Talk To Me About Bathroom Tiling

[Zoom]

We are renovating our bathroom (royal we, I'm supervising and good at it too)

We are now ready to tile and have bought the tiles etc. We replaced some gib board behind the shower (so in a wet area) with plywood that is to be tiled over.

We have just had two tilers around to quote on the job.
-The first tiler recommeneded sealing the wet area prior to tiling etc
- The second tiler wants to plywood replaced with gib before tiling as he says the ply draws water in and will eventually lead to grout cracking

Does anyone have any experience or thoughts about this? When we pulled the old tiles off they were attached to ply and they had been there for 30 years.

Thanks

[Willey_Coyote]

Aqualine Gib is your best bet, and I would seal as well.
if a tiled shower I would go full elastomeric and fibreglass.

Cheers

[thorg]

If you are selling up - do whatever you want.

want it done properly?
gib Aquline as a minimum, and seal it properly (pigmented sealer as a minimum, FMC preferably).
tile backing board (fancy cement board) is better, sealed over all joins, nails, and edges with a FMC.

FMC = flexible membrane coating.

[RJD]

Artcha supposed to have a council inspection done on the sealing before you tile?

[pushbikerider]

Artcha supposed to have a council inspection done on the sealing before you tile?

new home maybe, renovations not likely

[RJD]

Artcha supposed to have a council inspection done on the sealing before you tile?

new home maybe, renovations not likely

Seen it on renovation shows here, gues it depensd on what your doing and the local council?

[handy-andy]

want it done properly? gib Aquline as a minimum, and seal it properly (pigmented sealer as a minimum, FMC preferably). tile backing board (fancy cement board) is better, sealed over all joins, nails, and edges with a FMC. FMC = flexible membrane coating.

I concur. Bathroom renovations aren't cheap but it's worth spending a little extra to ensure the shower doesn't fall through a rotten floor at a later date. When you see the effect of a leaking shower on the structure of the house you don't scrimp on sealing the room properly.

We renovated our bathroom; replaced the entire floor and various rotten floor joists from under the shower. We replaced the walls and the ceiling and all fittings. We went with the fancy cement tile backing board around the bath/shower, aquiline gib everywhere else, and fibreglass sealing all round.

[cruiser]

Definitely seal the wet area with a water proof membrane before tiling, mesh in the corners. Approved systems are available from tiling shops. The key is solid fixing of the wall with nails or screws every 150mm. And seal the ply with a sealer compatible with the membrane/ tile adhesive.

[DogsBollocks]

want it done properly? gib Aquline as a minimum, and seal it properly (pigmented sealer as a minimum, FMC preferably). tile backing board (fancy cement board) is better, sealed over all joins, nails, and edges with a FMC. FMC = flexible membrane coating.

I concur. Bathroom renovations aren't cheap but it's worth spending a little extra to ensure the shower doesn't fall through a rotten floor at a later date. When you see the effect of a leaking shower on the structure of the house you don't scrimp on sealing the room properly.

We renovated our bathroom; replaced the entire floor and various rotten floor joists from under the shower. We replaced the walls and the ceiling and all fittings. We went with the fancy cement tile backing board around the bath/shower, aquiline gib everywhere else, and fibreglass sealing all round.

Yup, Aqualine is a bit of a myth but everything helps when it comes to the bathroom. Ours was done by a mong before we bought it and we have just renovated it, as well as building on an ensuite (you need inspections/compliance for new and additions, not existing) Do it proper, Aqualine if you want, FMC, cement board, and seal all joins/grout. Cost now are far lower than renovating again later, trust me, I know
But ring around for a tiler, there are a lot of real good ones out there who thrive on saturday AM beer money jobs. Wher abouts are you ?

[cruiser]

Aqualine is good for the purpose of getting a paint quality finish above the shower if the tiles don't go to the ceiling. Also it allows for compatible lining thickness with the rest of the room. It's not the bees knees of shower substrates though. It's just stiffer gib with wax.
Hardibacker is te proffessional product for shower areas. It can handle the weight of the tiles, not affected as much by timber wall movement, therefore less suseptible to cracking membrane joints and is. Takes skill to install a tiled shower, not for the first timer at all.

Good luck with it, remember you must membrane the walls first, ensure any penetrations are sealed and then seal again after tiling with waterproof/ mould resistant grout and sealant to all corners. Liquid flash is a simple membrane for DIYer's

[Zoom]

Thanks everyone. We're in Wellington.

The tiles will go right to the ceiling and the whole bathroom is getting tiled. The ceiling will be the James hary bathroom product (name i've forgotten). most of the tiles in the wet area will go on a concrete block wall and it is only the area where the shower head and taps go that is plywood, the rest is already gib

So what I take from this is:
-Sealing the area is the most important task
-Aqualine is best
-Plywood as long as it is sealed and fixed to the wall well might be alright

[thorg]

Remember ply can (and will) absorb moisture from all its sides. If you seal it off from the front (as its already on the wall) it can absorb water (from humidity/damp etc) from inside of the wall - which will swell it up over time (possibly) and crack the grout of your tiles etc.

But yes, it might be ok for 50 years and have narry a problem, even if left unsealed (most adhesives for tiles these days are flexible enough to cope and have moisture resistant properties as well - same as modern grouts and sealers. depends how much risk you are prepared to take). Sealing it properly is the least you should do prior to tiling - and should eleviate most potential problems.

[cruiser]

meh...just slap them in like every other diyer, it'll be no worse than half the bathrooms in wellington. or you could get a proffessional?

[Dodgy_Matt]

If you are installing a new tile system in your shower area were the was already a tiled system it is "maintenance, repair or replacement" under the Building Act 2004, so a consent is not necessarily required.
But if you were going from an Acrylic or such type of shower to a Tiled shower a Building Consent is required...

Ply is a definite NO.
Aqua line wall linings are a Minimum as has already been pointed out,it also depends on the size of your tiles. Larger than 250mm square tiles will need a stronger backer such as Hardie's Villa board which is the Wall lining equivalent of Hardie Backer which is a floor liner that goes over your flooring system.

If you are installing a tiled shower system you MUST use a tile membrane system which is BRANZ appraised, that way you will have some insurance that if it fails it is a recognized system and your insurance may pay out.

I recommend looking at these web sites for better information

http://www.Branz.co.nz

Branz appraisals for wet area membranes
http://www.branz.co.nz/cms_display.php? ... esults_top

Branz good trade practice guide for tiling
http://www.branz.co.nz/cms_display.php? ... =1358&st=1

The Department of Building and Housing
http://www.dbh.govt.nz

E3 internal moisture (Building Code requirements)
http://www.dbh.govt.nz/UserFiles/File/P ... use-e3.pdf

and you can always go with a good recommended tiler and do what they require.

[FLATULENTFRIEND]

I've been re doing the rotten part of the bathroom floor on our place these holidays.
I had to destroy the vanity (oh, my vanity ) to do it.
My wife won another one on Trademe for $12.50. As I said to the seller "Ït's not too repulsive"
For the floor I've used marine ply and walls Aqualine sealed up and painted. It should last for a while.