How to do walls & floors with Travertine tiles..

[pavsid]

Hi all,

I've ordered some travertine tiles 610 x 406 x 12mm, to tile our bathroom floor & walls.

Before I start, I understand this type of tile requires a little more skill and experience than the usual tile, so wanted to know what was involved before I make a mess of it.

Can anyone point me in the right direction with some good guides etc and materials I'll need?

I already have some Ditra matting & sealing tape for the floor and corners.

Also, the tiles are very heavy - how can I ensure they will stick to the walls properly? How do I know the walls are good enough to take the weight?

They are thermalite block walls, rendered with a 12-15mm thick layer of mortar, with a mm or two of plaster skimmed over the top. They were previously tiled, but i've removed those already. Here's a photo...

Untitled

• pavsid
• 18 Feb 2015
• 1

Thanks in advance!

 

[Deleted 224857]

Hardiebacker with rawlplugs plus full bed of tile adhesive behind hardie.

No special skills. Just make sure walls are plumb and level.

Flexi adhesive from screwfix called maipei mapeker will do the job perfectly.

 

[pavsid]

Hardiebacker with rawlplugs plus full bed of tile adhesive behind hardie.

No special skills. Just make sure walls are plumb and level.

Flexi adhesive from screwfix called maipei mapeker will do the job perfectly.

Thanks Cancerbeat, so they can't be attached to the wall directly then? Would I have to remove the render before attaching the Hardiebacker?

Just thinking that if I use Hardiebacker, and then tile, it'll bring the wall out over 25mm!

 

[Deleted 224857]

Your choice really. If happy to loose space then hardie on top. If like me space is at premium,then chisel it back to block.

 

[pavsid]

Your choice really. If happy to loose space then hardie on top. If like me space is at premium,then chisel it back to block.

Ok thanks. I might chisel back some walls, but leave others as they are.

So tiling over the existing render is definitely a no-go?

 

[AdamCH]

If it is cement render then you can tile on to it - get the plaster skim off it first though & prime it.

Make sure it is render though & not a plaster basecoat - which can not be tiled on.

Safest route would be to hack it back to blocks (to save the 12mm) and fix 6mm hardiebacker or (better) 12.5mm Marmox to the blocks. You can dot & dab Hardie & Marmox with tile adhesive - mechanically fix through the dabs.

Note in their literature Hardie say 12mm for walls & no dot and dab but if you call their tech help they'll say 6mm Dot & Dab are okay if mechanically fixed through the dabs.

 

[pavsid]

If it is cement render then you can tile on to it - get the plaster skim off it first though & prime it.

Make sure it is render though & not a plaster basecoat - which can not be tiled on.

Safest route would be to hack it back to blocks (to save the 12mm) and fix 6mm hardiebacker or (better) 12.5mm Marmox to the blocks. You can dot & dab Hardie & Marmox with tile adhesive - mechanically fix through the dabs.

Note in their literature Hardie say 12mm for walls & no dot and dab but if you call their tech help they'll say 6mm Dot & Dab are okay if mechanically fixed through the dabs.

Thanks Adam. What's the best way to remove the plaster skim, and leave a sound flat substrate?

I've just tried removing some and it's a right ballache! The cement render comes away from the blocks easier than the plaster skim does!

The render looks like cement render to me - see the photo above, what do you think?

 

[AdamCH]

If the cement render is coming away then remove it. No point tiling on a surface that may come away.

The cement render may well be a plaster base coat - cement render isn't easy to shift.

 

[pavsid]

If the cement render is coming away then remove it. No point tiling on a surface that may come away.

The cement render may well be a plaster base coat - cement render isn't easy to shift.

Backer boards it is then. I guess if I can use the 6mm boards rather than 12mm then that'll be ok to fix over the render to save stripping it all back to blocks.

One last question - what overall thickness should I allow for fixings in the room if I have 6mm boards and 12mm tiles? I.e. how thick will the adhesive between the boards and wall be, and between the tiles and boards?

Many thanks as always.