To Tank or not to Tank

[koomber]

Going to be installing an offset quadrant shower in the bathroom. Walls are going to be tiled with the tiles going on to plasterboard (which will be suitably primed). Mapei products will be getting used for it.

I know there is a lot going against tiling a shower onto plasterboard, but I've done it in a few bathrooms and never had any leaks or issues. My understanding is that if the tiling is done well, then it won't leak so it won't matter what is behind the tiles. If it does leak, then fair enough the water won't damage the plasterboard, but it'll still go everywhere else its going to do and dothe damage anyway.

I am however thinking about getting a tanking kit. It seems like a decent idea since the water proof membrane will prevent any water getting out of the tanked area. For £50 it looks like a no brainer.

Just wondering what the opinion is on here, should I tank or not?

 

[Diver Fred]

I'd never, ever consider tiles on plasterboard - an previous girlfriend nearly had her legs shredded when a tiled shower wall collapsed just as she turned the shower off - she heard the crack as the tiled wall failed and jumped out before the broken tiles hit her. Had to replace bath and the wall.

Either tank the shower or use shower paneling.

 

[koomber]

What cause the tiles to come of wgt52? Was water getting in behind them?

 

[Diver Fred]

We think a crack in the grout let water through and rotted the plasterboard. There was a smell of 'rot' in the bathroom that we could never track down.

 

[koomber]

We think a crack in the grout let water through and rotted the plasterboard. There was a smell of 'rot' in the bathroom that we could never track down.

Ooft. Well, I've ordered a tanking kit. Hadn't really considered the possibility that the whole thing could come down in one. I was more thinking of the tiles getting soft so you'd know if there was a problem.

Got a 3 year old so being able to tank round the bath will be a big plus too.

 

[L95]

Tank it or use Wedi Board. I honestly have no idea why people think that plasterboard is good in showers....

 

[Paul C.]

For those who aren't aware, all adhesive manufacturers will only guarantee their products on the condition that the relevant standards for tile tile fixing are followed, namely BS5385. Don't blame them really, there are so many cowboys around that cut corners, ignore instructions and leave the customer gunning for the suppliers to foot a nasty repair bill because "the products are faulty"..... no, the numb-skull cowboy didn't follow the guidelines..... but thats a whole different subject.

Anyway, the wall tile part of this standard was updated in June and it is now a requirement (before it was only optional) that shower areas, both domestic and commercial, are fully tanked before tiling. And as people say, its cheaper to buy and install a tanking kit than it is to do the job twice.

 

[koomber]

For those who aren't aware, all adhesive manufacturers will only guarantee their products on the condition that the relevant standards for tile tile fixing are followed, namely BS5385. Don't blame them really, there are so many cowboys around that cut corners, ignore instructions and leave the customer gunning for the suppliers to foot a nasty repair bill because "the products are faulty"..... no, the numb-skull cowboy didn't follow the guidelines..... but thats a whole different subject.

Anyway, the wall tile part of this standard was updated in June and it is now a requirement (before it was only optional) that shower areas, both domestic and commercial, are fully tanked before tiling. And as people say, its cheaper to buy and install a tanking kit than it is to do the job twice.

£40 and it covered bloody miles of my bathroom. You can see the shower to the right, and used the leftovers to tank where the bath is going. It's not going to have the same amount of water running down it as a shower as it is literally just a bath, but the tanking kit comes with so much stuff it would be stupidity not to use it. If your putting in a bathroom, get it. It's a bargain, and yoully spend longer waiting for it to dry than you will applying it.

 

[JP_]

Just hijacking because I might be turning out box room into a bathroom next year - if you have solid brick walls that have been plastered, can you just tile direct onto them, or is it still advisable to use the tanking stuff?

 

[opps]

At a minimum use SBR (not PVA) to seal the walls. Water can cause PVA to fail, and most tile adhesives contain water.