Plasterboarding the bathroom

If anyone could help with this please.

Our bathroom has old one inch thick plaster with the lower half tiled most of the way round. I am considering plasterboarding over all of this including the tiles and then reskimming, would this be ok?


Also behind the bath and in the lower hidden corners they have not been plastered in the past. I would of course need to remove the bath and wash basin before i can board over. I am also concerned there maybe asbestos in these old materials, is this a possibility or very unlikely in wall materials?




Your opinion appreciated thanks.

It’ll be more effort to do all of that that than to knock all the tiles off the wall & either get it re-plastered properly or dot & dab with Moisture resistant boards & skim but make sure you tank the “wet” areas before you tile or you’ll probably be doing it all over again in another 3 years.

Thanks for responding. i'm just wondering if i were to remove all the tiles it will mean the wall is almost going back to brick because the plaster behind will fall off aswell.

Would it be better if i dryline the walls after removing the tiles? Also how would i tank any damp areas? thanks

zemphis said:

Thanks for responding. i'm just wondering if i were to remove all the tiles it will mean the wall is almost going back to brick because the plaster behind will fall off aswell.

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Ultimately depends on the type of plaster, quality of the tile adhesive & how it was applied really. I striped out a en-suite just yesterday &, unfortunately, luck was not with me on this one; ½ tiled + a shower & all the bloody render base has come away from the blocks so I’m now left with a re-plastering job on the lower half of the wall & the shower area as well fitting it out & tiling; such is life!

zemphis said:

Would it be better if i dryline the walls after removing the tiles?

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A proper finish over base plaster job (float & set) is always better IMO but you could dot & dab boards on it. But if the plaster does come away with the tiles you’re still going to be left with a step but on the opposite half of the wall!

zemphis said:

Also how would i tank any damp areas?

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What I actually said was if you use plasterboard, you need to tank/waterproof the “wet areas”; “wet areas” are around the bath & within showers/cubicles where the walls are usually pretty wet most of the time. Use moisture resistant boards & this in the wet areas before tiling; http://www.bal-adhesives.co.uk/products/waterproofing-kit

Ok thanks for the tips. I think i will probably have to board or replaster most of the walls after removing the tiles. But its for the best as the old plaster is crumbling away.