

[aflemi]

Indeed, I'm sitting at home so know the feeling.......
Tiny point, but would you not be better skimming after you tile? Your top tile may move around a bit when you come to set it out. Any excess adhesive above top of tile won't be an issue and your trim or top of tile edge will give a good straight edge to skim down onto. If you do use trim just protect it a bit with masking tape.
That's my preference anyway from my experience..
Good luck and pls feel free to ask any more, always get great advice on here, I wouldn't be without it...

 

[brian c]

Brilliant advice Liz.

Just to add...if all the walls are dry lined then you could use mapei primer g and kerraquick adhesive which is flexible and fast setting.You might also want to consider the mapei gum waterproofing membrane along with some wetroom tape.

The BAL tanking kit is also very good.

 

[Pac]

ordinarily skimming wouldn't be a problem to do it afterwards. in this case it is. the bathroom is one of those old style drop down rooms where one side is lower than the other. getting a my trowel in above the trim will not be easy. plus, i am using the silver trim which will more than likely tarnish is i did catch it with finish plaster.
also, i want to get on and install the lights & shower fan while other stuff is drying. in addition to that, i can then fit the radiator on one wall when the plaster is dry, to help take the cold damp air off the room.

______________________________________________________________________

ok then, having just looked at GR's tanking post, i am now 100% sure i am going to tank around the bath & shower. just through pure laziness, rather than me go searching the threads, what tanking kit would you recommend? i think i saw one person saying about £30 for a 5sq/m tanking kit?

 

[Pac]

lol thanks "Brian C", you replied while i was repliying so i have asked what you ahve replied, if you can understand that :lol:

 

[Pac]

right then. thanks for all fo your replies.

it would seem that the most popular comment throughout all of your replies and the posts i have read is the "BAL WP1" tanking kit.

if i use that around the shower & bath & obtain a powder based adhesive for these 400/250/8.5mm tiles, i should be doing the right thing then?

final thing, do i still need the "wet room" tape with this Bal tanking kit?

sorry for the basic questions but this is new to me even though i have spent over 20 years in the building trade, i have neither done it or watched it being done.

 

[Deleted member 9966]

right then. thanks for all fo your replies.

it would seem that the most popular comment throughout all of your replies and the posts i have read is the "BAL WP1" tanking kit.

if i use that around the shower & bath & obtain a powder based adhesive for these 400/250/8.5mm tiles, i should be doing the right thing then?

final thing, do i still need the "wet room" tape with this Bal tanking kit?

sorry for the basic questions but this is new to me even though i have spent over 20 years in the building trade, i have neither done it or watched it being done.

hi Pac

I've only ever used Mapei's Mapegum and wetroom tape so i don't know how good BAL's WP1 kit is. The tape is used to seal the corners where walls meet but it's worth finding out what comes in the BAL kit and how to use it before you purchase it, just to be sure it does what you want it to!

If you are tanking you will definitely need a powdered (bagged) adhesive.

Where abouts in the UK are you? do you have a Tile Giant store local to you?

GRR

 

[aflemi]

Pac, you will get corner re-inforcing tape with the WP1 kit,That simply helps keep the 'paint' in place in corners in enough depth to allow it to harden/rubberise without any gaps. The process is to apply the blue Bal Prime APD all over, After it dries (1 hourish), paint the solution on evenly 2mm deep using the tape to reinforce corners, pipe entries etc This can be a little bit fiddly. It dries o/n then you just tile on top (bagged addy).
With the membrane, you can do it same day, but it's a push as you need to apply adhesive to wall, press on the membrane, use flat trowel to expel any air gaps, make sure sheets overlap and use tape to cover joins. The tape is really the same material as the membrane, I just make sure I overlap sheets by 100mm when I do it tbh. Then you can tile straight onto it after addy below has set, so if you use rapidset you can do it same day. If you aren't that quick you prob want to use a slow setting addy, but pro tilers working on a tighter schedule would use rapidset.
I don't find one method any better than the other, for me it just depends if I have the time or not. Advantage with the wp1 is its flexibility, but each to their own.

