Wetroom kits and Tiles

twodoctors

Hi all,

Has anyone fitted or have had a wetroom fitted using a kit before? I've been looking online to get a kit for my plumber to fit. Price varies a lot and I personally can't see the reason for the variation in price. I'm looking at ones sold by wetroom-online and one maked by Marmox. Both at a "reasonable" price of around £300-350. Other makes are more expensive and can go up to £500+ for the same (looking) stuff. B&Q charges almost £800 for the same thing. Anyone know what the extra is for?

Also regarding tiling. Is glazed tile in bathroom a big NO-NO? Just want someone to confirm my suspicion, before I have it installed and kill myself slipping on it!

Thanks.

Adrian

tpt

reference the glazed tiles question...

'glazed' is perhaps the wrong question, i would guess your referring to a high gloss finish and if so then yes when wet they can be dangerous. a lot of glazed porcelain or ceramics have a riven finish and its always a balance between ease of cleaning and slip resistance.

At a minimum go for a satin finish with a bit of texture and you should be fine. if your really worried go for a riven finish (like a slate effect).

tpt

forgot to say mosaics are also popular. the extra joints can help with slip resistance

andyhop

Do a search for AKW Tuff 2 Wetroom formers

The Marmox and Wedi are foam trays and require underboarding, traps need cementing in and i always feel that these trays compress slightly

Tuff 2 former requires no underboarding, trap attaches directly to tray, only 22mm deep(Wedi/Marmox 40mm) GRP and very ridgid

You can buy from Wetdecs (search google) for £350ish. I buy from PTS(trade) for less than £280

twodoctors

Thanks for the reply.

Andy can I assume you are a plumber? I thought all of them needs underboarding if laying onto the joist... at least according the installation videos I've seen. I guess if it's 22mm deep I don't need my floor board cut and the tray can just sit on top of the floor board and put marine ply around it and seal etc.

Do you know if the membrane is essential? I see some of the wetroom kit don't include the membrane... I think. The existing floor board is chipboard and the bathroom is upstairs. I probably need to look more into wetroom kit... Thanks.

Adrian

andyhop

twodoctors wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.

Andy can I assume you are a plumber? I thought all of them needs underboarding if laying onto the joist... at least according the installation videos I've seen. I guess if it's 22mm deep I don't need my floor board cut and the tray can just sit on top of the floor board and put marine ply around it and seal etc.

Do you know if the membrane is essential? I see some of the wetroom kit don't include the membrane... I think. The existing floor board is chipboard and the bathroom is upstairs. I probably need to look more into wetroom kit... Thanks.

Adrian

Hi Yes Plumber who installs bathrooms for a living

The Tuff2 former is/was designed for disabled bathrooms and is GRP so is super strong, Can be cut down to within 150mm of waste . Requires no underboard just support edges where fixings points are

Would remove all chipboard and replace with 22/25mm plywood

Tray is water proof but the fixing holes at the edges of the tray must be sealed/tanked

I would generally just tank the whole floor/tray and walls as the Homelux matting is cheap as chips, Add a couple of bags of Mapei Keraquick and you have a solid reliable wetroom thats double tanked and will not fail, remember to use flexi tape for corners/joints

twodoctors

Thanks again Andy.

I'm using an experienced plumber but I am supplying all the material. Our en suite bathroom is leaking so it needs gutting out and start over. The guy before tiled on top of the floorboard it's going to be a big job for my plumber. I thought one is supposed to put ply on top of the floor board anyway before tiling.

In any case, what I THINK I need to do the wetroom are:

-waterproof wall board in place of what is probably plaster used previously
-either marine ply or this waterproof board to go on top of the floor board
-a wet room tray
-tanking tapes for the joints

Do I need to tanking liquid if I use special water-proof boards? Most of the kit comes with tanking liquid for sealing everything else. Some come with some form of liner for the same job. If I need to use those things anyway is there a point in getting special water-proof boards for the walls and floors? I have seen a few wetroom install instruction video on various sites and I guess I am now slightly confused. As I'm being charged per day, I guess I would want my plumber to have an easy time and use something a bit simpler.

Thanks.

