New Plaster problem

[Richard C]

So, cement based tile adhesive. If I go down this route what is acrylic prime and how do I use it? Will it go over the PVA I've already put on the wall?

Oh dear; PVA can be a plasterers best friend but unfortunately it has no place in a tillers world & can a problem, particularly in wet areas. Standard PVA should never be used as a tile primer or in preparation for tiling, the problem is it remains water solvent & can re-activate when subject to water/damp; is this a wet tile area?

Too late now really but give the area a good going over with a stiff wire brush, acrylic prime http://www.bal-adhesives.co.uk/products/prime-apd (or similar) & then fill out with Rapidset tile adhesive a couple of hours before you tile. The area you have is not particularly large so, hopefully, you should be OK but you haven’t said what size weight tiles your using?

Before you move to the tiling stage of your project (preferably even sooner ), I would advise you read the Tiling Sticky & Tiling Forum Archive posts before doing any more work or buying materials, it could prevent you making disastrous & potentially expensive mistakes. Tiling/re-tiling isn’t rocket science but there are still many things that can catch you out. With walls, you need to consider tile weights, prep & materials & suspended timber floors need special consideration. It’s also important to use only quality trade tilling materials of the correct type for your tiles & tile base; cheapo own brand & DIY stuff is mostly crap.

 

[adders21]

The area I have applied PVA to is where I need to plaster. Its bare brick. When I was chipping off the old tiles a chunk of plaster came away. The rest appears sound. I've tapped it and it doesn't sound hollow.

So if I apply the Prime over the top of the PVA thats on the bare brick my cement adhesive will be ok?

The cement adhesive, is it suitable for an area 40 x 60 cm?

Haven't bought the tiles yet so I'm not 100% sure of the weight but we do like large ones, around 60x30 ish.

Yes, it will be a wet area. It's around a bath.

I wont be tiling for a while as I'm touching up the plaster before I fit the bath and tile the floor. I'll tile the walls after that and then fit the sink and toilet. Thought it would be better to tile and then fit the sink over the tiles as opposed to tiling around the sink.

 

[peaps]

Well, the good news is that due to work commitments I had to abort todays plastering session.

So, cement based tile adhesive. If I go down this route what is acrylic prime and how do I use it? Will it go over the PVA I've already put on the wall?

The depth of the area I'm filling is about 1.5cm. The largest area, apart from the strips that you can see in the picture, is about 60cm x 40cm.

Thank you again for all your advice. I really do appreciate it.

Hardwall it, skim then tile.

http://www.tiles.org.uk/help/answer-gypsum.shtml

just make sure it well dry before you tile and when you tile and grout make sure it's good water proof stuff don't go cheap.

 

[Richard C]

So if I apply the Prime over the top of the PVA thats on the bare brick my cement adhesive will be ok?

Stiff wire brush it first which will cut through the PVA & give something for the acrylic primer & adhesive to grab onto.

The cement adhesive, is it suitable for an area 40 x 60 cm?

Rapidset addy will cover any area you want up to around 12mm thick; it’s a fairly expensive way of doing it compared to render or plaster but the big advantage is no waiting time.

Haven't bought the tiles yet so I'm not 100% sure of the weight but we do like large ones, around 60x30 ish.

Tile weight is critical to the tile base you have; them’s big tiles & big tiles tend to be over 8mm thick & heavy. If you’re going to large format/heavy tiles, you must have a suitable tile base or they could all end up on the floor & if they are overweight for the tile base, you need to re-consider your choice of tiles unless you’re prepared to do the prep work. What tiles are you considering; ceramic, porcelain, stone &, importantly, what thickness? If you really want large format, you may need to overboard with a decent, mechanically fixed tile backer board.

Yes, it will be a wet area. It's around a bath.

It’s a wet-ish area but unless you have an over bath shower it will be a small risk; not much you can do now except hope for the best.

I wont be tiling for a while as I'm touching up the plaster before I fit the bath and tile the floor.

Sorry if I’ve missed it but what sort of floor? As I said, you need to be very careful with prep & materials with suspended timber floors.

 

[peaps]

The area I have applied PVA to is where I need to plaster. Its bare brick. When I was chipping off the old tiles a chunk of plaster came away. The rest appears sound. I've tapped it and it doesn't sound hollow.

So if I apply the Prime over the top of the PVA thats on the bare brick my cement adhesive will be ok?

The cement adhesive, is it suitable for an area 40 x 60 cm?

Haven't bought the tiles yet so I'm not 100% sure of the weight but we do like large ones, around 60x30 ish.

Yes, it will be a wet area. It's around a bath.

I wont be tiling for a while as I'm touching up the plaster before I fit the bath and tile the floor. I'll tile the walls after that and then fit the sink and toilet. Thought it would be better to tile and then fit the sink over the tiles as opposed to tiling around the sink.

adder, your options should be based on the plaster you already have on the walls, not the patch. The areas you are going to tile in your bathroom that is already plastered would have to come off if they didn't meet the spec for large tiles so it would be throwing money away if the patch was spec but the plaster wasn't and failed.....

So keep this in mind when going for the tiles. The weak link is the plaster on the walls already.

 

[adders21]

Update.

Went with the Hardwall / skim option. All went on a treat and has dried without any cracks

Decided to rethink the tile size and will probably go with bevelled tiles in a brick pattern.

Thank you for all your replys and help.

 

[Richard C]

Decided to rethink the tile size and will probably go with bevelled tiles in a brick pattern.

Something to consider when laying beveled edge tiles in brick weave is they can create layout problems in corners & will be even more of a challenge on external corners; you have to finish all the tiles with a cut edge or they look very odd!

Personally I’m not keen on bevel edge slips; they always remind me of old underground, Victorian public toilets that were around when I was a kid.

 

[joe-90]

Brick pattern is pretty unpopular.

 

[roy c]

Brick pattern is pretty unpopular.

With who joe? I love it.....

 

[huddsspread]

Brick pattern is pretty unpopular.

no its not its in my kitchen and bathroom!

 

[Richard C]

I've got ceramic matt black slips laid brick weave in me own kitchen but, as said, I wouldn’t attempt to do it with bevel edge, it creates too may problems with the corners.

Can't believe it's all been up 8 years now & everyone still comments on how good it looks; no naff plastic tile trim, mitre external corners only but it took bloody ages mitreing all those 50mm wide tiles.