Shower base built with Aquapanel - Not tanked

[physco]

I think I may have made a bit of a mistake.

I finished my on suite bathroom about 2 months ago for which I constructed the shower base myself using 25mm WBP ply and Aquapanel. The walls are constructed with wedi. For some daft reason I thought Aquapanel was waterproof (like wedi) and I now realise it is only water resistant. Thinking it was waterproof I didnt tank it - only covered teh joints, corners, and base / wall joint with waterproof tape (wedi tape). Then tiled straight on top of the Aquapanel. Needless to say im now worried. Im hoping I will be ok due to the overall construction:-

- Mosaic Tiles grouted with EPOXY grout. So hoping very little water gets through as Epoxy is waterproof. Ive also checked for any pin holes etc.
- Tiles on Approx 5mm cementious Adhesive bed. (Not waterproof)
- Aquapanel (joints, corners, screws waterproof taped)
- 5mm of Unibond waterproof adhesive
- 25mm WBP ply

With this im hoping water has to get through the EPOXY grout (waterproof ), Aquapanel (water resistant, but would take quite a bit of water to get all teh way through), followed by waterproof adhesive to get to the 25mm WBP ply.

Im sure this will spark a debate and I know I should have tanked it with WP1 etc etc. But I either live with the mistake or rip up the shower base which would meen lots of remedial work.

Any veiws / advice?

 

[gcol]

Oooo that's a good one. I would have thought that what water does find its way past the tiles would be minimal and as such you would never notice. However, time will tell and there's no point ripping it up now until you're sure there's a problem.

 

[physco]

Cheers gcol that makes me feel a little better. Im guessing any water that gets past the tiles / epoxy will be minimal and I think it would take quite a bit to then get through the aquapanel, and even then it has to get through some waterproof adhesive which I stuck the aquapanel down to the WBP with!

Not sure how I will know over time if its got a leak, as the shower base is a raised area, so I wont see anything on teh ceiling below until its got throgh the Aquapanel / plywood shower base AND then the WBP floor under the shower base. Unless of course the tiles start falling off then it obvious I have a proble.

Any additional views from any other tradesmen are welcomed.

 

[jefoss]

Any additional views from any other tradesmen are welcomed.

the view from the top of the eiffel tower is lovely on a clear day

 

[physco]

ive just received a response from Knauf Technical Support:-

With regards to your recent email, it may be worth while checking the grout/sealed perimeters for any defects but we do not believe you will encounter any problems with water getting to the ply, tanking would not be necessary in the installation described.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require further information.

Kind Regards,
Royston Lorriman
Technical Support Officer - Knauf UK GmbH

They did however ask how often the shower would be used, so im guessing they are confident as it will only be used twice daily max. If it was in commercial enviroment such as a Gym shower etc im sure their answer woudl have been different. But for now I think im gonna stop worrying.

There are a couple of things worth mentioning though for any future DIY wetroomers:-

- Knauff do not recomend applying tanking directly to Aquapanel. If you want to tank then you must first apply a skim of adhesive to the Aquapanel and then tank.

- Building your own shower base / wetroom base is just as expensive as buying a 'wetrrom former'. The only advantage is that you can build your own to teh size you want.