Right I have put it off long enough I will give a full guide on fitting a wetroom
Before you attempt this project ,
have a long think about putting a wetroom in your home ,
there are many things to consider first ,
pros an cons
would a w/r look any better than a conventional bathroom in the bathroom area ..?
a w/r can cost a lot more money but does look oustanding an with a good kitchen can add loads too a property...
are you competent to tackle the job ?, its quite hard work ,but the finished result will will leave you proud an happy everytime youre in there ...
Now you want to design the area .....
go to the many bathroom sites on the net an get some ideas ..or get brochures from tiling/bathroom shops.........
before you get anything ,
plan on the finish ,
what tiles ....furniture etc ...
if you like a stone floor tile get samples,
get them home an lay them down an decide ...
DONT just go buy the first lot you like, as their are 1000s of makes/designs ......
Personally
I would recommend neutral type colours an not busy patterns ,as fancy designs an flash colours can look dated in say a few years time....
anyway its your choice ..
can I just add now whatever you pick make sure the wife/lady of the house has final say ......lol
........................................................................................
Preperation ..
a wetroom may take a Diyer a couple of weeks to do .....dont rush it !
make sure you have the bathroom furntiure/fittings,pipes/fittings waste/fittings there before you start ,
the first job is stripping out the old bathroom ...
before we start ,
I MUST tell you whatever you may do below ,
PLEASE ...PLEASE WEAR SAFETY EQUIPMENT,
I cannot stress this enough ..
safety goggles...
thick heavyweight gloves
dust masks
knee pads (a must ,lol)
when you are smashing/cutting, cleaning up tiles use the gloves ...
when you are mixing mud up,an knocking up tiles ,cutting tiles, cleaning up wear the glasses /dust mask....
common sense is a must on this project ..OK
..........................................................................................
bathroom removal ...
remember you will need a bath an toilet, access for the family , so dont rush in with a big hammer an smash the toilet to bits...lol
I would 1st take out the floor covering wether carpet or tiles ,
see here for drill chisel bit
http://www.tradetiler.com/acatalog/tiling_tools.html
with the carpet ,cut it into small squares with a stanley knife ,roll up an put in builders rubble bags ,
with the tiles , use the chisel attachment on your drill at a 45-degree angle or less go under the tiles an they will fly up ...
smash them with a lump hammer an put in rubbish sacks ,
with the lumps of mud/adhesive left on floor use a hand bolster chisel an lump hammer .....
sweep up dust /mess ...
ALWAYS KEEP the Job TIDY as you go an the dust down ..
(top tip ,get some decoraters covers an hang them outside the bathroom door surround , it helps stop dust getting out !)
start dismantling the old shower screen /tray(if their is one )
now start on the tiled walls ...
cover the bath/toilet an basin with old blankets /towels..
start at one corner , break the tile with a hammer then chip it out with the chisel ,
try to get to the substrate plaster base ...now use the power chisel an work a few more off , clean the spoil into the bags as you go ..
go careful around the basin an toilet cistern ..
once the walls are done
lol that was quick
you need to think about the 1st fixing for the shower ...maybe same postion of old shower all the better but no worries if not ...
for this example we will be fitting a matching toilet basin vanity unit , roll top bath an thermo shower mixer in old shower position ...
as the pipe work is mostly in the same positions no worries ... if in different areas you will have to think about running pipes an wastes as needed ...more later on this ,
.....................................................................
taking the floor up ,
before you start you should have the 18mm ply board sheets (cut up in managable squares at the timber merchants , delievered an plenty of wood screws ) ready to go down .....
with your circular saw , with blade depth at just floorboard minimum , cut across the boards,
roughly between joists ..metre lengths or less,
with your hammer knock a few boards up an out
then just keep pulling them up,cleaning joists of old nails ...
again start taking them downstairs an to the skip or rubbish pile in the garden .....
once you have a good area clear , have a good look at the joists if their are not rotten/crumbling (if so you need to replace them!!!) ,
you can start putting 50mm noggins(like battens really ) across the joists every 2ft ,screw them flush with the joist surface ....
