Newcomer to the forum - - Tile Advice

[Ian Marsh]

Hi all. I'm an amateur, although I've done quite a bit of tiling in the past with small ceramic tiles, but as I'm redoing a bathroom and using 30 x 60 cm porcelain tiles I thought I would get on the forum and research the process a bit more so that hopefully I don't **** it up !
The job is for myself and I'm retired so not trying to do it in a hurry.
I made a start this morning which was a bit of a disaster. I have unwisely got fastset adhesive (20 kg bags of 'tilechoice') and mixed 10kg of it with the prescribed amount of water, both accurately measured out but the mix turned out much stiffer than I expected and the whole lot became unusable in about 20 minutes plus was a real struggle to apply. I suppose I should have followed my instinct and put more water with it . I'm thinking now to make up another smaller mix, with more water , but maybe wet the aquapanel and tile back as well? Any suggestions would be gratefully received!

 

[Old Mod]

Hi Ian, and welcome to the forum.

You mention Aquapanel, is it in a wet area? (Shower)
If it is, you'd be advised to still tank it, it's not actually waterproof.
It's just uneffected by moisture, meaning that it will stay in tact if it's subjected to wetting.
Best piece of advice I could give about the adhesive, is to stop using it if it's not a financial issue, then invest in a reputable branded slow set adhesive.
Shop around because it differs wildly in price from supplier to supplier.
Check online, there maybe a supplier within easy reach. The better adhesives are worth the extra expense if it's something within your budget.
And just mix enough for a few tiles at a time, until you feel more confident perhaps.
I can assure you there very few tilers on here that will use rapid set on walls.
One other thing, when you've trowled part of the wall, take the flat edge of the trowel and put a thin scrape/coat of adhesive on the back of the tile too, this will increase the bond considerably.
Good luck Ian.

 

[Qwerty]

Welcome Ian. What he said! ^^^^^

 

[Ian Marsh]

Very many thanks for the replies gents. I got the tiles ,from one of the big internet suppliers and just got the adhesive that they supplied, and thinking that a 'pot life' of 60 minutes as stated for the fastset would work ok. I was more concerned about cutting big porcelain tiles but bought a Sigma max series cutter which works a treat, so thought that the rest would be the easy bit!
Yes the aquapanel is in shower area , - I'm doing two bathrooms , one a main bathroom and the other an en suite, both with showers, so I will get a slow set adhesive and start again.
I did read quite a bit about aquapanel/water resistant plasterboard/tanking , and you do get differing opinions of course, so I decided that I would do the aquapanel without tanking , and make every effort to make the tile layer as waterproof as possible, being a bit concerned that tanking tape in the corners , plus the mesh reinforcing as supplied with the aquapanel would make the corners a bit difficult. Anyway I will think about that one too.
Thanks again for the good advice , much appreciated. Ian

 

[Old Mod]

Yes the aquapanel is in shower area ,
I did read quite a bit about aquapanel/water resistant plasterboard/tanking , and you do get differing opinions of course,

Unfortunately the simple fact is Aquapanel is not specifically waterproof.

This is an extract from their own site.

"Resistant to mould and mildew, Knauf Aquapanel Interior will not deteriorate in water. It retains its strength even if fully immersed."



Water resistant.

Adding joint tape in the corners doesn't actually complicate things. Use the back of your trowel to force it in tight and there's minimal build up.
Still think it's safer from a diy perspective to tank the wet areas.
Ardex WPC is simple to use and is/can be rollered on. Because of its distinct colour, it's very visual and it's easy to spot untreated areas.
Having bought a sigma to assist you obviously means you're taking this project seriously, it would be a shame if all your hard work and commitment was in vein just because of ambiguous advertising of a product.
If you do reconsider, don't use the Aquapanel joint tape, use the one that comes with the tanking kit.

 

[Ian Marsh]

Ok, I will do as you recommend and do just the tanking process, and leave out the mesh tape. I understand the thinking with the aquapanel not being specifically waterproof, and thanks very much for coming back on that. The job has been in the planning stage for more than twenty years, plus I really really don't want water to get onto the ceiling below ! Thanks again.