plywood in bathroom

[Matthew77]

Hi all

I've been asked to tile in a domestic bathroom onto some plywood boxing that covers the shower & hot & cold water pipes above the bath (1800 by 750) , also the toilet is mounted on the wall instead of floor standing and a section of this is boxed in plywood (1000 by 1700) & the bath panel needs tiling too, plywood again. Plywood is probably not the best thing to make boxing out of in a bathroom as if the moisture gets to it it will warp & expand, but as it's already done will it be fine to prime it with Bal APD And then use both waterproof flexy addy & waterproof grout. would that be enough to stop the moisture getting to the timber?

Thanks in advance

Matthew

[Captain Slow]

Hi Matthew,

I recently had to tile a wet room which had 3 newly plastered walls and one complete ply wall where all sanitary was to be fixed. Like you, I was nervous of trusting the ply for the long term, so I advised customer that he should have all areas tanked. I used Ardex WPC (other brands are available), which only took half a day to apply, and sealed everything. It's dead easy to tile onto and gives you total peace of mind.

It may worth suggesting tanking to your customer; also means you can charge a bit more.

Good luck,

Daz

[Dave]

If these area's are going to be submitted to a lot of wetting then it deffo needs some sort of tanking....i use schluters kerdi mat from CTD............

[pjc]

plywood bath panel is not a good idea plaster board or backer board

[sWe]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but am I to understand that tanking isn't mandatory in all wetrooms in the UK? Am I also to understand that using organic substrates in British wetrooms won't cost you your license?

[Dave]

Originally Posted by sWe

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but am I to understand that tanking isn't mandatory in all wetrooms in the UK? Am I also to understand that using organic substrates in British wetrooms won't cost you your license?

Wetrooms need tanking yes!!...but this job in question is just a bathroom with plywood boxings...etc...

[sWe]

Originally Posted by Dave

Wetrooms need tanking yes!!...but this job in question is just a bathroom with plywood boxings...etc...

I'm sorry, but I'm not sure how to interpret that, so I'll have to ask a question which is probably stupid in order to get some clarity; Are bathrooms always defined as wetrooms in Britain, or is there leeway? Over here the difinition is fairly rigid. Essentially, if there is more than a faucet from which you can get water, it's a wetroom, and it's mandatory to tank it. If you don't, you get your arse kicked in a nonliteral manner.

[whitebeam]

Originally Posted by sWe

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but am I to understand that tanking isn't mandatory in all wetrooms in the UK? Am I also to understand that using organic substrates in British wetrooms won't cost you your license?

Hi sWe, No tanking is'nt mandatory just advice from the tiler if the customer dos'nt want the expence they don't have it. Sorry you've lost me on the organic thing (wood is used nearly all the time on jobs) and the licence, Your'll have to explain that one for me, It may be I have missed somethink in a previous post.

[sWe]

Originally Posted by whitebeam

Hi sWe, No tanking is'nt mandatory just advice from the tiler if the customer dos'nt want the expence they don't have it. Sorry you've lost me on the organic thing (wood is used nearly all the time on jobs) and the licence, Your'll have to explain that one for me, It may be I have missed somethink in a previous post.

'Tis ok mate, what I meant was that organic materials, most commonly wood or wood based materials, are prone to either warping and expanding, or becoming hot beds for mold, or both, if they're damp for long enough, which, of course, isn't good for the house mojo.

As for licences: I don't know about you brits, but Swedes looove their licenses, for good and ill. Pretty much every profession which requires some sort of skill over here, comes with a license, or some other sort of certification, without which it's nigh on impossible to get hired by a serious employer. Tilers are not exempt. You wouldn't believe the troves of regulations which follow pretty much all manual professions over here. They leave very little to chance. Of course there's alot of cheating and skimping, just like everywhere else, but serious craftsmen stick by them, as they tend to be sound.

Anyways... In order to be certified as a tiler in Sweden, you need about three years hands-on experience as an apprentice, the paperwork to prove it (three years registered down to the hour, signed and verified by an employer who's registered with the Swedish "Construction Ceramics Federation"...), as well as passing grades on a course on what you refer to as tanking. Without such a certificate over here, no serious employer would even look in your direction, for insurance and liability reasons.
Once you have it, you can lose it, if you screw up too bad, too often. There are inspectors...

There you go, a glimpse of my perspective

Cheers.

[Pawelzik]

If you might take a look over your cup´s rim: Check at www.oxiegen.de the water resistant folio BIBER BD 20 SK (or ask via eMail), this folio is like Schlueter´s Kerdi but self-adhesive on the backside and also a bit decoupling vs. the wood´s work. Install it on the plywood and tile on it direct with a S1 flexi adhesive. Cheers from Germany, Martin

[Matthew77]

thanks all

I realise that timber is not ideal but its already been done & I doubt very much that the customer is going to pay me to rip it all out and replace it with something more suitable, I also doubt they will go for tanking either as they wern't even keen on my idea to remove the paint before tiling, but I will be suggesting that moisture might well get into the timber & warp it if it's not tanked or sealed properly...so was wondering if the customer just wants primer, water proof addy & grout will this be ok in most domestic bathroom siuations? Has anyone done alot of this and not had any problems?

thanks

Mapeigum and mira tape.....works everytime, check them out on google...........tanking systems do not have to be difficult, you have the wife for that!

p.s you can only guarentee this job if its tanked!
good luck

p.p.s ive done it alot,alot,alot

p.p.p.s the next time you get an oppertuinty get some ply...trowel on some "spare" adhesive and stick in some off cuts...wait for it to dry and flex the ply.....
you will see that ply is not as good as everyone thought!