Hi Everyone,

I'll soon be beginning my first floor and wall tiling job in my bathroom. I had my heart set on natural stone but it only recently that I have learnt a little about maximum loads to be applied to different surfaces.

My walls are largely plasterboard that have been skimmed with finishing plaster and I understand that the maximum recommended load is 20kg per square metre. I don't know how much my preferred tiles weigh but they are 12mm travertine. I spoke to the potential supplier today (who are reputable) and they checked with a couple of their professional tilers who suggested that aslong as I applied BAL SDR to either the bare plaster or painted plaster that I would be fine. In the case of the walls they suggested only tiling the first metre on day one and then finished the rest on day two to give them time to set.

I have also heard of BAL ADR (?) Will either of these products help me achieve my objective of using the 12mm travertine? I hope so. I just can;t find anything else I want to use for this particular project.

I also know that natural stone is probably not the best choice for my first project (!) but once I get an idea in my head......

I've looked at tile saws for this job. I'd prefer to buy rather than hire but my budget is not infinite. I've seen the Rubi ND180 and the Virtex QEP Pro 740 on a certain website. Could someone please let me know if either of these saws is suitable for the job. If so, I would appreciate any recommendations. If not, what else should I consider for a similar budget?

So many questions..... and I have so many more!

Any help would be really appreciated. Fantastic site by the way.

Thank you.

Hi Beags

I am sorry to say that the 12mm Travertine will be too heavy for the skimmed walls. However, all is not lost. If you can fit some tile backer boards (Aqua Panel, Hardibacker) then they will hold the weight of the travertine

Originally Posted by matt257

Hi Beags

I am sorry to say that the 12mm Travertine will be too heavy for the skimmed walls. However, all is not lost. If you can fit some tile backer boards (Aqua Panel, Hardibacker) then they will hold the weight of the travertine

how do you fix hardibacker or aqua panel to a skimmed wall? is it plug and screw?

You would want to screw the boards to the wall if you wanted them to be able take more weight, if you just glued them on then it would add to the weight of the covering, but if you can you want to screw through the studs, not just into the plasterboard. The cutters you mentioned would both be fine for this job. If you wanted to be really safe and you have your heart set on having the stone on the walls, you could take the plasterboard off the wall and replace with new stuff with out any plaster. then your max weight would go up to 32kg per m2.

Originally Posted by Dylante

If you wanted to be really safe and you have your heart set on having the stone on the walls, you could take the plasterboard off the wall and replace with new stuff with out any plaster. then your max weight would go up to 32kg per m2.

I'd suggest that it will still be very close if not over the 32kg weight limit for plasterboard. I would personally choose to use a tile backer board, that gives you approx 50kg per m2.

I would take the plasterboard off and screw a tile backer board in place instead.

as Matt from me

Agreed

Hi,

Thank you all for your thoughts. Not what I wanted to hear but what I suspected. I guess I was really hoping that someone would tell me if I used one of the BAL products then I'd be ok.... what the worst that could happen?!

I could strip the plasterboard off but I just don't know what I'm going to find (1890's victorian terrace). I've been on a 10 week plastering course and have done some dot and dab work around the house. If I went for plasterboard (because the hardibacker is going to be beyond my budget) would I definitely need to screw the boards to the wall our could I use the dot and dab adhesive? (can't remember the exact name of the stuff now). The reason I ask is that screwing, I presume, invloves rawl plugs given I expect there to be just only brickwork behind? This to me sounds like a fairly big/long job (and the good lady is already not happy about the prospect of the bathroom being out of action as it is!)

My reluctant second choice would be polished porcelain. I don't yet have a specific tile in mind but wondered if there was a rule of thumb for weight of porcelain for a given thickness of tile. Will it be light enough for my walls in their current state or I am absolutely limited to ceramic?

Anyone know of any good mid value polished porcelian suppliers... thinking £20-40 sq metre? I've looked all over... B&Q, Wickes, Homebase, Topps, Tile Giant, local stores but can't find what I'm after. I want a square tile for the floor. Probably 400 x 400ish and a 600 x 400 for the walls.

Final question (for now) - will the saws I've mentioned in my first note be suitable for porcelain and for tiles of this size?

Once again, any help would be really appreciated.

Thank you

Originally Posted by Beags

Hi,

Thank you all for your thoughts. Not what I wanted to hear but what I suspected. I guess I was really hoping that someone would tell me if I used one of the BAL products then I'd be ok.... what the worst that could happen?!

My reluctant second choice would be polished porcelain. I don't yet have a specific tile in mind but wondered if there was a rule of thumb for weight of porcelain for a given thickness of tile. Will it be light enough for my walls in their current state or I am absolutely limited to ceramic?

No matter what make/type of adhesive you use, it will not strengthen the wall and it still won't be able to take the weight

Polished porcelain will definitely be too heavy for skimmed walls. It would also be close to the 32kg weight limit of plasterboard. It would depend on thickness of the tile.