Wet room floor

[michael202]

Hi All,

New to this but having toyed with the idea of installing a 'partial' wet room, with no step up...just level access... I have been trawling the internet for advice and every search for help seems to guide me to this site. I've learnt loads just from reading things here so thanks to everyone on here. As a London cabby I know my way around London but my knowledge of Wet rooms, tanking, tiling, etc is much more limited.

I have a couple of questions and would be grateful for any advice.

I live in house built around 1908 and live on the ground floor. We're knocking down a wall to enlarge bathroom and doing away with bath. So just a shower area partially screened to protect rest of room from splashes. The floor is solid concrete. The walls, if I remember, from last time we tiled them are a mix of skimmed plaster and render where the plaster was bad and needed repair. I think I am now aware of what is needed for the job. It seems that my best option is to install a 'Tilux' former (900 x 1500 approx) from somewhere like 'Wetdecs'. By the way, although I'm planning the project, the work is all being done by experienced guys (Tiler's a mate, plumber's a relative, spark is my nephew!) who are mates. And it's not mates' rates!:lol:

We're tiling the entire room with 'Travertine' tiles with mosaic in the wet area. I realise there is a weight issue with such heavy tiles.

Here are my two questions and sorry if they appear dumb!

Firstly, if the base is a good solid concrete with no movement....why do we need a former? Can't the area be 'shaped' with a fall to the drain outlet then tanked and tiled? I guess this is how it's done in large communal shower areas (gyms, pools etc) or am I missing something?

Secondly, if we need to remove the plaster from the walls and then render them...will this be strong enough to hold the tiles or do we really need to use the backing boards I've been reading about?

Now I'm going to turn my orange light on in my cab and trawl the streets of London to get the dosh to pay for all this!!

Very grateful for any replies and advice received.

Mick.

 

[suave]

welcome! a advisor should advise you soon,am thinking you need to wait six weeks for screed to dryout if not using a former

 

[Time's Ran Out]

:welcome: Michael the cabbie - let me just take you round the block half a dozen times before we start.

Although its good to get as much info as possible, I'am just surprised you haven't been sorted by your mate the tiler.
The wall you are taking down isn't going to be a load bearing wall?
There is no reason you have to use a former, you could just build the rest of the floor up, insert a drain, slope down to the outlet, tank the lot and tile it.
Render on the walls will be suitable for the Travertine weight.

Keep reading and don't forget we love pictures.

 

[White Room]

Hi and welcome...you could dot and dab plasterboard (upto 32kg m2 for tiles) then tank

 

[michael202]

Cheers John,

We're taking a slice out of the ceiling this morning to check the wall.

Not trying to undermine my tiler mates' knowledge but as I'm organising the whole project I just want to make sure it's going to be done properly and get as much info as possible to do so from all you guys on here. It's like someone in the back of my cab who wants to go from A to B. I know the best way (sometimes!) but they sometimes like to go their way and actually sometimes I learn new routes from them and we're all happy :smilewinkgrin:

He has told me that the bathroom will be out of action for quite a few weeks to allow the render and base to dry out. Earlier answer suggested 6 weeks to dry....what's your opinion?

Thanks a lot for your advice. Much appreciated.

Mick.

 

[michael202]

welcome! a advisor should advise you soon,am thinking you need to wait six weeks for screed to dryout if not using a former

Thanks for advice.

Mick

 

[michael202]

Hi and welcome...you could dot and dab plasterboard (upto 32kg m2 for tiles) then tank

Thank you for advice.

Mick

 

[Mike]

as whitebeam says dot and dab plasterboard or aquapanel to give a nice flat surface to tile to. as for the floor i would cut out the wet area floor concrete and form the fall to the trap with concrete. if you use a fast drying cement you won't have to wait so long, how long depends on what product you use. i used a lafarge fast drying a few months back and you could hit it with a hammer after 10 minutes.

 

[michael202]

as whitebeam says dot and dab plasterboard or aquapanel to give a nice flat surface to tile to. as for the floor i would cut out the wet area floor concrete and form the fall to the trap with concrete. if you use a fast drying cement you won't have to wait so long, how long depends on what product you use. i used a lafarge fast drying a few months back and you could hit it with a hammer after 10 minutes.

Thanks Mike

And the good news is.....we've just checked the ceiling above the wall which is coming down and it's not load bearing :smilewinkgrin: ... so far so good!

Cheers for the advice.

Mick