batten around window

[tnotty]

I'm battening out a wall so i can fit MRPB and Aquapanel and install a shower.

The wall is brick then browning with a top skim. I was planning to just hammer fix the battens over the plaster and through into to the brick. Am I ok to batten around the window edges and leave the angle beads from the previous skim in place or should i take them out?

 

[roughcaster]

If they're sound, and have no rust coming through, i'd leave them on. Just don't hammer too hard while your fixing near the corner/s. It'll probably be a wet coat bead rather than a thin coat bead anyway, so it'll be pretty strong. I'd use a drill, plugs and screws for all the battens anyway rather than nails, a far stronger job too,,, just my opinion.

 

[1john]

Yup, as roughcaster says, plug and screw, you wall isnt spot on anyway, very rarely they are so its easy to pack out the battens to make it spot on true which in turn makes the tiling easier.

 

[tnotty]

Thanks for the advice theres no rust on them so will go straight over them with the batten, the batten fixings are these hammer screw fixings with a plug and screw combined(drill 8mm hole in batten and wall type things, then half hammer in and final screw). not used them before as would normally drill plug and screw but picked them up in wickes to give them a go.

 

[dann09]

1. Are these battens metal? And how are you positioning them - vertical ( the correct way ) or horizontal?

2. As mentioned above, beware of hammering near a corner or a frame, just because the battens c/w fixings doesn't mean you have to use them.

3. Do you plan to stop at the corner, or return into the window reveal?

 

[tnotty]

Wooden Battens (Treated) 47 X 37mm as need to bulk out a space for pipework behind. Will fill voids with insulation

Planning on top and ceiling horizontals then verticals spaced accordingly. then batten around edges of window reveal with the intention of stopping at edge and then re-skimming reveal to corner edge after boarding.

Tiles are finishing flush to one front edge of the window reveal.

Tiling is only half way up wall so intend to skim and feather out (300mm?) to tiled area.

Does all this sound like a half decent plan?

 

[dann09]

!. So, if i understand you:
you are intending to pull out the wall area from the internal (shower) corner to a line plumb with the outside corner of the window reveal? From shower base to ceiling height?

2. Best practice, to my mind, would be to run a strip of, say DPC material ( or similar ) behind the battens.
Then hang a loosely draped vapour barrier across them.
And then fix your insulation between the battens.
Next screw on your cementitious board. We fit them horizontal.
Is this for one wall or two walls?

3. In the reveal, you plan to install a piece of plaster board to cover the raw edge of the above work.
Below the cill you would still have the raw edge standing off some 50 - 60mm. Presumably, you will use a tile trim ( or similar ) on that outside corner?

4. You intend to skim some kind of board above the tile line - in other words, you will have a half tiled wall in the shower?

5. Maybe i'm getting the wrong end of the stick here, believe me, a scanned sketch of what you propose would help and a few pics.
The arrangement for the shower valve and supplies, might possibly be designed in better. Then again my mental picture is a bit hazy.

 

[tnotty]

bath and toilet are swapping positions on back wall(which is true and level),

shower(green line) is going on back wall.

red lines denote the battens i propose to fix to make the void for water feed(blue)

red dashed line is where tiles will stop. above that will be skim.


View media item 55835

 

[dann09]

Thanks for the pics. I know that we've come a little way from your original question, but why? Why are you proposing this new arrangement in your bath room?

Whatever, there is no need to pull the wall out to drop a c/w supply. You can simply channel it into the wall, and stub out in copper to pick up the E/shower. Likewise, the e/cable. Read recent posts on this subject.

If you do pull out the wall, then dont leave a recess behind the proposed new WC position. Pull it all out.


The shower head aerator should be at approx. 1900mm when you stand in the shower or bath. Your pictured unit looks low. Personal preference.

Upgrade the shower unit to 10.5kW if you move it, and think on about upgrading the extractor to a 150mm one.

Check out all the new shower doors and enclosures for setting on tub rims. (And partially blanking off windows.)

Unless you are lucky, your proposal will, typically, involve work on the soil stack - if it's CI then extra cost and non-DIY work.

 

[tnotty]

the reason for the change is to get rid of a horrible shower curtain and install a screen running out from the back wall, removing a shower from a side wall

Understand i could chase out for pipe/electrics, but I was battening out for the reason that i wanted to fit aquapanel to tile onto so thought it would kill 2 birds and create a void for the pipework/electrics. Was told/read its not good to dot/dab aquapanel so chose to batten. and also didn't want to tile direct on the skimmed wall as its not the best.

It will all be pulled out level, i just didn't draw it correct on the photo

Yes it does involve some alts to soil stack but very easy as its on outer wall so simple join from 90° bend.

New shower is 9.5 so also upgrading to 10mm cable with electrician doing fix to switch and CU.

 

[1john]

Dont upgrade your shower unit to a 10.5kW one without ensuring that the supply cable is capable with the added demand, there are a number of factors which apply to cables to denote their current carrying capacity. In my experience, cold water pipes chipped into outside walls cause damp as condensation forms on them.