Tanking a bathroom

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Hi

We're looking at re-doing our aging bathroom in the new year. As we didn't fit it, and there's not much we like about it, we're going to strip it all out and start again.

If we have a blank canvas - what's the most cost effective way to tank the bathroom where we would like a walk-in shower with a tray (as opposed to tiles on the floor, I suppose)? The rest of the bathroom will be tiled floor to ceiling. Some sort of waterproof boarding system, or MDF with a membrane? Do I need to do the floor?

We have a bungalow, so this bathroom is downstairs and the sub-floor is concrete. The existing shower tray is raised up off the floor - I presume to house the waste? We're happy to have the same again to avoid chopping into the floor, but it's clear that water has gotten behind something, because the timber the existing shower tray is on is very much rotten.

Thanks for your help.
 
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Use cement boards (aqua panel/hardybacker) around the shower area, within the tray footprint up to about 1.2m, and tank just that area too (tanking kit eg. Everbuild aquaseal). Don’t tank the floor if there’s a shower tray.
 
Was discussing tanking with a tiler today.
Is it really necessary on aquapanel?
Or even plaster?
I stripped many ancient bathrooms and never found wet walls behind tiles, so i suppose with new adhesive formula, it would be even better.
Tiler said it's the thing to do, then added... it makes the work more complete ...and adds to the bill.
 
Instead of spending on aqua board or similar - can’t I just go with green board and tank that?

or - not much difference in price overall?
 
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Personally on my bathrooms I have lined all walls with aquapanel and despite not being a tiler, the tile work came out perfectly flat.
It's a very good base to tile, especially for non professionals.
 
or MDF with a membrane
Never use MDF in bathroom.

I feel that the good thing with aqua board around shower is that if you do get any water behind tiles it does not fall apart (which all types of plasterboard do).
 
Tanking has the advantage of any grout cracks not allowing moisture to reach the backing board. For 40 quid ish I always tank showers. I usually but not always use cement boards, done some with normal pboard but still tanked. Zero leaks ever including the first one I did in 2005
 
Can you recommend a reasonably priced cement board?

edit: yes they can be tiled directly on to!
 
I used hardiebacker 12mm, but if going straight onto solid walls 6mm should be OK (I also had a gap around the shower tray).
I tanked with the tape and blue paint.

What I also did was stick insulation boards to the underside of the boards that the shower tray was bedded onto. In fact, I insulated the whole floor with kingspan boards.

I did see a product for walls on YT that looked excellent, but never found again. It was a lightweight board that was waterproof, and had insulation, that you could tile onto. Sounded too good to be true, maybe I dreamed it!
 

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