Rebuilding shower including new tray & tiling

[Mr_Creosote]

Hi, I'm looking for some advice about rebuilding my shower pretty much from scratch.

I have removed old wall tiles, and will be removing old tray and dismantling the partially rotten wooden plinth on which it stood. I plan to rebuild a new plinth, put a new shower tray on it, and re-tile.

The shower is going in a corner against one plasterboard wall and one external wall with old plaster. The corner, needless to say, is not at 90 degrees. I've read in this forum that Aquapanel is the stuff to use, so I was thinking of putting sheets of it against the walls before tiling. The questions I wanted to ask are:

1) What would be the best way of bonding/attaching the Aquapanel to the walls?

2) Should I build the plinth and install the shower tray first, and then place the Aquapanel so its bottom edge rests on the tray, or would the Aquapanel go down the side of the tray?

Sorry if these are really stupid questions, and apologies for the long-winded pre-amble, but I'd be grateful for any advice.

Thanks

Peter

 

[Zampa]

I not a tiler nor have i built a shower but i would use screws and gripfil..(the water based one is good)

My first thoughts would be to take the panel down to the floor and then put the tray up to it......whatever way you do it make sure you use plenty plenty plenty silicone to seal it all......ive lost count of how many houses ive worked in that have had a nice big brown stain on the ceilling due to a leaky tray.

 

[Mr_Creosote]

Thanks Zampa; I was wondering whether it would make a more efficient seal if the Aquapanel met the top of the tray so that, when the tiles were on and sealant applied to the bottom edge, there was less chance of leakage down the side? Or will that not make much difference?

 

[Zampa]

Hmmm....it may well do...not knowing where exactly you intend to site it makes it hard to guess.....but one thing you should take into consideration is the sides....where the shower screen meets the tiles.....would placing the aqua panels on to of the base leave you with an edge' the protrudes onto the side of the screen?.....or will you be fixing the screen to the aqua pael too?

The reson i thought it may be beter to run it down the back was mainly based on the fact the there could be some settlement with the tray itself.......thats one of the places it can leak....from under the tiles where it meets the base......thats why you often see thick beads of unsightly silicone (normally covered in mould) around the edge of trays.

 

[tylerb]

whatever way you do it make sure you use plenty plenty plenty silicone to seal it all......ive lost count of how many houses ive worked in that have had a nice big brown stain on the ceilling due to a leaky tray.

Sorry Zampa but is doesnt matter how much silicone you use the brown patches are because the a water proof membrane has not been used to protect the plaster. This has been talked about on another post.

Mr creosote

The plinth was rotten because the shower was not tanked. I would recommend that you talk to a professional and get there advice or look on tileforums.com where they have posts on these things.

ty

 

[Zampa]

whatever way you do it make sure you use plenty plenty plenty silicone to seal it all......ive lost count of how many houses ive worked in that have had a nice big brown stain on the ceilling due to a leaky tray.

Sorry Zampa but is doesnt matter how much silicone you use the brown patches are because the a water proof membrane has not been used to protect the plaster. This has been talked about on another post.

Mr creosote

The plinth was rotten because the shower was not tanked. I would recommend that you talk to a professional and get there advice or look on tileforums.com where they have posts on these things.

ty

Interesting.....do you mean the plaster behind the tiles or below the line of the shower tray?.....i have seen enough leaky showers to keep me from ever having one...always asuming it was gaps or poor plumbing etc

 

[Mr_Creosote]

Thanks for your help so far; much appreciated

Peter

 

[tylerb]

Sorry the plaster behind the tiles. With a tanking system you lip it onto the shower tray eliminating any possible leaks from the tray or tile failures.

Ty

 

[Mr_Creosote]

With a tanking system you lip it onto the shower tray eliminating any possible leaks from the tray.

Hi

Is this tanking system something you can buy (ie: a specially formed shower tray with a lip) or a method of constructing and tiling the shower? If it can be bought, what is the best way to arrange the tray, Aquapanel and tiles?

Thanks in advance

Peter

 

[tylerb]

A tanking system can be bought from most of the tile retailers. BAL is probably the best tanking system as it is a single part system, therefore you dont mix your own. It is simply painting it on. If you speak to professional independent training techniques in Stoke on Trent they might tell you how to use the tanking system. Not sure if this will be taken off but the phone number is 01782 566166 or professional-itt.com.

Ty