Tiling a newly plasterd wall

[Tomdawn]

Hey how long after a wall has been plaseterd is it usualy dry enough and ok to tile on to? Wasn't sure wheather to put this in the tiling or plastering forum. Thanks for any advice

 

[Richard C]

No problem, I do both; If it’s a full base coat & skim then you need to leave it around 4 weeks; if it’s just a skim coat then it should be OK after 10-14 days. Be aware that plaster has a maximum tile weight of 20 kg/sqm, bare plasterboard 32 kg/sqm (including up to 4 kg/sqm for the adhesive) & this needs to be taken into consideration, especially with today’s trend towards large format tiles. You should also use powder cement adhesive on tiles larger than around 300 x 200mm, ready mix tub adhesive is not suitable. If you use powder adhesive on plaster or plasterboard, you must prime with an acrylic primer to avoid a reaction between the cement & gypsum; never use standard PVA to prime a tile base. Use good quality trade adhesive & grout of the correct type for your tiles, cheap DIY products are mostly crap. Read the tiling sticky & Tiling forum archive posts before you start.

 

[Tomdawn]

Its just a skim coat on to the old plaster which is firm. So you saying 10/14 days so it need to be totally dryed out, very light pink/ clear colour before I tile?

 

[Richard C]

A plaster skim will probably go light pink the next day, at most the day after that but it will still contain residual moisture; if you tile over it before it’s fully dry you could suffer adhesion problems or worse. This time of year & with the central heating on (but not in the room where the plaster is drying!), it’ll be OK after 7 days but 10 days would be sure.

If it’s a shower/wet area your tiling, you should not subject the finished tiling to water for 2 weeks! &, as I said, do read the Tiling Sticky & archive posts to avoid making mistakes.

 

[Tomdawn]

Thanks very much for the advice. Yes I'd probably of been tricked by the plaster turining clear after a couple of days I'll wait 7 days at least. I'll read the tiling info you suggest aswell. You say with the central heating on but not in the room were there plaster is drying why is this?

 

[Tomdawn]

I've read the sticky has been very useful. I have one more question I will be tiling with a full tile on top of the bath then a tiling baton around the other wall. What is the best way of tiling down to the floor after I have removed the baton? Do I work out the cut then tile up from the floor? Thanks again for any advice.

 

[jctilingservices]

I've read the sticky has been very useful. I have one more question I will be tiling with a full tile on top of the bath then a tiling baton around the other wall. What is the best way of tiling down to the floor after I have removed the baton? Do I work out the cut then tile up from the floor? Thanks again for any advice.

really you need to strat from the centre of the wall, BUT if you are starting full tile on the bath edge you could end up with differing sized cuts top and bottom, if you have marked it out and its going to be ok, From the edge of the bath work down the wall until you can fit your last FULL tile, then set you baton at that height, start you tiling from that height


The question you asked Richard about heating not being on in the same room as has been plastered, i could be wrong but i think its so the plaster DOES NOT dry out to quickly

 

[Richard C]

The question you asked Richard about heating not being on in the same room as has been plastered, i could be wrong but i think its so the plaster DOES NOT dry out to quickly

Correct ; drying the skim out too quickly can cause it to shrink & crack.

Re where to start when tiling, here’s a link to a recent thread;
//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=258257

 

[Tomdawn]

From the edge of the bath work down the wall until you can fit your last FULL tile, then set you baton at that height, start you tiling from that height


Ok thanks for that whats the best way of working down from the bath put the tiles on and before they slip down mark the bottom of the last tile then put a tiling baton around at this height?

 

[jctilingservices]

From the edge of the bath work down the wall until you can fit your last FULL tile, then set you baton at that height, start you tiling from that height


Ok thanks for that whats the best way of working down from the bath put the tiles on and before they slip down mark the bottom of the last tile then put a tiling baton around at this height?

Mark a centre line around your walls, get a bit of timber 1x1 2x1 whatever, lay a tile height ways on and a spacer at the end, mark that then carry on doing the same til you cant get no more full tiles and spacers, if you have a bit of the length left, cut it off at last mark, now you have a staff to mark your wall out so you know where last full tile finishes, nail a batten at that height then start tiling up from the batten, that way the tiles dont slip down the wall

 

[Richard C]

get a bit of timber 1x1 2x1 whatever ---- nail a batten at that height then start tiling up from the batten, that way the tiles dont slip down the wall

A word of caution! Make sure the timber batten you use to start laying the tiles is dead straight; a lot of timber isn’t but it won’t make any difference on the first row or so but it will start causing you all sorts of problems as you progress up the wall. You can use timber you know is straight but, having leaned the hard way some years ago, I now use a selection of aluminum billet battens I made especially.

 

[jctilingservices]

I now use a selection of aluminum billet battens I made especially.

i want 1, no i want 2, no i dont, was just being greedy Richard mate, 3 will suffice

 

[paul78]

get a bit of timber 1x1 2x1 whatever ---- nail a batten at that height then start tiling up from the batten, that way the tiles dont slip down the wall

A word of caution! Make sure the timber batten you use to start laying the tiles is dead straight; a lot of timber isn’t but it won’t make any difference on the first row or so but it will start causing you all sorts of problems as you progress up the wall. You can use timber you know is straight but, having leaned the hard way some years ago, I now use a selection of aluminum billet battens I made especially.

nice little tip that, i love learning new tips all the time

 

[jctilingservices]

I now use a selection of aluminum billet battens I made especially.

i want 1, no i want 2, no i dont, was just being greedy Richard mate, 3 will suffice

seriously i got a few different length spirit levels all drilled, ready to be attached to a wall, used to have a good aluminium billet ubtil i did a subby job about 18 months ago, aint it funny how things go missing when subbying and no one knows anything about it

 

[Richard C]

i want 1, no i want 2, no i dont, was just being greedy Richard mate, 3 will suffice

Billet was probably the wrong term to use, they are actually just varying lengths of old aluminium DG frame extrusion I scrounged out of a skip on a job I was doing where the ancient DG windows/patio doors were being replaced ! Some still around but getting more difficult to find now.