I like to soak /coat the joists /noggins in wood preservative while their up ..
if the area is not inline with any pipe/waste run then you can put the ply down .....
making sure with wood shims you get the ply level falling towards the eventual shower drain ,as long as the ply boards all are falling towards the drain , jobs a good one
the area around the drain I would recommend you use a premade tray/former see here
http://www.boundarybathrooms.co.uk/WebShop.aspx?Category=1452
an here
http://www.wetrooms.livinghouse.co.uk/hidden-tray.htm they also do the drain as well
so you have lifted up the floorboards an made the substrate secure an put the ply down with a slight fall to your former ....
Where the 1st fix hot an cold pipes /40mm waste run , you have run them to the shower position , the water pipes need to be recessed in the wall an secured with the two tails/capped off in position where the thermo shower control is going to be fixed , the waste needs to be a complete waste pipe if joints are need make them solvent weld ones , an the waste fall needs to be 6mm per 300mm length of waste pipe...make sure they are bracketed/secure...(on the outside at the elbow let this be a compression fitting for removal if the pipe length inside needs cleaning ,ok )
Right you have screwed at 150mm centres the ply squarespieces down butted up to each other,
next remove toilet /basin ,fit new pipes an any wastes , secure the joists an coat with wood preserve put down ply , reconnect toilet an basin ,ensuring you have isolation valves on water pipes , an you may need the flex toilet waste connector if the orgional waste outlet going through the wall is higher or out of line ...same with basin waste ..
do the same with the bath area ,
now the floor is ply lined .....
If the Wet Area where the shower is going ,the walls are rough , plaster cracked an coming away you need to line those areas with cement tile backer boards (with your hot an cold capped supplies sticking through ,)
they are loads of different brands , you can dot an dab an screw the boards or just screw the boards to battens you have put up ....
tbh I always board out anyway just peace of mind really ...
...............................................................................................
right you need to Tank now ...
take out the bath , toilet basin pedestal so its an empty room..
I would always recommend Bal gear , it has never ever let me down over the years but their are other makes about ...
BAL WP1 TANKING SYSTEM
http://www.bpindex.co.uk/manf.html?id=1060
Most good tile shops sell it ...
the bal pdf here tells you the prep for walls an at the bottom loads of good tips/ advice on tiling ....
http://www.ytc-tiles.com/articles/bal-tiling-guide.pdf
on the tanking kits which cost about £55 , you get the tanking mixture an tanking tape , follow the instructions to the rule , tape all internal/external joints around the wet area , an on the floor ,tape around pipes an wastes , tape the butt joints on the ply floor an where they meet the wall (plus an screw heads in the wet area )
painting the mixture it says do up to a 1ft where not wet areas
but I used to do all floor too ceiling in wet areas ....
an a metre up the rest of the room .... an of course the full floor an around the drain ....btw dont puddle/pool it as you spread paint it on ...
It needs 1 primer and then one coat finish ....
(to explain better what tanking is , my surveyors would take an old cardboard shoebox to customers houses that had been tanked an then fill it with water to show how good tanking was !)
dont get stuck in a corner lol ...
leave to dry 2 hours , 24 hrs to cure/before tiling
check what the pack says....
loosely position bath basin an toilet an reconnect ...
once tanking is dry/24hr later your ready to tile floor .....
you can fit electric under floor heating mats see here
http://www.warmup.co.uk/uk-matting-system-proformat.phtml
Im not recommending this company above just giving you an idea ...ok
btw as a seperate spur too the meter is needed you NEED a sparky to do that .....
.......................................................................
Tiling
I use bal as said .....
I would use bal fastflex for the mudmix /adhesive depending on tile an what the tile manufactuers recommend ....
an bal grout for the grouting ....
after doing such a good job dont go spoiling the result by going to the Diy sheds an getting tub mudmix , its cheap/ nasty an will fail ...Trust me on this ...
get powdered mix an mix it yourself ,
a drill paddle attchment see here isnt that dear ..
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/cat.jsp?cId=A237686>se=GOOG>kw=mixing+paddle
for more on different tiling methods go over to the other sections
once your floor has been tiled you can fit the new bath, vanity unit toilet/hidden cistern an basin ...!
you then can start tiling the walls ...
The wet area , I find a different shade tile than the rest of the walls, says this area is the wet area , yet again its all a matter of ones own taste /style.....
I think I have covered most here if I have forgotten something please post an ask ...
sorry for bad grammar an spelling ..lol
