Tiling over painted plaster

[Robin66]

Hi, I want to create a feature wall in my living room. The walls are currently smooth plaster painted white, all in good condition, approx 6 years old. I was aiming to tile over with white Cararra split face tiles, so quite weighty. Is this doable, and what's the best approach? My online research has led me to some heated discussions so not sure what to believe. Obviously being in the living room the wall will not be exposure to moisture.

Any advice appreciated.

Robin

 

[gregers]

wouldve thought just keying up the area to be tiles and then using a correct 'pva' sealing solution on the wall shouldnt cause a problem.

 

[AdamCH]

wouldve thought just keying up the area to be tiles and then using a correct 'pva' sealing solution on the wall shouldnt cause a problem.

Seriously or are you having a laugh?

 

[Robin66]

This is exactly what I was talking about. The other forums descended into an argument about whether PVA sealer should be used or not

 

[AdamCH]

Were the "PVA's okay" arguments based on it being a dry area? Even so why use PVA when you can use the sealer recommended for the adhesive you use?

Apart from PVA (don't use it) you're other concern will be the weight bearing limit of the plaster and you're ability to remove the paint - tiles stuck to a painted surface are only bonded as strongly as the paint is stuck to the wall & the paint may dissolve under the adhesive.

 

[Robin66]

Some were saying PVA would help adhesion, others were saying it would inhibit it... chalk and cheese. The argument was regardless of dry or wet environment.

I have an SDS drill so I could start to disrupt the plaster surface sufficiently to provide a good key, and if it's coming off easily I could even cut it all back to the render. I'd imagine to do the 6m^2 wall would take a day, but the mess would be unholy so I was hoping to avoid it if possible.

 

[Nozzle]

Angle grinder, wire wheel, heavy gloves, get going. Job done!

Nozzle

 

[Robin66]

Wouldn't a grinder with a wire wheel make even more mess than an SDS chisel? At least with the latter it's going to come off in chunks rather than the whole lot being dust

 

[AdamCH]

Yes, don't use an angle grinder on plaster / brick indoors. An SDS chisel will make very short work of plaster. If it's blown then it will pull off by hand or with a shovel slipped behind it.

Once it's off you could line with plasterboard (don't skim) as long as the tiles + adhesive are <32kg m2 or cement board (Hardiebacker etc) if they're heavier. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for fixing hardie.

 

[Robin66]

The tiles are the faux slate ones which are quite heavy. The walls are breeze block, with a layer of cement render, and then plaster over the top (I know this from cutting a channel for a light switch). I was thinking about just removing the plaster if possible and tiling onto the render. This way I'd reduce the amount of material coming off and wouldn't need to prepare the wall in any way before tiling. What do you think?

 

[AdamCH]

Tiling onto cement render should be good.

 

[gregers]

wouldve thought just keying up the area to be tiles and then using a correct 'pva' sealing solution on the wall shouldnt cause a problem.

Seriously or are you having a laugh?

clearly i aint,otherwise i wouldve put a smiley on the end

peeps have been doing this for an age without any problems,i think its only in the last few years that research has SUGGESTED this is infact wrong????
now why do you think that,research by a product maker saying that another product doesnt work
ive done this over the years without any problems what so ever,so i will continue doing so.

 

[Robin66]

So, last night I put the SDS chisel to the wall to see how easily the plaster could be removed (leaving the render intact). I was so surprised at how easy it was I got stuck in and removed the plaster from half of the wall in an hour, although it took another 90 mins to clear up. I'll finish it off tonight. The exposed render is very firm and an excellent key so I think it'll be a good job, albeit a little messy.

thanks for the advice guys

 

[AdamCH]

peeps have been doing this for an age without any problems,i think its only in the last few years that research has SUGGESTED this is infact wrong????
now why do you think that,research by a product maker saying that another product doesnt work
ive done this over the years without any problems what so ever,so i will continue doing so.

World's full of builders who "always do it that way and never have a problem".