Tiling Uneven walls

[sophiejazz]

I'm about to start tiling an uneven wall in an old house and would prefer not to go to the expense of having it skimmed. It's well out in the corner. Could I use a metal strip (that plasterers use) to make a relative straight edge and build up to it with anything to make the wall straighter? Also can I tile straight on to the perforated edge of the metal strip?

I don't have the tiles yet but will probably go for 15x20cm.

 

[Richard C]

How far out is the wall? You can build out locally to a certain extent using cement powder tile adhesive or a quick set render but you should not exceed a depth of 12mm. Don’t use plaster or ordinary sand/cement render or you will have to wait a minimum of 10 days before tiling (longer the thicker it gets). Cement based tile adhesive or quickset render can be tiled over immediately & you can tile over the plaster bead but I would probably use it a guide, then take it down & fill in locally. Size/weight of your tiles will dictate either cement adhesive (over 300 x 200mm) or tub redi-mix but always use quality trade products of the correct type, not cheapo DIY stuff.

 

[sophiejazz]

H Richard, I think it may be more than 12mm at the top. Beginning to think I should put plasterboard on the wall (will be better for tiling). Would I need to attach it to laths or could it be pinned straight to the wall, with packing in the corner to give a straight edge?

Many thanks
Sophiejazz

How far out is the wall? You can build out locally to a certain extent using cement powder tile adhesive or a quick set render but you should not exceed a depth of 12mm. Don’t use plaster or ordinary sand/cement render or you will have to wait a minimum of 10 days before tiling (longer the thicker it gets). Cement based tile adhesive or quickset render can be tiled over immediately & you can tile over the plaster bead but I would probably use it a guide, then take it down & fill in locally. Size/weight of your tiles will dictate either cement adhesive (over 300 x 200mm) or tub redi-mix but always use quality trade products of the correct type, not cheapo DIY stuff.

 

[Richard C]

You can batten out & level off & then fix PB to the battens but it’s often better to dot & dab the plasterboard sheets to the wall using more adhesive in the low area to bring the sheets out plumb & level – done with a large lump of wood & a spirit level. You have to get the adhesive dabs right & work reasonably quickly to true everything up before the adhesive sets off.

If it’s a bath/shower room use Moisture Resistant PB (12.5mm) & tile straight onto that but if it’s a wet area (inside a shower or over a bath) you should use a water proof tile backer board. Recommended fixing methods vary depending on which boards you use but generally they can all be fixed using either of the above methods.

 

[sophiejazz]

Many thanks Richard, this is really useful, particularly about type of PB to use.

You can batten out & level off & then fix PB to the battens but it’s often better to dot & dab the plasterboard sheets to the wall using more adhesive in the low area to bring the sheets out plumb & level – done with a large lump of wood & a spirit level. You have to get the adhesive dabs right & work reasonably quickly to true everything up before the adhesive sets off.

If it’s a bath/shower room use Moisture Resistant PB (12.5mm) & tile straight onto that but if it’s a wet area (inside a shower or over a bath) you should use a water proof tile backer board. Recommended fixing methods vary depending on which boards you use but generally they can all be fixed using either of the above methods.