Shower floor to be tiled and sloped

[fabgav]

Hi all, sorry for asking this question as after searching I can see there are allot of simular questions but none that quite answer mine.

I'm building a 'wetroom' shower are in my bathroom upstairs and so it is on a suspended/beamed wooden floor.
Below is a diagram of what i'm trying to do.

Untitled

• fabgav
• 7 Sep 2010
• 1

I want to create a slope on the chipboard base that I can then put a waterproof membrane (rubber and paint type) on and then tile on top of that.
I don't want to increase the height of the overall floor really and so with the chipboard being level with the joists I have the original floorboard height (18 and a couple more mm for grout etc to play with.

I've seem the systems from america where they use mud base then membrane then another mud base then tile but I don't have the depth for this.

My main problem is I can figure out how best to create the slope required.
I know you can be pre-formed trays for ttillingonto however these all have a plug hole in tthem whichi ddon'twant nor need.
As you can tell from the diagram i want to to run off towards the drain area and not actually have a plug hole in it itself.

Does anyone know of a product like this?

Or can i just use a mix and lay it onto the chipboard and create the slope i need and then waterproof it all as you would with any wet room type?

If i can do this, what mix should i use?

Thanks for any advice pointers etc.
Ta

 

[mointainwalker]

I'm not a tiler but I don't think tile-cement will stick to rubber.

You do seem to like to do things differently, but is there any reason not to follow normal practice and waterproof the floor and then lay screed on top ?

What is "mud" in this context ?

The way I created my slope was to chuck down a few dollops of mortar at front and back of slope, use level to get slope required and then fill in between the dollops keeping the angle desired.

What size area in total ?

 

[fabgav]

Mud being an American term sorry.
What is the normal practice way then?
Waterproof the wood and then create the slope with tile adhesive?

Not sure of total area size off top of head is say 2m sq

 

[Richard C]

Forget the chipboard; in no possible way is it a suitable material for forming a wet room floor, it’s not even suitable for flooring IMO. If you really want to fabricate your own floor, you must use WBP ply & then tank it. You can’t just tile straight onto it either; unless it’s one of the very expensive epoxy products, water proof adhesive & grout is only waterproof in the sense it won’t fail when wet, it will still absorb water, hence the need for tanking in wet rooms to avoid wter getting through to the substrate. You’d do much better to use pre-formed wet room decking now widely available; here’s just a couple of examples:
http://www.diywetroom.com/products2.htm
http://www.riverbed.ltd.uk/products.htm

Google "wet room floors" for many others.

The decking/tray must also be rigid or your tiles will fail & sometimes it’s necessary to upgrade the floor joists to provide additional support. Nominal thickness for a full thick bed tile adhesive is around 4-6mm, you can go up to 12mm to level out locally but do not attempt to form the slope with tile adhesive, it will fail. Use a quality trade flexible powder cement based adhesive & flexible grout of the correct type for your tiles; do not use cheapo DIY products.

I would also advise you do a bit more research before strating or your project could be doomed to an early & expensive failure

 

[fabgav]

Cheers rich, can I just point out that I've been researching for a month now hence why room still not finished and misus getting rather impatient lol

I can't find a preformed tray that suits what i need with regards to ot beong a slope only and not havin a rreformed drain hole in it.

In basic terms what i want to do is creat a slope on substrate then i will membrane said slope then tile onto said membrane. I kust cant fogure out hows best too creat this slope?

 

[Richard C]

can I just point out that I've been researching for a month now hence why room still not finished and misus getting rather impatient lol I can't find a preformed tray that suits what i need with regards to ot beong a slope only and not havin a rreformed drain hole in it.

From your questions in general & looking at your sketch, I was more referring to tiling methods & use of suitable products/materials in general rather than locating specific wet room products.

Just an observation but it maybe worth changing your design to suit what is easily available rather than complicating things with a bespoke design; why reinvent the wheel! One of the links I posted does offer a custom design service but taking such a route is never cheap. Otherwise it's a question of creating your own deck form from WBP ply over a timber support structure but it must be rigid & the whole floor area & walls tanked out before tiling if it’s to last. Loose the chipboard; it’s not suitable either as a wet room floor or as a tile base.

 

[fabgav]

Lol about the reinventing the wheel
Cheers for your advice rich ill go back two the drawing board I reckon

 

[fabgav]

Sorry to bring up an old thread but want to clear a few questions up

I have 2 basic questions.

1. Can i put a concrete slope/screed onto a wooden base, wether it be ply/chip/floorboards etc etc

2. After i have (if possible) done the slope can i then tile directly onto the concrete screed or would i have to waterproof it with BAL or like.

thanks

 

[mnb]

You could do no better than google michael byrne or john bridge if you insist on constructing your shower base this way.

As a matter of interest, johnbridge.com is the best and friendliest DIY site on the web - IMHO

 

[Richard C]

1. Can i put a concrete slope/screed onto a wooden base, wether it be ply/chip/floorboards etc etc

No; apart from the additional weight factor, conventional screeds can’t be used much less than 50mm thick or it’ll crack & it’ll do that anyway at the slightest hint of movement.

2. After i have (if possible) done the slope can i then tile directly onto the concrete screed or would i have to waterproof it with BAL or like.

If you did this, say, on a concrete floor, you would still tank it with either WP1 or a tanking membrane.