Shower question

kev_pecker

Afternoon,

I have a question about some work I have just had carried out. I had a plumber in to run the pipe work, hide it behind a stud wall and fit the shower tray. I am going to tile and then he's going to fit the enclosure.

I thought he would build the stud wall then butt the shower tray up against it but he's put the tray in place then put the stud wall in afterwards, meaning the green plasterboard overhangs the tray. Does this matter?

Also it is a stone resin tray, the instructions say it should have a sand and cement base under it, but I'm pretty sure he's just stuck it to the floorboards, does this matter?

Many thanks in advance.:beer:

MisterBaxter

I personally would have built the stud wall using tile backer cement board, installed the tray up to the boards and then tiled so that the tiles form an overlap. If water did get under the tiles in the future the plasterboard will be sitting in water and will rot away.

The instructions for stone resin tray state that they should be installed using sand/cement but it isn't uncommon for them to be stuck down with a builders adhesive or even silicone and they seem to stay in place. I think the floor would need more preparation to use sand/cement on timber floorboards. Again I used a cement board as a base as it is water resistant and you can use sand/cement with that.

Before you do any tiling make sure that everything is good and solid and that there is no movement as it will only result in leaks later on.

EssexExile

We have a corner shower tray with an upstand to go behind the tiles. The corner of the room isn't square (of course) so I cut the plasterboard off above the tray & recessed the tray into the wall. Sounds like that's what your man has done. Ours has been in place for about ten years with no problems.

BoxerfanUK

Stud wall first, butt shower tray up to stud wall, seal, tile down to tray and seal again. Sticking down will be fine no need for sand/cement. If it's in a corner which is slightly out of square the tile thickness should cover any part where the gap is slightly wider between stud wall and tray.

BoxerfanUK

kev_pecker wrote: »

I thought he would build the stud wall then butt the shower tray up against it but he's put the tray in place then put the stud wall in afterwards, meaning the green plasterboard overhangs the tray. Does this matter?

Just a thought, but if the p' board overhangs the tray, when you then tile and go to fit the enclosure frame to the tiled wall is there enough adjustable tolerance on the enclosure frame for it to fit without overhanging the outer edges of the shower tray?


I say this because when I did my corner enclosure although it was a perfect fit if I had done the same as you the enc' frame would have overhung the tray all along the outer edge, which would have been a disaster.

kev_pecker

BoxerfanUK wrote: »

Just a thought, but if the p' board overhangs the tray, when you then tile and go to fit the enclosure frame to the tiled wall is there enough adjustable tolerance on the enclosure frame for it to fit without overhanging the outer edges of the shower tray?


I say this because when I did my corner enclosure although it was a perfect fit if I had done the same as you the enc' frame would have overhung the tray all along the outer edge, which would have been a disaster.

Thank you for all your replies.

I hadn't thought of this Boxerfan, I've attatched a photo, it doesn't take up too much of the tray, but it may make the difference!

I've realised one of the water pipes isn't attatched to the wall behind the plasterboard, this means that the concealing plate won't go all the way to the wall. (even after tiling) He also hasn't used the wall mounting brackets that came with the thermostatic bar valve. I shall be giving him a call tmorrow to see what he thinks about the two issues as they'll be easier and cheaper to sort before I tile and seal.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e206/kev_pecker/IMAG1308.jpg

southcoastrgi

that is loads of space taken up, i doubt very much if your door is gonna fit, 5mm each side for addy plus the thickness of your tiles, look what size your door goes down to

EssexExile

He's right! As I said my tray has an upstand to go behind the tiles, I brought the plasterboard down flush with that so the overlap was minimal.

kev_pecker

Thank you people.

The adjustment on the enclosure is only 20mm, I've just measured and the plasterboard protrudes 15mm and the tiles are 6mm, so we're over that already, that's before the adhesive is included.

I'll give him a call tomorrow, he seems like a nice guy and he has done quite a bit of good work for a relative, (including a bathroom with a seperate shower enclousure) so I'll see what he says.

southcoastrgi

that's 26mm EACH side so 52mm overall, only slightly away from your 20mm adjustment

andyhop

Plasterboard behind the tray

Sand and cement is not the next, no is silicone or gripfill etc

Better with a cement based tile adhesive , 1/2 bag will fill all the voids and ensure the tray remains stable and movement free