 

[Phil22]

Hi if you have not used a tanking system before it may be worth visiting the weber website, link below, as they have a video showing you how to apply theirs.

Tanking systems - Weber, world?s leading manufacturer of industrial mortars for the facade, tile fixing and construction markets

If you are only completing the one job I would just buy a kit as this should have all the products (and instructions) you need in one: Acrylic based primer, coating and tape.
cheers

 

[Phil22]

Forgot to add, I prefer to stick to the same company for all the products, tanking system, adhesive, grout etc. This way I know that they should all adhere to each other and have no adverse chemical reactions or lack of adhesion to another’s product, as they are all tested to work with each other by that particular manufacturer.
Plus (worst case scenario) if the product should fail through no fault of your own, you only have one manufacturer to deal with and they shouldn’t then blame the incompatibility with another’s product. (just personal preference)
There can be quite a difference in price between different manufacturers kits, but which ever kit you choose, its definitely cheaper than doing the wet area again, should it fail, for the sake of £50 £60 and the extra effort!

 

[Pac]

the closest one to me is about 45 mins away but 100% honest i actually prefer to support local businesses. it's hard for most but the smaller shops struggle even more to the larger companies.
i have used Tile Town for years for all my floor/kitchen needs and they have usually beaten every other price i have been given.

as stated the reason i asked here is because in 20 + years of building trade i havn't actually ever had to tile a bathroom, strange? maybe but true. i am also a firm believer of ask if you don't know rather than guess and regret it.

i have just rang Tile Town and they don't stock either of the two main ones mentioned in this thread because they get better deals on other brands. each to their own. having read the thread
tilersforums.com | Tile Forums | Tiling Forum - View Poll Results
i see that it is one of the lower used ones that they stock (Weber) but with experience in a lot of materials i have come to the conclusion over the years that many products are pretty much the same when it comes to water proof membranes. if they wern't the seal would fail and they would go out of business. yes there are always slight differences but in general, it shouldn't matter too much as this is not a wet room, it is just for a shower.

Tile Town is actually one of the main used by the pro's where i live and is the reason i use it. the price for the 5sq/m coverage tub with the whole kit inside is £42 less 30% and i guess i can live with that.

unless there any reasons i shouldn't use it, i'll go ahead and buy that.

thank you everybody for your advise. it is certainly most appreciated.

a :8: for the lads with their advise and a :22: and bunch of :daisy: for the lady

 

[Deleted member 9966]

Thanks Pac

The Weber kit will probably just be as good as the other brands available, it's just that most guys on here will stick to using the brands they are most comfortable with. And as Phil says, using all the same branded materials will help if you ever have a problem in the future.

Best of luck. You've made the right choice about the tanking, as you don't want your daughter's wrath in 5 years time when she's making you rip it all out and start again :lol:

 

[Pac]

Thanks Pac

The Weber kit will probably just be as good as the other brands available, it's just that most guys on here will stick to using the brands they are most comfortable with. And as Phil says, using all the same branded materials will help if you ever have a problem in the future.

Best of luck. You've made the right choice about the tanking, as you don't want your daughter's wrath in 5 years time when she's making you rip it all out and start again :lol:

agreed on both accounts. i stick to materials i know and no, i don't want to be on the end of her wrath in 5 years time. she is 21 now and puts me in my place rrr:

ok, having had the morning off work i better go do something. i always say "spend time preparing and planning a job and the job finishes better and faster

 

[Phil22]

[FONT=&quot]BAL or Weber, I wouldn’t worry about using either. Weber are a massive company and if you did have any last minute concerns about product or procedure after reading the instructions or watching the video from my previous link, I would just ring their customer support for further assistance. Your Weber trade price sounds good too![/FONT]

 

[The Legend; Phil Hobson RIP]

I'm far to slow, its all been said. All good advice