Which subfloor should I us in my bathroom?

[DXperience]

Hello all,

I need some advice please. I recently had a contractor in to remodel my bathroom. However, we fell out on the first day of the works because he did not want to agree to remove the waste from the works he would have been doing even though he had advised me to get a skip for the waste. Very odd indeed.

Anyway, before we parted ways he told me to purchase Water Resistant (WR) MDF for the subfloor (I think this is what it was for). Now I am doing it myself I wanted to know whether WR MDF is indeed the correct material to use for my bathroom subfloor before I tile it? I know I need to protect my bathroom from moisture, so this seems sensible but, is this actually what the professionals would advise? What is the industry standard? What should I be using as a good waterproof subfloor before tiling? Also do I need anything like tile backer board on the concerete wall adjacent to the shower (this will not get wet or as wet as the wall on the shower) before tiling?

Any help would be greatly received.

Thank you. 🙂

 

[Roxdec]

Hi, you can’t tile MDF. You should be putting down marine ply, consider using 6mm backer board and even a matting substrate to help stop any tiles from cracking. Before you put down your marine ply, your floor joists should be tied with noggins to help prevent any movement that might cause the tiles to crack. I’m currently doing a bathroom and will be lifting the old floorboards and replacing them with 18mm marine ply. If you are working on a concrete substrate then your approach will be different.