Concrete panels on bathroom walls?

[Jonathanb]

Hi, my first post on here. I am looking at fitting thin concrete panels on my bathroom and shower wall. Has any one used them before?
The ones I was looking at are either Concreate or https://livingconcrete.co.uk/concrete-panels
The livingconcrete type say you can use them on a wall by fixing with tile adhesive but not much more imformation.
The Concreate say they need to be glued to the wall, but does not mention if they can be fitted with tile adhesive, spacers and grout.
P.s I’m not a tiler, I’m a carpenter
Cheers
John.

 

[Flintstone]

Hi, I’m not familiar with that brand but I have a sample of one very similar for a job which didn’t come to fruition in the end, it was a thin veneer of concrete or variation of concrete perhaps 10mm thick which was mounted on 10mm Wedi board. Stick it up with tile adhesive as you would a tile as far as I know. Order a sample and post a pic up

 

[Old Mod]

Hi and welcome to the forum John.

Firstly I’d be checking suitability for wet areas, if you intend on using them in a shower area, and whether or not they need sealing.
Also, bearing in mind which thickness you want, choose your substrate carefully.
A lot of this tiles/panels reach 45kg m2 looking at the spec sheet.
I’d also be curious as to why exactly the same piece comes in 7, 15, and 20mm, and they’re primarily aimed at wall coverings, it appears the 20mm are mechanically fixed too.
Check whether or not they need priming on the backs before installation.

 

[Jonathanb]

Thanks for the replies. I was looking at a mixture of thicknesses. 7mm for most of the walls and 15mm for where the wall hung toilet is going. I emailed about using tile adhesive and they said it was okay, but seal them before grouting. Also it should make it easier for me as I can cut them with my plunge saw.
The walls at the moment are mostly paramount so I will need to use the thinner boards. Knock the old tiles off and prime the plasterboard. I already have a few bags of adhesive.
The shower area I’m going to take the. paramount wall down and rebuilding it with studwork and Kerdi-board.
I’m on holiday at the moment, but have ordered samples. When I get home I will try to get some more imfo from samples.
Then ask some more questions
Cheers
John

 

[Jonathanb]

Hi Localtiler, could you tell me where you got the sample from please?

Thanks
John

 

[Old Mod]

The 7mm thick pieces you intend to use could well be very delicate.
I work with thin tile continuously and I fully understand the risks, and they are high.
You need to find out if these have similar characteristics as thin tile, if so, your substrates need to be 100% + or - 1mm over 2m is pushing the limit.
You almost spend more time prepping than tiling.
And paramount boards are not a great substrate.

 

[Jonathanb]

Thanks 3_fall, luckily the paramount wall parts are all under 1m wide. The longest walk is around 2m wide and is a cavity wall which I’m probably going to take back to bare brick and fix on Jacko boards from CTD.
The shower wall which is Paramont I’m taking down and rebuilding.
I would like to just tile the lot in large concrete effect tiles, but there is only really one tile store near me (CTD) I have ordered samples online from a few places but a 100mm square sample isn’t much use.

Cheers
John..

 

[Jonathanb]

These are the other type i was looking at, but they say these ones can’t be fitted in a shower area Concreate Natural Grey Wall Panels | Lightweight & Versatile - https://www.concreate.net/uk/walls/products-natural-grey-concrete-wall-panels/

John

 

[Flintstone]

 

[Simon Dale]

The 7mm thick pieces you intend to use could well be very delicate.
I work with thin tile continuously and I fully understand the risks, and they are high.
You need to find out if these have similar characteristics as thin tile, if so, your substrates need to be 100% + or - 1mm over 2m is pushing the limit.
You almost spend more time prepping than tiling.
And paramount boards are not a great substrate.

Thought it was 3mm

 

[Jonathanb]

Here’s the reply I got from one place,
The panels are not water proof but are water, moisture and mould resistant. You would need to seal in between using a Silicon grout if in direct water. We would not recommend the panels to be used in shower cubicles (direct water) but bathroom areas are fine.

Even though we do not recommend the product is used in direct water exposure areas it has been done with previous projects. To ensure the product is sealed customers have used the method below, but we would not be able to guarantee this. For normal bathroom walls and floors no extra application is required.


Please see below for the process one of our previous customers have used to install Concreate in a direct water exposure area;


-Seal between panels with Silicon.

-Then apply Rubio Mono coat on installation and then annually to maintain. (we do not supply this product)


John..

 

[Jonathanb]

 

[Old Mod]

And how do you feel about the product now?
Have you tried to break the sample between your fingers to assess the strength of it?
Silicon in the joints doesn’t sound appealing I must admit, but it’s not my house, only my biased opinion.

 

[Lithofin BOB]

Rubio monocoat, great for protecting!!!!!!

Wood!! Hmmmmmm

 

[Jonathanb]

The sample is from Concreate, 4mm thick. The sample is about 6”x 2” and I could easily snap it, probably has the strength of a 6mm wall tile.
After they mentioned the Silicon part there is no way I would do that, it will look awful.
I had to look up the Rubio monocoat, probably better used on my fence
I think it would be okay on the bathroom walls where it needs just sticking on with no spacing joints, just not the shower area.
I will wait until the livingconcrete samples turn up to see what they are like. I tried to find any where that stocked the concrete LCDA products but couldn’t find anywhere.
I may just end up tiling it, sick of samples now

Cheers
John..