hey lads. I've been offered a couple of bathroom floors to tile recently but i've shied away from doing it because ive never layed ply or backer board on a floor before. what i want advice about is how do i go about laying ply say to fit round a curved shower, ive read threads describing scribing into odd shapes but im none the wiser about for example cutting accurately a large curve into a large sheet of ply or backerboard. Also is it necessary to fix materials along the joists?? can anyone take me thru the process??

I always have a roll of card in the van, the kind that is used for temporary covering of floors, it's ideal for making a template that you can then transfer onto your hardie/ply overlay

just what i was going to say doug make a template and transfer to ply, cut the ply using a jigsaw with a good blade,seal the underside of the ply to stop moisture penetration.screw down every 200mm then use a bonding agent on the ply leave to dry and start tiling process. hope this makes sense.

It's a doddle Quackfly.

I was the same as you when I started and asked a chippy mate of mine to do a floor for me, it was only 4 sqm. He told me to **** off, so I had a go myself. Sometimes that's all you need!

If you can template tiles for cuts then what's the difference?, it's just on a larger scale...

If using backer boards, the usual process is to fix with flexi addy and then screw at min 300mm centres (pref 200mm). If using ply, then seal underside and edges with primer and screw as above. Check your adhesive for whether you should prime the ply prior to fixing though (example: BAL say there is no need to prime).

I would go for hardibacker. It comes in easy to use sizes, 1200 x 800 if I'm correct, fitting is easy but the cutting is a bit harder. Lay your first board into the corner of the room and follow this line upto the adjacent wall. To start the second row cut one board in half or use the offcut from the first row, this way you will be staggering the joints. Fix as you go at 150 centres or there abouts. !!! check the length of screw so that you don't go through any unseen pipes or cables!!!
When you come to your curve cut a paper template, serate the paper with scissors, press the serated edge to the curve and mark with a pencil, transfer to the hardibacker, and cut out the shape, offer to the area and adjust if required. The same priciple applies to cutting the tiles.
!!! leave about a 2mm gap between the joints of the hardibacker rather than butting them tight to each other!!!
To cut hardibaker you can use their own tungsten scribe, a rough cut saw or even a jigsaw but the blades won't last long using a jigsaw.

thanks for all the help. i was trained to use a sprip of tile to mark round curves and sinks etc. thats why im so worried about trying to mark out a curve on such a large scale, what sort of card do you guys use, havent done transfers using that method before. I know i can be dumb here so i dont have to be in front there

I keep a roll of linning paper in the van

ive seen videos on you tube on how to scribe using a compass but havent seen anything using the card method. Has anyone seen anything like that?

Originally Posted by quackfly

ive seen videos on you tube on how to scribe using a compass but havent seen anything using the card method. Has anyone seen anything like that?

Your'll have to get that one on here mate

YouTube - Easy Fit to Irregular Surfaces Carpentry Tip

first attempt at doing this hope people can view.

He made a fair point for the compass

Originally Posted by theyomper

I would go for hardibacker. It comes in easy to use sizes, 1200 x 800 if I'm correct, fitting is easy but the cutting is a bit harder. Lay your first board into the corner of the room and follow this line upto the adjacent wall. To start the second row cut one board in half or use the offcut from the first row, this way you will be staggering the joints. Fix as you go at 150 centres or there abouts. !!! check the length of screw so that you don't go through any unseen pipes or cables!!!
When you come to your curve cut a paper template, serate the paper with scissors, press the serated edge to the curve and mark with a pencil, transfer to the hardibacker, and cut out the shape, offer to the area and adjust if required. The same priciple applies to cutting the tiles.
!!! leave about a 2mm gap between the joints of the hardibacker rather than butting them tight to each other!!!
To cut hardibaker you can use their own tungsten scribe, a rough cut saw or even a jigsaw but the blades won't last long using a jigsaw.

1500 x 900 (for 6mm 250 I think)

Originally Posted by quackfly

YouTube - Easy Fit to Irregular Surfaces Carpentry Tip

first attempt at doing this hope people can view.

great vid, brilliant tip... suppose you can do the same with floor tiles around door frames etc...

thanks

GREAT TIP,I HAD HEARD OF THIS COMPASS METHOD BUT NEVER NEW HOW TO DO IT.Now i know and what a doddle that is. cheers for that.