Bathroom walls and floors

[siflo]

Hi all, am new to the forum so wasn't sure where this post would be best placed. Hope here's OK

I (or at least my buidlers) have split the master bedroom of my victorian terraced to make an upstairs bathroom.

To date, the existing floor (18mm-ish pine floorboards), have been taken out. Two walls (the corner where the bath will sit) have been plasterboarded and plastered. I don't think the boards are aqua panel or anything special. One of these walls (the stud wall) has several holes / incisions which were made for the first-fixings of a shower. I am intending to tile both the walls and the floor.

I have 3 questions:

1. Will the walls be sufficiently waterproof? I suspect not after reading around a bit. Anything I can do at this stage that doesn't involve ripping down what's gone up?

2. What flooring shall I use? Is 18mm WBP ply sufficient? - I'm keen to keep the floor level with the landing, which will be carpeted. Do I need to seal the surface or the edges / joins?

3. Is normal plasterboard sufficient for the remainder of the bathroom, including the sink area?

I'd be grateful for answers to any of these

Many thanks

Simon

 

[Richard C]

Hi all, am new to the forum so wasn't sure where this post would be best placed. Hope here's OK

Tiling would have been better for the specific questions you’ve asked but I’ve also posted on your building work, see below!

I (or at least my buidlers) have split the master bedroom of my victorian terraced to make an upstairs bathroom. To date, the existing floor (18mm-ish pine floorboards), have been taken out. Two walls (the corner where the bath will sit) have been plasterboarded and plastered. I don't think the boards are aqua panel or anything special. One of these walls (the stud wall) has several holes / incisions which were made for the first-fixings of a shower. I am intending to tile both the walls and the floor.

Assuming you’re having a w/c in the room, are you aware creating a new room with a w/c is controlled building work? This is subject to several Building Regulation (including sound insulation of any stud walls), BI inspection & possible witness test of waste runs & foul drain connections. You will need a completion/compliance certificate for the work or you could have problems when you come to sell.

Standard plasterboard is pretty useless around a bath unless you tank it but see comments below. You should not plaster any area your going to tile as it reduces permissible tile weight to 20 kg/sqm including >4 kg/sqm for tile adhesive & grout which could be a problem if your planning large format tiles! What size tiles are you having & how much do they weigh?

1. Will the walls be sufficiently waterproof? I suspect not after reading around a bit. Anything I can do at this stage that doesn't involve ripping down what's gone up?

Not if wet areas are involved & you want it to last any length of time.

2. What flooring shall I use? Is 18mm WBP ply sufficient? - I'm keen to keep the floor level with the landing, which will be carpeted. Do I need to seal the surface or the edges / joins?

In many cases 18mm can be sufficient for light use low load areas such as bath/shower rooms but it really depends on floor construction; The actual thickness you need will depend on your joist size/pitch/span.

3. Is normal plasterboard sufficient for the remainder of the bathroom, including the sink area?

Even dry areas in a bath/shower room should really use Moisture Resistant plasterboard not standard wallboard. You can use PB in wet areas but you must tank it if you want it to last & if you need to plaster ½ tiled areas, MR PB must be primed first. In wet areas, you’d do much better to use a decent water proof tile backer board (Aquapanel or similar) & the cost difference is minimal once you factor in the cost of tanking.

For the tiling aspect; it isn’t rocket science but there are still many things that can catch you out & suspended timber floors need special consideration. Walls can also catch you out regarding maximum tile weights, prep & materials. I would advise you read the Tiling Sticky & Forum Archive posts before doing any more work or buying materials, it could prevent you making disastrous & potentially expensive mistakes. You can post more info on here for step-by-step advice once you decide the type & size tiles you will be laying. It’s also important to use only quality trade tilling materials of the correct type for your tiles & tile base; cheapo own brand & DIY stuff is mostly crap.