Will my wall be strong enough?!

[PilotPete]

Ok, here goes.

My (never ending according to the wife) wetroom is coming along. I have just taken delivery this morning of my Golden Travertine wall and floor tiles, and bloody gorgeous they look too!! Wall tiles are 60 x 40, floor 40 x 40. Both sizes are 12mm thick.

One of the walls I am going to be tiling is an internal partition wall, which I have re-inforced with extra battens, so that I can fit 20mm Wedi Board with 5 screws per sq metre minimum. The wall is just under 3m long and 2.4m high.

It wasn't until they arrived and I helped the delivery guy to unload them that I realized just how bloody heavy they are! Carrying four 60 x 40s was enough. Is there any other re-inforcing I need to do for the wall to be able to take the sheer weight on one side (the other side is just plasterboard. I am thinking at the top up in the loft or additional fixings at the ends into the breeze block wall?

On a different note, what colour grout should I use for wall and floor? I am going for a quality grout, either BAL or Mapei, obviously adding the advised latex for flexibility, but wasn't sure on colour. The tiles are honed and filled golden yellow with shade variances from light brown through to almost buff.

Thanks in advance (especially Moz I suspect )

PP

 

[Moz]

PilotPete
the weight that substrate can take is 32kgs a m2, but even then I would of used ply instead of Wedi Board

its all a matter of taste the grout colour .......white or grey bal grout ?

btw with travy
test 1 before you start sealing them then
seal/ fix/ seal/ grout/ seal ...
forgot to say use Aquamix Sealers Choice 15 Gold ,excellent gear

 

[sticky]

PilotPete
Moz is spot on, ive found that limestone/sandstone grout goes with travertine quite well.Id weigh a m2 of tile to make sure your within safe
limits.

 

[Jasonb]

10m is a wall thickness, 12mm is getting a bit thick and is really a floor thickness, don't forget that the weight that the wall can take includes the weight of adhesive!!

You don't say if you have applied any tanking, an Aquapanel wall will take 50kg/m2 but that comes down to 32kg/m2 when tanked.

You don't say what the stud spacing or size is, 100x50 studs @ 400 cts will be a lot better than 63x38CLS @600cts.

I would go for somethink like BAL Ivory superflex grout as this contains all the additives needed.

 

[Moz]

jase
Im sure I was right at 32kg/m2 ? ?

its been awhile since I done any refits but that has stuck in my head ..lol..lol

 

[joe-90]

You don't say if you have applied any tanking, an Aquapanel wall will take 50kg/m2 but that comes down to 32kg/m2 when tanked.

Don't tank it then. The technical people at Knauf say it doesn't need it.

Quote.


The Knauf Aquapanel does indeed allow moisture through the board over
time. The level of water resistance and water proofness you require for
a domestic use can be achieved just the tiling and grouting. The board
is designed to maintain its strength and performance although completely
wet, so if the tiling or grouting does fail, the board will still
maintain.

The use of a tanking or vapour control layer behind the board is only
suggested for commercial areas such as public changing rooms or swimming
pool areas. For a domestic shower this is required, although you can
incorporate it if you prefer.

Please note the smooth surface of the board is ready to receive tiling.
Should a tanking system be used to this face of the board, we would not
be able to guarantee the adhesion of the tanking system to the board or
the tiles onto the tanking system.

We hope this information is sufficient. Please do not hesitate to
contact us should you require further information.


Kind Regards,

Harinder Kaur
Technical Support Officer - Knauf UK Gmbh

(end quote)

Oh and in my experience use of ply in a bathroom is just asking for trouble.

 

[PilotPete]

Thanks for the advice thus far guys. Wedi board is 100% water impregnable and all joints will be tanked using their tanking tape and flexible waterproof adhesive.

I have a link to their technical data sheet, but the kg/sq. m. does not appear on it. http://www.wedi.de/english/pdf/datasheets/Datenblatt BA_En.pdf It refers to N/mm, can that be used to get the weight per sq. m. that it can support?

The extra battens are at 300mm centres.

Another question is what spacing should I use between the tiles?

Thanks in advance again.

 

[PilotPete]

Just weighed the tiles and they are a fraction under 30kg per square metre.

 

[Jasonb]

If the stone is well callibrated and regularly sized then 2mm on the walls and 4mm on the floors will be OK for grout spacing.

With studs at 300cts you should just be OK as long as you use a good powdered adhesive and make sure its white as there is a small risk of grey adhesive ghosting through the stone. With the wedi waterproof tape you will be fine.

Jason

 

[PilotPete]

Thanks Jason. And for Moz, do you seal both sides of the stone and all edges before fixing, or just the edges and the front?

 

[Jasonb]

I tend to seal after fixing but if you fell you may get adhesive on the front them a coat before won't do any harm, may just slow the drying of the adhesive slightly.

Just apply to the front surface and make sure you wipe off any excess liquid, I tend to use Lithofin sealers but the ones Moz suggested will be OK, just don't use the cheap Plasplug etc ones from the sheds.

Jason

 

[Moz]

for the diyer I would say ....
seal/ fix/ seal/ grout/ seal

as them tiles are expensive an you want a Boss /Top finish

btw
always use ply in bathroom,an use tanking in wet areas

 

[PilotPete]

Thanks guys. Just to clarify again Moz, seal ALL sides and edges before fixing, or just the fronts/ edges?

Also looking ahead, Dow Corning seems to be a silicone that is often mentioned on these pages. What would you recommend for floor/ wall tile joints, wall tile to ceiling (painted with Dulux Natural Hessian Soft Sheen Bathroom Paint) joints and around two sides of my glass shower panel which I am attaching to wall and floor using Prefit Partition Clips http://www.prefit-fittings.com/shower/sectiona6.pdf (top of page 2) and a reinforcement stay?

I assume a clear silicone for the glass panel, but bearing in mind the golden travertine tile colour, would something other than clear look better at the tile wall/ floor joints and ceiling? And would something like http://www.dowcorning.com/applications/search/default.aspx?R=1366EN be the right stuff? I heard somewhere that a low modulus sealant would be what I need (that means more flexible when cured doesn't it, as opposed to high modulus which sets firmly?).

Thanks once again guys, so glad I found this site, your help is invaluable.

 

[Jasonb]

I would use Dow 785 for all internal corners - floor/wall, wall/wall and also tile/partition. The low modulus silicons are really for bedding glass into timber door frames where the extra flex is handy for differential movement between glass & wood.

I would just grout to the ceiling and not silicon it, Also prefer a matt finish rather than the satin.

Clear silicon will look better than trying to find a matching colour to the tile or grout.

Jason

 

[Moz]

sealing ....
just the fronts/ edges.......NOT the back lol..lol
wall/floor joints,
I think a clear or brilliant white colour is good ...
wall to ceiling ...
use grout