Shower Tray And Enclosure Waterproofing

[planemad]

Hi

I intend to install my shower tray and shower enclosure this tomorrow.

I will be battening out a wall by a few inches so that the pipes run inside the stud wall so that they are not visible.
What is best to use for the face of the stud wall, Moisture Resistant Plasterboard or aqua panel.

I intend to tile on top after the install is done using Bal Grip and Bal waterproof grout.

Also what is tanking?

 

[Richard C]

As far as I'm concerned it's Aquapanel, I use it all the time; if you use MR board you will have to tank it which will cost more than the Aquapanel which you don’t have to tank; but you may get conflicting opinions!

Don’t use BAL Grip; you need to use a flexible adhesive & I would advise either White Star or Rapidest Flexible if using large tiles; Microflex for the grout.

 

[planemad]

Thanks

Would you use a sealux seal?

 

[bathstyle]

If you do go the Aquapanel route then please make sure that you use Aquapanel tape where boards meet at joints and internal corners, apply the A.P tape with tile adhesive. Also make sure that the joint between A.P and Tray is sealed with silicone

I feel that if you're using Aquapanel then it is best to use a cement based adhesive, either single part flexible or rapidset flexible, the bond between tile and board is phenominal when this adhesive is used

 

[planemad]

. Also make sure that the joint between A.P and Tray is sealed with silicone

I will be running the aqua panel down to the floor then offering the shower tray up to the aquapanel.

Do I seal the joint between the A P and the tray prior to tiling and then again after?

 

[JayJay1978]

Yes seal before and after tiles.

I think decent plumbers use a silicone called Dow Corning 731 (7 something anyway) I think anything else gives you mould issues.
Not used it myself yet though.

 

[Richard C]

Only thing I will say about using silicone sealer on the substrate before tiling is to watch how you splash it about as nothing much will stick to it! Overdo it & you could make things worse rather than better!

 

[bathstyle]

I still favour 6" of a membrane on the bottom of the shower wall, I will even come round and do it for free!

Yeah, silicone doesn't stick too well to Aquapanel.

 

[Richard C]

I still favour 6" of a membrane on the bottom of the shower wall, I will even come round and do it for free!

Knauf say; "For domestic use, the level of waterproofness and water repellentness you require can be achieved by the tiles alone. For commercial use, we would recommend a polythene sheet fixed to the frame prior to the boards".

I’ve only ever done domestic installations & personally don’t tank Aquapanel but it certainly shouldn't do any harm. For tanked installations on plasterboard (which I won't recommend) I would use a liquid membrane - BAL WP1

Yeah, silicone doesn't stick too well to Aquapanel.

Neither does tile adhesive ; Knauf recommend their own Polyurethane sealer but I actually use (waterproof) grab adhesive

 

[bathstyle]

Never use WP1 anymore, it went out a long time ago, poor product in my opinion, labour intensive to install, long drying time, messy, not my cuppa, Kerdi or homelux membrane every single time, wipes the floor with these paint on paste membranes.

Not saying that WP1 won't work, just not ideal.

Also, a mosaic tile onto Aquapanel, forget it, far too much water is gonna pass through that grout, must be tanked on these occasions without a doubt, I'm sure Knauf will agree.

Aquapanel does have it's uses, it's superb when used for heavy tiles, not as good a spec as the Wedi board or Marmox though, they seem to be the market leaders for weight.

Edit; just to add, if you're installing a wet room with a power shower, fixed head +_ slider bar and a few body jets it can't really be classed as Domestic anymore.

But..... to summarise none of the suggestions on this thread have been a bodge, just opinions, the results are pretty much similar in all cases.