Replacing internal bathroom walls and time involved

[steshaw74]

Hello there

I'm planningon ripping out the current internal bathroom walls in a house that I've just moved in to.
The reason...... they are tiled top to toe in out dated tiles and I would like fresh walls to start again with. (I'll also take out the existing suite and replace).

However, what I hope to do is only tile the areas that need it (around the bath, sink, etc) and the rest would be painted.

I suppose the *correct* and neatest option would be:
Create the new walls with aquapanel -> skim/plaster -> wait a few months for plaster to dry fully -> tile areas required -> paint the rest.

Obviously, the problem with this is the amount of time required for the plaster to dry before tiling - but then I have a few months wait before being able to use the over-bath shower.

Is there a work around that won't compromise the lifespan of the new internal walls?

Thanks in advance

 

[Richard C]

Are you replacing internal walls with stud partitions between a room with a w/c & another bedroom or other habitable room; if you are, the construction of the walls is subject to Building regulations regarding sound insulation.

Where did you get the idea you would have to wait "months" before using your new bathroom?

 

[dextrous]

As Richard says, repositioning walls requires building control involvement.

It sound to me as though you are ripping all the walls down to the existing brick and studwork and renewing the surfaces. As you are not creating a wet room, aquapanel is not required for all the walls, but is advised for the wet areas you indicate - in which case careful planning of the exact final positioning of the tiles will need to be taken into account.

The painted wall areas only need Moisture Resistant (MR) boards, which can be dot and dabbed into place (or screwed into existing studwork), and skimmed over after they are sealed with an approved sealer (see manufacturer's websites for clarification - although there are numerous references to it on here if you trawl through previous threads), and can be decorated after a couple of weeks.

Aquapanel should not be skimmed over anyway.

 

[steshaw74]

As Richard says, repositioning walls requires building control involvement.

It sound to me as though you are ripping all the walls down to the existing brick and studwork and renewing the surfaces. As you are not creating a wet room, aquapanel is not required for all the walls, but is advised for the wet areas you indicate - in which case careful planning of the exact final positioning of the tiles will need to be taken into account.

The painted wall areas only need Moisture Resistant (MR) boards, which can be dot and dabbed into place (or screwed into existing studwork), and skimmed over after they are sealed with an approved sealer (see manufacturer's websites for clarification - although there are numerous references to it on here if you trawl through previous threads), and can be decorated after a couple of weeks.

Aquapanel should not be skimmed over anyway.

Dextrous,
Thanks for adding clarity. Yes, I will only be taking current plasterboard walls down and replacing with new plasterboard and aquapanel - I will not be re-positioning any walls.

 

[dextrous]

The only tricky bit, apart from cutting the aquapanel to the correct size (allow the perimeter layer of tiles to overlap the plastered area bt 10-20mm) is fixing the aquapanel to the walls. There are two ways - attach a wooden framework to the wall if it's brick and screw through to this (obviously existing studwork can be screwed into directly), or dot and dab aquapanel into place, let it dry out for a couple of says and screw frame fixers through the position of the adhesive to provide additional mechanical support.

Although this latter method sounds a little more fiddly, it does allow you to set the aquapanel a few mm proud of the surrounding plasterboard, which will enable the plaster skim coat on the plasterboard to be finished level with the face of the aquapanel, which will then ensure that the tiles can be laid on a perfectly flat surface, especially at the perimeter.

 

[Richard C]

I will not be re-positioning any walls.

As far as BR’s go, I’m pretty sure it amounts to the same thing regarding sound insulation as what your doing amounts to refurbishment; I doubt they will ever find out if your not doing other work subject to inspection but I would advise you at least use this:
http://www.british-gypsum.com/produ...ries/gyproc_acoustic/gyproc_soundbloc_mr.aspx

rather than ordinary wallboard which is not good in bathrooms. I would even put some sound insulation in the studs while you have them exposed (use cavity bats), it’s only a little more expensive & the overall cost difference on what your doing will be marginal.

I confirm with Dex’s post re fixing Aquapanel but don’t understand the comment about it being difficult to cut it’s almost as easy as ordinary PB using just a Stanley knife; blades don’t last long though! Another thing to remember is that you don’t need to plaster any “dry” areas if you’re going to completely tile them, just tile straight onto the PB but check the adhesive manufacturers instructions.

Alsways use decent trade adhesive & grout products, not cheap DIY shed offerings; you generally get what you pay for with this stuff.