Can i tile straight on to plasterboard

Hotwire · Joined: 13 May 2005 Posts: 175 Location: United Kingdom

I am having to put some new plasterboard in my bathrooom as ive had to cut an area about 5ft long by20 inches high due to removing tiles and finding damp. My question is can i tile directly on to the plasterboard or does it have to be skimmed first. Also some plaster has come of the wall and i am hoping to just be able to patch it up. There,s no way i could skim the whole wall im not good enough, am ok at a bit of patching but thats it. I enclose some pics (hopefully) so you can see whats happened. Any advice gratefully recieved.

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Zampa · Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 10:44 pm

Im no tiler..but I can spot a dodgy surface when I see one....looks to me like the lose should be chipped off and a re skim job is in order.

Hotwire · Joined: 13 May 2005 Posts: 175 Location: United Kingdom

Thanks for the reply, not the words i wanted to hear but if its got to be skimmed i will just have to grin and bear it. I must admit the wall looks a right mess but the bits of plaster that are still there are stuck quite soundly to the wall. Hence why i thought i might get away with patching.

Hotwire · Joined: 13 May 2005 Posts: 175 Location: United Kingdom

What preparation is required to tile directly onto plasterboard, does the board need to be sealed. What about the joints, is bal-APD still needed/useful for this task. I may have to do above to save going through skimming wall again after cock-up by firm doing work.

Johnboy54 · Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 8:49 pm

In my opinion, I don't see a problem with tiling to the plasterboard, provided it's not got great big cavities behind it. Make sure it's well sealed with PVA first.
Looking at the photos, couldn't you remove the plasterboard and fill with plaster. A nice, straight piece of wood to rest on the existing plaster at each side could be sawn across it to give a perfect match. One that's good enough to tile over at least. Seal with PVA.
I'm no plasterer either, so another alternative would be to use plywood screwed to the wall, instead of plasterboard. Again, seal with PVA.
Handy stuff that PVA. Wonder what it is?

Hotwire · Joined: 13 May 2005 Posts: 175 Location: United Kingdom

Johnboy54, i should have said this post is a bit old the wall your looking at in the pics has been replaced by a new build. The plasterboard that has been used is only 9.5mm instead of 12.5mm and it looks like its not up to the job of holding heavy weight tiles. So it could well be having another 12.5mm board put up, and i just want to put tiles onto it and not have it skimmed. Ive made another post about plasterboard thickness in this forum it will give you more info on whats happened. Some info about PVA here

http://www.thistothat.com/glue/pva.shtml

JayS · Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Posts: 127 Location: United Kingdom

See http://www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=30601&highlight, especially legs-akimbo's reply.

Hotwire · Joined: 13 May 2005 Posts: 175 Location: United Kingdom

Cheers for that link JayS, so it looks like its best to use bal-primer on the bare plasterboard is that correct.

JayS · Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Posts: 127 Location: United Kingdom

Hotwire wrote:

Cheers for that link JayS, so it looks like its best to use bal-primer on the bare plasterboard is that correct.

Pretty much, but if it's for the shower you have to tank the wall otherwise the grout WILL leak! An the wall will get damp again...

Hotwire · Joined: 13 May 2005 Posts: 175 Location: United Kingdom

Ok so i know the direction to go if its gonna be new boards put up. I have a question about the waterproof thing, ive got tubs of dunlop waterproof adhesive ( so the balloon on the tubs informs me) if i put this on in a solid bed will this stop water thats leaked through the grout getting through to the plasterboard. Also a question about the bal-APD do i need to dilute it and if so at what ratio.