Applying tiles onto either hardboard or plastered plasterboard

[Possom]

I'm to have new plasterboard installed in my bathroom, and then tiled.

I had just assumed that the plasterboard would have to be plastered over before the tiles were applied, but I've heard that it's possible to instead apply hardboard over the plasterboard instead and then tile over this. The tiles are to run the full height of the wall.

This means the tiles can be successfully removed at a later date without destroying the plasterboard which would happen during removal if they had been applied directly onto bare plasterboard.

If applying the tiles onto hardboard-covered plasterboard, is this cheaper and/or quicker than applying tiles onto plastered plasterboard? That is, including the time of plastering and waiting to dry.

I'd be getting someone in to do the work.

Thanks!

 

[Cgas]

Just use cement board and leave the plasterboard off altogether, pretty sure you can dot n dab hardiebacker now but be best to check prior, if not just fix it with screws/plugs or to batons & tile onto them

 

[vinn]

Are you talking about all the bathroom walls?
Or only the wet walls round the shower or bath?
Are the walls in question stud walls or masonry walls?

 

[Possom]

Are you talking about all the bathroom walls?
Or only the wet walls round the shower or bath?
Are the walls in question stud walls or masonry walls?

Just the walls around the bath which will have an overhead shower over it.

The length of the bath and the head end of the bath has stud walls.

The foot end of the bath has a brick wall (which is an external wall) with a plastered finish. For this brick wall I had intended to paint it with Dulux Bathroom paint and not tile it.

 

[vinn]

Check for plumb and level planes on the two stud walls, and a perfect ninety degree inside corner.
Then screw the backer boards to the studs.
Painting wet walls is not good practice esp. if the walls have gypsum plaster.
You would be better off plugging and screwing the B/B's direct on to the masonry - a little skim (not dabs) of cementitious powdered tile adhesive can be used to pack out the B/B's to plumb and ninety.

 

[Doggit]

As an alternative viewpoint, if you use an acrylic primer on the plasterboard, then you can tile straight on to it. Oddly enough, plastered walls won't take as heavy a tile as plasterboard will. Don't even think about tiling hardboard - definite road to disaster.

Nine times out of ten, when you take the tiles off of a plastered wall, you need to replaster it to get it smooth enough for the new tiles; you seldom get the old adhesive of neatly enough to justify plastering the wall in the first place.

It would have been nice to have put insulated plasterboard on the end wall, in order to warm it up.

 

[Lee@TileTown]

I would recommend that you tank the the plasterboard with tanking kit, then depending on what size tile being used, use a cement based tile adhesive (white if using white/light coloured grout)

Problem is when you plaster over plasterboard before tiling, you weaken the load weight you can tile onto.

 

[L95]

Agree with Lee here. Your also much better off using cement board like Hardie backer.

And for the record, you can NOT d and d Hardie according to their leaflets. Screws and adhesive at 300mm centres.