Hi, I was wondering if I could get some advice on the best way to prepare our downstairs shower for tiling (my father in law will be tiling for us).
The shower room is approx. 2x1m and with the shower at one end. Two walls are external, the third an internal wall between the shower and hallway. The existing shower doesn't have a moulded tray - its tiled on a custom plinth but doesn't seem to have much of a fall on it. The grouting is in a bad way and there is an obvious damp issue - our survey picked up damp readings on the exterior walls around the shower and the internal wall has an obvious line of blown plaster right where the shower "tray" meets the wall.
We are going to try and re-use the shower and the sliding door if we can get it out without damaging it but other than that, we are planning to strip it all back and do it from scratch and do it properly.
For the shower, I intend to use a raised shower tray with an easy plumb kit - the sort that comes with the removable fascia on the front and the adjustable legs. There is a slight issue - the width of the room is about 1040mm and the closest shower tray size is 1000m.
My understanding is that the best way of approaching this is to build out the wall on one or both sides, line the walls with an appropriate tile backing board, tape up all the joints, fit the tray, seal between the backing board and shower tray with silicone, then tile, with the tiles coming down on to the tray. Then seal it all again where the tray meets the tiles. Is that right?
It seems I can build out the extra 4cm I need using a combination of backing boards and on one side, treated timber (roofing laths?) to batten the wall. What I'm not sure about is what backing board is best.
The option most people seem to recommend is Aquapanel but it seems that this cannot be dot and dabbed? If so, how would we fix this to the two walls that aren't battened?
Another option appears to be MR plasterboard but then I guess this would need to be tanked (I assume aqua panel doesn't need tanking)?
Finally, Wickes appear to do a moisture resistance tile panel designed for showers which can be dot and dabbed like any other plasterboard:
http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Tile-Panel-1220x900x12-5mm/p/113664
This seems like it would be a good option and easier to work with than Aquapanel. Would that work? This is currently my preferred option although I'm wondering if it would be worth tanking as a "belt and braces" approach. We don't want to have to do this all again in the future.
Finally, a few more questions:
* The distance between the back wall and door architrave is approx. 700mm, maybe a fraction smaller. I think I can make a 700mm deep shower tray fit (the existing architrave has been notched out at the bottom already) but I'm not sure it would fit if I lined the back wall down to the floor first. Do I need to line the back wall (its the exterior wall)? Could I just tile straight on to the existing wall (perhaps after tanking first)? I'm guessing this depends on the state of the wall once we've removed the tiles. Failing that, assuming the lip on the tray is deep enough, could I line it but bring the board down to the top of the shower tray instead of behind it?
* Would it be better to batten the internal wall side of the shower or the external wall side or does it not matter? The pipework for the power shower is on the external wall side. I think the external wall side would look better (due to how close the tray will be to the architrave on the internal side) but I guess the pipework might need to be altered.
* Is it necessary to lay any kind of DPM or plastic sheeting on the floor underneath the shower tray and up the wall slightly? Sub-floor is concrete.
Thanks!
The shower room is approx. 2x1m and with the shower at one end. Two walls are external, the third an internal wall between the shower and hallway. The existing shower doesn't have a moulded tray - its tiled on a custom plinth but doesn't seem to have much of a fall on it. The grouting is in a bad way and there is an obvious damp issue - our survey picked up damp readings on the exterior walls around the shower and the internal wall has an obvious line of blown plaster right where the shower "tray" meets the wall.
We are going to try and re-use the shower and the sliding door if we can get it out without damaging it but other than that, we are planning to strip it all back and do it from scratch and do it properly.
For the shower, I intend to use a raised shower tray with an easy plumb kit - the sort that comes with the removable fascia on the front and the adjustable legs. There is a slight issue - the width of the room is about 1040mm and the closest shower tray size is 1000m.
My understanding is that the best way of approaching this is to build out the wall on one or both sides, line the walls with an appropriate tile backing board, tape up all the joints, fit the tray, seal between the backing board and shower tray with silicone, then tile, with the tiles coming down on to the tray. Then seal it all again where the tray meets the tiles. Is that right?
It seems I can build out the extra 4cm I need using a combination of backing boards and on one side, treated timber (roofing laths?) to batten the wall. What I'm not sure about is what backing board is best.
The option most people seem to recommend is Aquapanel but it seems that this cannot be dot and dabbed? If so, how would we fix this to the two walls that aren't battened?
Another option appears to be MR plasterboard but then I guess this would need to be tanked (I assume aqua panel doesn't need tanking)?
Finally, Wickes appear to do a moisture resistance tile panel designed for showers which can be dot and dabbed like any other plasterboard:
http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Tile-Panel-1220x900x12-5mm/p/113664
This seems like it would be a good option and easier to work with than Aquapanel. Would that work? This is currently my preferred option although I'm wondering if it would be worth tanking as a "belt and braces" approach. We don't want to have to do this all again in the future.
Finally, a few more questions:
* The distance between the back wall and door architrave is approx. 700mm, maybe a fraction smaller. I think I can make a 700mm deep shower tray fit (the existing architrave has been notched out at the bottom already) but I'm not sure it would fit if I lined the back wall down to the floor first. Do I need to line the back wall (its the exterior wall)? Could I just tile straight on to the existing wall (perhaps after tanking first)? I'm guessing this depends on the state of the wall once we've removed the tiles. Failing that, assuming the lip on the tray is deep enough, could I line it but bring the board down to the top of the shower tray instead of behind it?
* Would it be better to batten the internal wall side of the shower or the external wall side or does it not matter? The pipework for the power shower is on the external wall side. I think the external wall side would look better (due to how close the tray will be to the architrave on the internal side) but I guess the pipework might need to be altered.
* Is it necessary to lay any kind of DPM or plastic sheeting on the floor underneath the shower tray and up the wall slightly? Sub-floor is concrete.
Thanks!
