Ply, Aquapanel, WP1, mechanical strength...

Hi there,

The wall in my bathroom-to-be that will have the thermostatic mixer shower fitted is a timber stud wall (rest are masonry). I had been considering using 12mm WBP ply for the part of the stud wall where the shower will be to provide mechanical strength for the mixer to clamp to, and plasterboard elsewhere.

I'd Decided to do it this way because (a) i've been holding up all the bits and pieces in the stud wall and there seems no way enough room to fix a batten into the wall onto which I could fit wall-plate elbows and use those for mech strength, (b) using the bathroom-side wall skin to clamp the mixer to means the shower fittings can all be potentially accessed from behind (through a kitchen unit!) without wrecking tiling/tanking, and (c) it just seems better to hold the shower this way than by stressing plumbing fittings - i.e. wall-plate elbows.

I thought this would be cool until I read more about WP1 and it seems to say in the datasheet that it can be applied to pretty much everything except a ply wall (??). Aquapanel seems a favourite for a shower wall, but I haven't seen the stuff - does it have the mechanical strength to hold the mixer? Options seem to be...

1. Dont bother tanking - WBP ply with pukka tiles/grout will be reet.

2. Tank the ply - the data sheet tells lies.

3. Use aquapanel - it's strong enough that I wont rip the mixer out of the wall.

4. Use aquapanel but find another way to provide mechanical strength.

What ya reckon guys? Cheers again,

Liam

I am doing a very similar thing. All the shower and bath plumbing and waste will be available from a high kitchen cabinet. The 18mm ply nogin at the top is on the kitchen side of the wall to allow me to fit the wall plate elbow between it and the aqua panel. Using small nuts and bolts insdead of screws so it can be removed from the kitchen side. I have nit fitted the nogin for mixer yet but it will be the same. I too find it strange that both wall plate elbows and mixers are designed to be secured from the front which will be tiled and no longer accessible. On the construction sites I work on all this plumbing is tested then sheeted in never to be seen again.

PS make sure the threaded collars on your mixer valves are long enough to go thru aqua panel an the tiles. Mine aren't so I will have to tile around the face plate.

PS2 I have read somewhere that if you want to tank aquapanel you need to skim it with tile adhesive? Is this true. Also I found plaster does not stick to it probaly requires sealing first