Hi all,

I am having to prep the walls of a poorly made bathroom extension using Bal quickset render. Once the render is set, is there any need to prime the surface before tiling? If so, is SBR a reasonably good waterproofer? I know it won't be as effective as WP1 or a membrane but the client doesn't want to pay for them!

All answers sincerely appreciated, especially cynical ones

Hi mircat it wont do it any harm to give it a coat of primer and no sbr isnt a substitute for a tanking membrane.if its a shower area you need to tank it out.have a look at wetdecs site there wp matting is good stuff

thanks andy,

I know SBR isn't a tanking solution...but anything is going to be better than what was there before! Trust me, I want to do the job right but the client is ridiculously tight! I know what will happen if I don't tank the shower area...
perhaps i just have to swallow the cost

i respect you wanting to do the job properly but no way would i be swallowing the cost of tanking the shower,if the customer doesnt want it,although i agree tanking is the correct way and its the way forward it doesnt mean if you dont tank that it will get damaged it may well be fine.

if the customer won't pay for it to be tanked,and insists on it being done without i would make him sign a disclaimer,making sure you put in writing that it is not the correct way to do it and he accepts responsibility that you informed him of the correct procedure

mircat being honest only about one in twenty or thirty of my customers go for tanking in domestic houses,i always advise it but if i didnt do the job with no tanking id be out of business already mate,customers decision at the end of the day.

You could try an integral waterproofer mixed with the sand and cement

Kilty's right m8.

Thanks for all the tips guys. Unfortunately, the render has been applied and the tanking decision is firmly out of my hands. Client is a letting agent . Tiling commences tomorrow to complete asap. Just as well, the extension should be torn down and rebuilt so i'm sure the job will last till then.