Tiling my bathroom, any advice?

[Will Blackburn]

Hi there.

I am tiling my bathroom which has been plasterboarded with Gyproc moisture board. Do they need any sore of primer? Can they be waterproofed any more before I tile?

The budget is low, but what adhesive do you recommend for the walls? What grout? Its a small bathroom being tiled with 600 x 300 white tiles.

The floor will be done with 500 x 500 black/grey ceramic floor tiles.

My floor is currently floor boards but I plan on laying some plywood first then tingling right onto that. Do I need to prime with PVA or anything like that?

Again any recommendations for adhesive and grout?

Thanks

 

[Chalker]

Some folk are going to do it themselves, so instead of the "get a pro in" default answer. Wouldn't we be best just giving advise?

 

[Martyn Leeds]

Indeed above,
but for all we know there might be a perfectly good Tiler living in the next street, or even a forum member, living close, struggling to fill his diary and paying the bills... whilst a Teacher/Doctor/Engineer etc decides to save a few bob and have a few weeks hobby while they're on strike or whatever..

Probably not even relevant to the question poster, but in general its my opinion!

 

[Stef]

Some folk are going to do it themselves, so instead of the "get a pro in" default answer. Wouldn't we be best just giving advise?

Some people would be surprised how much a job would cost if they got a tiler in.
By the time the op gets all the relevant tools then they may not be saving that much.

 

[TJ Smiler]

Weber is fantastic stuff and thats a good price too....... If i was doing it i would be using a flexible adhesive (Especially on the p/board whether it's been dabbed or studded) Weber.set spf is lovely........ if your DIY and your planning on using a light coloured grout then i would also use a white adhesive to help keep your end grout finish perfect.

 

[TJ Smiler]

Oh yeah..... DO NOT USE PVA. As Plan Tec says, use a dedicated tilers primer to match your adhesive brand and you can't go wrong.... And just so you know, if you do tank out your walls then you can't use ready mixed adhesive so stick to powder adhesive. Weber.set SPF in white...Pefect mate.

 

[TJ Smiler]

Some people would be surprised how much a job would cost if they got a tiler in.
By the time the op gets all the relevant tools then they may not be saving that much.

You never know but some of the DIY'ers who come on here could be newbie tilers trying to get advice and disguising themselves as DIY.
Oh yeah, i'm Toby by the way. Aint been on here for years but thought i would have a little poke about.

 

[White Room]

You never know but some of the DIY'ers who come on here could be newbie tilers trying to get advice and disguising themselves as DIY.
Oh yeah, i'm Toby by the way. Aint been on here for years but thought i would have a little poke about.

Blimey Toby, it's been a fair old time.....

 

[True Tiling]

Just pick your adhesive, don't go cheap, and make sure it is cement-based powder (due to the size of your tiles) and follow the instructions on the back of the bag. This will tell you what primer is needed for the substrate, but an SBR primer should suffice. No real need to use extra tanking unless you have a power shower in extreme use. If in doubt, call their technical helpline as good adhesive manufacturers will have one. Good adhesives and grout system manufacturers include Instarmac (Ultra Tile), BAL, Mapei and Weber. These all have technical helplines.

 

[swanman]

Welcome back smiler:8:

 

[Qwerty]

Just pick your adhesive, don't go cheap, and make sure it is cement-based powder (due to the size of your tiles) and follow the instructions on the back of the bag. This will tell you what primer is needed for the substrate, but an SBR primer should suffice. No real need to use extra tanking unless you have a power shower in extreme use. If in doubt, call their technical helpline as good adhesive manufacturers will have one. Good adhesives and grout system manufacturers include Instarmac (Ultra Tile), BAL, Mapei and Weber. These all have technical helplines.

I would be making sure it's a bagged cement based adhesive not only due to tile size but also because it's in a wet zone.

As for the tanking..... water resistant plasterboard is not tanking, and you are wrong about tanking not needed unless a power shower is in extreme use. I have seen so many tiled showers fail with the substrates behind/ ceilings below showing signs of water ingress and damp. This has often been through lack of quality of installation of tiles, grouting, siliconing and fixing of trays and baths but would certainly have not occurred if they had been tanked.