Preparing walls and floor for tiling

[rick2]

Hi Guys

I am over on a visit from the electricians forums and have a few tiling questions. I am about to re-do my bathroom and plan to tile the walls and floor, and box in the bath with the bath inset in to a wooden frame, with a small tiled shelf all around.

The walls are all plastered, I am OK to tile directly on to that, but should I use a tanking product in the shower cubicle?

For the floor, I was going to use Hardibacker or No more ply, stuck and screwed down, but have read about newer types of board such as Wedi / Marmox. Why are these better – they certainly seem more expensive.

For the bath panel, either of the above, or would plasterboard be OK? I would think not for the shelf bit as it’s bound to get wet.

In either case, do I need to use a tanking product over the backer board, if so any suggestions?

Thanks for any advice

Cheers

Richard

 

[Ceramico tiling]

Hi

You can tile the plasterboard provided the tiles and adhesive are less than about 20kg per meter.You should be able to get away with tanking the plasterboard where water is likely to fall on it, but I personally have seen to many destroyed plasterboard walls so would recommend a backer board. If the floor is is strong already then Hardybacker is a good choice,but if its floorboards or deflecting then you need to use 18mm ply(with ditra matting).The issue I have with Hardybacker (cement based ) boards for shower walls etc is that they need to be tanked.Whereas Wedi(foam/fibreglass) boards are a complete water barrier and only need the joints taped and tanked. However the fibreglass/foam boards offer no strength at all so I prefer not to use them on floors.

 

[Bubblecraft]

The walls are all plastered, I am OK to tile directly on to that, but should I use a tanking product in the shower cubicle?

For the floor, I was going to use Hardibacker or No more ply, stuck and screwed down, but have read about newer types of board such as Wedi / Marmox. Why are these better – they certainly seem more expensive.

For the bath panel, either of the above, or would plasterboard be OK? I would think not for the shelf bit as it’s bound to get wet.

In either case, do I need to use a tanking product over the backer board, if so any suggestions?

Thanks for any advice

Cheers

Richard

Hi Richard & welcome to TF.

Your plastered walls will carry up to 20kg pm2 inc adhesive & grouts. If your shower area is also plastered, I'd defo recommend tanking this area.

Hardibacker is what I would use for the floor glued & screwed if on a timber substrate. If it were a concrete substrate, I'd use either Wedi, Marmox or Warmup boards as these are insulated boards hense the difference in price. If installing electric UFH, I would highly recommend any of the insulated boards no matter the substrate as there can be great heat loss if using Hardi.

Your bath panel if made in plasterboard will take up to 32kg pm2 if un-plastered. If thickness between the gully of the bath & the top lip is restricting your overall thickness ie: 38mm, 47mm or 63mm for your stud work, 12.5mm for plasterboard, 3mm for your bed plus thickness of your tile, I'd sheet it in 6mm hardi and bring for stud work forwards to suit.....if that makes sense. Every bath is different.

It's up to you whether you want to tank the whole framework of your bath before tiling if doing it in PB but it will eliminate any damage to it if water seeps through. If you sheet it all in Hardi, no damage can be made as Hardibacker is mould & moisture resistant.
broken link removed

 

[John Benton]

If you are installing electric UFH don't forget to encase the cable completely in SLC.

 

[rick2]

Thanks for the input and explaining the difference between the insulated boards and the cement based ones. I think I will go with Hardibacker for the floor - stuck and screwed down (to floorboards) and the same for the bath boxing in.

The issue of weight is something I hadn't considered though. Was thinking about some 10mm travertine tiles - am I right in thinking that these are too heavy to go on plastered walls, and if so, I would have to line the walls with hardiebacker, as that sounds like a lot of hassle!

Could anyone please suggest what I need for the tanking, both for the hardibacker and for the plastered walls (might use ceramics instead if the whole room needs lining for the travertine)

Finally, on the subject of the bath, is it better to fit the bath into the boxwork first and then tile up to it, or tile the top first then drop the bath in?

Many thanks for all the advice!

Richard

 

[Bubblecraft]

The issue of weight is something I hadn't considered though. Was thinking about some 10mm travertine tiles - am I right in thinking that these are too heavy to go on plastered walls, and if so, I would have to line the walls with hardiebacker, as that sounds like a lot of hassle!

Could anyone please suggest what I need for the tanking, both for the hardibacker and for the plastered walls (might use ceramics instead if the whole room needs lining for the travertine)

Finally, on the subject of the bath, is it better to fit the bath into the boxwork first and then tile up to it, or tile the top first then drop the bath in?

Many thanks for all the advice!

Richard

Tile weights are as follows in Kg
First number is without adhesive & grout, second is with:

6mm Ceramic - 14.26 - 18.46
8mm Ceramic - 17.62 - 21.82
10mm Ceramic - 20.97 - 25.17
12mm Ceramic - 24.32 - 28.52
10mm Porcelain - 23.88 - 28.09
12mm Porcelain - 27.82 - 32.00
10mm Stone - 31.10 - 35.30
12 mm Stone - 36.48 - 40.68
20mm Stone - 58.00 - 62.20

As you are thinking 10mm Travertine, you will be exceeding the weight limit of PB by 3.3kg & skim by a whopping 15.3kg so hardi would be the way to go. You could over sheet with plasterboard if you have stud work all the way round. Dot & dab would not be an option. Would work out much cheaper than hardi & allow you up to a 12mm porcelain.

A Bal WP1 kit would do your shower area. I'm sure coverage is 6m2.

In regards to the bath, its up to you how you want the tile to finish with the top of the bath. Option 1 would be to build your frame work first as you want a lip all the way round, secure your bath to the floor as it will not be attached to a wall, sheet in 6mm hardi & tile. This will bring you level (if not near enough) with the bath but may be tricky to seal. Option 2 would be to build your frame work, sheet & tile then sit your bath in. You will need to make sure your frame is extra strong & that your feet for the bath touch the floor as there's no way to secure it down. Best way would be to run braces across the underside of the bath to help support the weight. You will also find it much easier to seal the perimeter of the bath.