Adrian

andyhop

I would find another installer who does this day in day out and can supply what he knows works, This is a recipe for disaster when the homeowner buys what he "thinks" is correct

Overboarding the floor is a big no for me, you want a solid floor and you will not achieve that be overboarding chipboard. You need to screw into existing joists which you cant do when overboarding for fear of hitting pipes and cables so you would end up screwing just into exisitng substrate

Use plasterboard for walls and tank with sheet membrane, search for Homelux wall tanking, Note differences between wall and floor stuff and must be used the right way round!Floor had a fleecy layer which acts as a decoupling membrane for lateral stress(will not resolve a bouncy floor only horizontal flex). Membrane is far superior to paint on rubber kits and has the advantage that it does not require 2 coats and can be tiled on immediatly

twodoctors wrote: »

Thanks again Andy.

I'm using an experienced plumber but I am supplying all the material. Our en suite bathroom is leaking so it needs gutting out and start over. The guy before tiled on top of the floorboard it's going to be a big job for my plumber. I thought one is supposed to put ply on top of the floor board anyway before tiling.

In any case, what I THINK I need to do the wetroom are:

-waterproof wall board in place of what is probably plaster used previously
-either marine ply or this waterproof board to go on top of the floor board
-a wet room tray
-tanking tapes for the joints

Do I need to tanking liquid if I use special water-proof boards? Most of the kit comes with tanking liquid for sealing everything else. Some come with some form of liner for the same job. If I need to use those things anyway is there a point in getting special water-proof boards for the walls and floors? I have seen a few wetroom install instruction video on various sites and I guess I am now slightly confused. As I'm being charged per day, I guess I would want my plumber to have an easy time and use something a bit simpler.

Thanks.

Adrian

twodoctors

Thanks again Andy. You don't happen to live near Nottingham do you?!

I said I would buy the stuff because I know what I want. I was really referring to fixtures and tiles. He will get the pipes and other stuff to make good the bathroom.

I am still reading about it while you were typing and now understand wetroom a bit more. So if I get the membrane it acts as a waterproof barrier and so I don't need to overboard with marine ply or the special boards people sell. Same applies to the wall.

So what is the advantage of using wendi board or marmox board etc? Is it just saving time in terms of sticking a layer of membrane on the plasterboard instead of just screwing in the special board and only needing to tape the joints? Is there any long term benefit?

Once again, thanks Andy!

Adrian

andyhop

No sorry, other end of the country

Find you local CTD www.ctdtiles.co.uk , they will supply you with your adhesive and homelux tanking

You can not tile onto chipboard, If you installer thinks he can show him the door, If he lets you supply the stuff id show you the door!!

Plywood is not a waterproof membrane, Marmox still needs taping joints, Wedi is the same, Both require special fixings and need to be SPF bonded to floor

Easiest and best way

Tuff2 and plywood - Support edges

Plasterboard walls - Square edge board

Tank everything within a 2m area of drain

I know this works and works well, can wishstand a little movement which is well known in Edinburgh Tenements where you may have 5 flats below you. Dont confuse things by using inferior Marmox foam type boards. Hardibacker cement board is not much better and still requires taping

Simples

twodoctors

Thanks Andy.

He's going to buy all the stuff and give me the invoice. I guess what I didn't buy he will sort out. We know you can't tile onto chipboard. This is exactly what the previous owner did (and he's a builder. No wonder according to my neighbours he changed the name of his company every few years!). I'm guessing he didn't waterproof the walls with membrane either, which is why everything is leaking. I asked about special board for walls as I suspect everything will fall apart as soon as my plumber start ripping the room out, except for the floor tiles, which is stuck onto the floorboard. But then he didn't use flexible adhesive and probably didn't use too much of anything either!

I would have left the plasterboard part to him, but reading about these waterproof board, I did wonder whether I should splash out a bit for "potential long term benefit", whatever that may be...

To be honest I am trying to save cost as well, so I am buying the wetroom stuff as other plumbers have quoted a fair bit for the stuff. A "kit" cost between 250-350, but now I realise the kit doesn't come with everything I need.

I'll tank at least half the bathroom (1.7x2.4m), full height on the wetroom side (left) and up to the window sill on the basin/toilet side (right)...

Adrian

PS you sure you don't want a 2-week "holiday" in sunny Nottingham? :-p