Tiling over plasterboard

[JustSteph]

Ok, so we've just tiled around a shower over bath directly onto plasterboard using wickes ready mixed adhesive. We've been told that the adhesive might not dry properly because the water in the adhesive will seep into the plasterboard and make it damp, but we've also been told that it will dry, it will just take longer. Who do I believe? Should we just wait a bit longer before grouting and using the shower or should we have used a primer on the wall before tiling? Tiles are 33x25cm ceramic.

We also have a 70x33cm hole in the wall where the pipes for the shower were put in. We've used ready-mixed patching plaster to fill it in, can we tile directly on to that? Tiles are 33x25cm porcelain.

Getting so frustrated with things going wrong with this bathroom, want to make sure we're getting this right.

Thanks!
Steph

 

[Gazzer]

Never used that adhesive but in general you should leave it over night before grouting. You are on the borderline with the size tile as the adhesive needs air to dry. The bigger the tile the less chance the adhesive will fully dry.
One thing puzzles me is you say the tiles are ceramic then porcelain ??? Is this 2 different tiles ? Ready mixed is no good for porcelain anyway.

 

[JustSteph]

Thanks for your reply!
The tiles have been up since Wednesday at least (some since the weekend) and they don't seem to be budging if I try to move them around. I just panicked when someone said it might not dry properly.

Yes, there are two different types of tile. The bathroom was half-tiled when we moved in and the plumber needed to remove a few to put the pipes in but to avoid having to remove them all and start from scratch we bought matching tiles so the ones on top and the ones on the bottom are different.

 

[Gazzer]

The ready mixed patching plaster sounds a pain. Not my choice

 

[JustSteph]

Ah. That's what the guy in Wickes recommended we used. We still need to add more plaster to it to make it level with the rest of the wall, would you recommend a different plaster to finish it, or perhaps plasterboard?

 

[Gazzer]

As long as its secure then it should be fine. Every store will recommend what they sell. Its different for me as I would have plaster etc on the van , for a small area you wont be buying a large bag of plaster will you.

 

[JustSteph]

I do need to buy more plaster though as we ran out. Should we just finish the job with the same patching plaster as before or is there a different type of plaster that would be better for tiling onto?

 

[White Room]

If you happy enough using the patching plaster but you could also use some rapid adhesive...

 

[Martyn Leeds]

The products you're using are DIY products, and as such, most folk on here wont have much practical experience of using these products.

The products will probably have drying times on the tub? probably of no use though because it depends on how thick its applied, it'll probably say 24hrs though?

Who's the 2 people giving the advice? plumer/tiler/salesperson etc.

Any pictures?

 

[JustSteph]

The people we were talking to were just other people we know who tiled their own bathrooms, that's why I wanted to get professional advice, though it may be too late since the tiles are on the wall. They seem secure enough though. Now we just have to see if they stand the test of time!

The drying time on the tub is 12 hours. We were just worried that it wouldn't dry properly because we didn't tank the plasterboard first as we had already laid the tiles before we realised you're supposed to.

We still have to put the tiles up on the patching plaster though. Should we use a primer on that first or is it ok to tile straight on to it? Also, how long should we leave it before tiling? A lot of places online have said to leave it 4 weeks, but that's never been specific for patching plaster so thought I'd ask.

Thanks all for your replies!

 

[Matt]

I would never get anything from wickes, drying times are a guideline, 9times out of 10 it sets quicker, I always use rapid as I can grout quicker, but I'm sure stuff from wickes is prob still curing as for some reason there adhesive is sporadic, but main rule is you get what you pay for really,, ps large and deep areas of patching or plaster allow a day or two, I've found a ready mix rapid actually adheres to slightly damp surfaces but don't recommend it