DIY Related: Waterproof adhesive / Tanking??

[Jane S]

Hi all,

I am hoping someone can offer me their advice?!

My husband and I are currently renovating our house and we are now at the stage where every wall and ceiling has been plastered (phew finally). Over the next few weeks we will be fitting and tiling our corner shower cubical (tiling floor to ceiling inside the shower cubical only) on newly plastered bathroom walls.

My question is, if we use waterproof adhesive to stick the tiles do we still need to tank the shower area with a shower waterproofing kit (Dunlop??) or will waterproof tile adhesive be sufficient on its own? We were going to just use waterproof adhesive but when I started to look up tips on tiling a few posts mentioned tanking. I cant work out whether I can use the shower waterproofing kit on walls that have been plastered?! Sorry if that sounds silly… I am a newbie at DIY.

Any advise you can offer would be much appreciated!

Thanks v much!

Jane

[Dave]

Hi Jane and welcome..

The adhesive will be water resistant and not water proof.. If you want a water tight installation then yes use a tanking paste or membrane..

PHG wetrooms on the left of the page do great prices on either Aqua defence or Mapei mapegum...

[Tomtiler]

As above better tanking to be sure its water tight when using the tanking were gloves and full overalls it gets messy

[Dave]

As above better tanking to be sure its water tight when using the tanking were gloves and full overalls it gets messy

Isn't it supposed to go on the walls and not you Tom..

[Tomtiler]

last time i used it was a big shower room and i think i got more in my hair than i did on the walls

[davemul]

yup as the guys above say.... use mapei mapegum. Pant on a couple of coats.

you will need to prime the newly plastered walls that you will be tanking though.

use primer g also by mapei. Screwfix sell it for about 8 quid

[whitebeam]

What tiles are you fixing to the walls Jane..

[Jane S]

Thank you so much for your replys. I think we will be wise to tank the shower before we tile.
Noted on wearing gloves and overalls.

The tiles are ceramic 30x40 tiles. We are also going to do a boarder of blue glass mosaic tiles.

Thanks again for everyones help. :-)

[Bri]

Morning Jane, for tiles that big I would be using a powdered, cement based adhesive (I use it for everything anyway) and not a ready mixed tubbed adhesive as it isn't really suitable for tiles of that size.

[Jane S]

Hi Brian
Is the powdered cement based adhesive easy to use bearing in mind that i have never tiled before. Also, why do you think this is more suitable for the larger tiles than ready mixed tubbed adhesive? Just so that i can explain it to hubby :-)
Thanks
Jane

[davemul]

Jane its just as easy to use as tubbed.. just requires mixing. If your husband has a drill, then a simple drill mixer bit from screwfix for about £7 will do the job

the packets have mixing instructions on them. Just get the water/powder ratio correct and all will be fine

It will be water in bucket first, then add powder and mix slowly till a lump free paste. Then leave for 5 mins. Give another slow mix and youre ready to use

I was dubious at first but its as easy as peas now!

tubbed adhesive relies on water to evaporate to dry

powdered adhesive is cement based, so MUCH more reliable and quicker to set

Mapei keraflex is what I use its so easy to apply

good luck!

[Jane S]

Excellent! Thanks for explaining that Davemul!

Jane

[TheWrightTiler]

if not sure of your speed jane id use mapei p9 as got a great working time to it, it also a powdered adhesive so sets chemically rather by air dispersion which is what a tubbed adhesive does, mapei is a great adhesive and so is their tanking kit

use a suitable trowel and your good to go, mix up small amounts at a time and work to this as a guide one 20kg bag will cover roughly 5m2 dependant on trowel bed thickness, the tanking kit will cover a basic sized shower area, always always tank, better to be over cautious than sorry further down the line

remember thought that new plaster takes time to dry completely, i was told once 4 - 6 weeks, i might be wrong maybe someone can advise better

also tubbed adhesive as stated dries through the dispersion of air to harden the paste and has a max bed thickness of 3mm so if your walls are out and they will be as no wall is ever plumb you would have to go thicker on the paste and this in effect would take ages to dry, if it ever does, bearing in mind that you shouldnt grout till adhesive is set.

with powder it dries by chemical reaction a bit lik concrete, trying to keep it simple here lol, most adhesives set in 2 hours and can therefore be grouted the same day and in the case of p9 its 24 hours as its a slow setting adhesive which enables the less efficient tiler time to remove an out of place tile and realign before it cures completly, it also allows for a slightly thicker bed of adhesive for out of plumb walls.

i would also make sure that no grout is placed in the internal corners as this area is used for expansion joints and should be siliconed, mapei do 26 colours to match their grouts so its not even noticable, i would if it were me seal my grout used topical sealers as this helps stay of the build up of dead skin and chemicals from shampoos etc that discolor grouts

all the best and any more questions please ask away, we are here to help and advise, as the old saying goes id rather be asked a thousand times than have you do it wrong once

andy

[Jane S]

Hi Andy,

Thank you for your post. We have actually ordered all of our bits (aside from the tanking kit which we will get separately tomorrow from Wickes) from Topps Tiles before i knew about tanking or using a particular type of adhesive so i will have to swap the pre mixed tubbed stuff for the powdered adhesive.

I also need to tile my kitchen above the worktops about 3 tiles high. Will the powdered adhesive be better for that too?
I was going to use waterproof adhesive in the kitchen but do you think it is necessary? Or will normal non water proof be fine?

Jane

[TheWrightTiler]

personally i dont use tubbed stuff, i prefer to work with powder as can grout the same day if finished, the powder will be fine for the splashback, again use it in little batches and you wont go wrong

no powder or tubbed is completely water proof it will be water resistant to a point dependant on the porosity of the tile, thats why certain tiles must be sealed same as the grout, imho topps are very expensive and if i could id use ctd or tile giant or any of the sponsers from this forum who will give you honest impartial advice, topps is i believe at the top end price wise in the retail market and even with a discount you may get the same for less elsewhere

to ease your mind ask one of the moderators for a great tiler in your area who can advise the scope of works and costs, it may seem expensive but if you do it wrong the costs can be huge, a pro will offer a great finish for a lot less than you think and can often source the same tiles and adhesives for a lot less than you could purchase them for somewhat offsetting the expense

cheers

andy

[davemul]

I used tubbed for my kitchen splashbacks.