Plasterboarding New Bathroom

[AndyNewBuild]

Hi All,

Have read through a lot of the threads on plasterboarding bathrooms - thanks for all the top tips from the experts out there .

I'm just reaching the stage in my new build of plasterboarding the house. I have four bathrooms to do and want to ensure I use the right products in the right places. Here's my plan:

Aquapanel boards in shower areas and bath.
MR board for the rest of the walls and ceilings.
Areas not tiled will be plaster skimmed and painted.

Question is whether I need to use Aquapanel on the ceiling areas directly above showers or will MR board be fine?

I also assume it's fine to tile directly onto Aquapanel as other threads suggest and to plaster skim the other areas which won't be tiled?

I'm intending to mount the boards myself and then get a plasterer in to plaster skim. I'll be using a mixture of dot & dab on the insulated block walls and screwing the plasterboard to the stud walls.

I assume I need to use specific screws for Aquapanel in bathrooms to stop rusting/corrosion? Can anyone recommend any good makes for this?

Thanks again for all the top tips and advice here.

 

[NickB_99]

Aquapanel boards in shower areas and bath.
MR board for the rest of the walls and ceilings.
Areas not tiled will be plaster skimmed and painted.

Question is whether I need to use Aquapanel on the ceiling areas directly above showers or will MR board be fine?

Hi Andy.
Agree wholly with above except the ceiling.
I thought std wallboard was fine for a bathroom ceiling (after skim and bathroom paint on top of course).
Think Aquapanel would be an overkill for a ceiling, and the boards are only smaller sizes, which prob not ideal for a ceiling.
MR board prob unnecessary for ceiling too, tho prob wouldn't hurt above a shower.

 

[AndyNewBuild]

Thanks.

Glad I'm on the right lines and will use MR board on ceilings as a belt & braces.

 

[stevethespreader]

Thanks.

Glad I'm on the right lines and will use MR board on ceilings as a belt & braces.

waste of time using mr board if your skimming, any gypsum plaster in a bathroom has to be sealed so you might as well use normal board and skim then seal with paint and save yourself the extra cost of priming it with bond it

 

[Richard C]

On walls being full or part tiled, use 12mm square edge MR boards except wet areas, use waterproof tile backer boards here (Aquapanel); tile direct onto both types of board & use quality trade addy/grout of the correct type for you tiles (flexible on boards) not cheapo DIY crap. On walls not being tiled but completely skimmed you can use conventional wall board but MR won’t hurt as long as your spread preps it correctly.

Aquapanel definitely overkill on a ceiling & MR board not necessary as long as it’s being skimmed, even over the shower area; Duplex (foil back) a good idea here. For part tiled walls, mark the tile line & get your spread to plaster & waste the skim just below the tile line & then tile afterwards; be aware MR PB must be primed if you want to skim it or the plaster won’t stick.

Knauf say you must only use their super expensive plaster on Aquapanel but I make small services access panels from it & have successfully skimmed these. You have to prep it by sealing thoroughly with a couple of coats of 1:1 PVA at least 24 hours before. I’ve not skimmed large areas of it though & it shouldn’t be necessary anyway as you should only be using it in wet areas which are usually fully tiled. You can dot & dab Aquapanel if need be (Knauf say not) as long as you fix through the adhesive dabs into the wall with frame fixings once it’s fully dry. For fixing both PB & Aquapanel to studwork I only ever use ordinary drywall fixings. Scrim tape the joints & fill with a little tile adhesive immediately before tiling & make sure the joint lines don’t coincide with the tile lines to avoid any risk of cracks.

Use cement based (not tub mix) addy on tiles larger than 300 x 200mm & you must prime gypsum plaster & boards with an acrylic primer to avoid the risk of reaction between the cement addy & gypsum. Don’t PVA the tile base & only use primer if addy manufacturer recommends it.

 

[AndyNewBuild]

Excellent info. Thanks for all that.

Much appreciated.