Fitting a bathroom mirror on bowed wall? Plus a quick tiling question.

Discussion in 'Tilers' Talk' started by tarquinkrikery, Jul 17, 2014.

  1. tarquinkrikery

    tarquinkrikery New Member

    Hi all,

    First post so please be kind lol :)

    I've just moved into a new house (new build) but due to the progress of the build when we purchased it, we were unable to spec full floor to ceiling tiling. It had already be tiled the standard 3 tiles above the bath.

    I'm going to be tiling the walls full height so I can install a shower over the bath for guest to use (as presently the only shower in the house is in my en-suite - not ideal for others to use!). I can do the tiling fine - I've done it in the past, but I do have two minor questions.

    1) We want to tile the walls at either end of the bath (it's in an alcove so both ends are 'walled') and along the side of the bath we want to tile up to the ceiling but install a mirror in the middle of the wall above the bath. It's a standard 1700mm bath and we'll have a 1270mm mirror above it with tiles at each end. However when marking out the area for tiling etc, I've noticed that the newly plastered wall is slightly bowed. I.e it projects out in the middle around 3-4mm for an area around 45cm x 45cm smack bang in the middle of the wall! Given that I don't want to have a circus esque mirror to make me look any fatter than I already am, can anyone suggest any good methods for flattening down the wall? i.e more than anything what tool should I be using? Spending ages with a sander? Use a plane?! I'm just looking to determined the quickest easiest way of making the wall entirely flat.

    2) As the walls have been painted, what's the best way of preparing them to be tiled on? I'm assuming it's emulsion (looks and feels like it) but it is in the bathroom so I'm not sure. Should I be using a wire wall/adhesive tape/scrapper/scoring combination and lastly

    3) Do I need to seal the wall with anything after the above prior to tiling? I'm reading/hearing many mixed reviews about using PVA watered down, which is what I've always used in the past...

    thanks for (hopefully) all your help and feedback in advance! :)

    K
     
  2. tarquinkrikery

    tarquinkrikery New Member

  3. DIYDave.

    DIYDave. Screwfix Select

    Hi there, I would suggest;

    1. Use a long straight edge and roughly mark with pencil the high areas. Use an old wide chisel and some pressure and scrape over the high areas, building up some momentum. Sanding will take too long. Check the high spots and mark again. The wall doesn't need to be 100% flat as you can even out with tile adhesive. Don't worry about getting the flattened area too pretty looking either, just remove the highest areas and brush down to remove all loose material

    2. I would score the walls all over in a big criss cross pattern, right through the paint and into the plaster. Again give a good brush down and then wipe over with a damp rag to remove all loose material. Is this matt emulsion by the way or hopefully not silk or a bathroom/kitchen paint ?
    If it has a shiny surface that feels like plastic I'm not sure if this is good to tile on, I think the tile adhesive can cause the paint to blister but someone may have more info on this

    3. Stand well back and wait for the PVA debate to begin again. I think last time this subject was raised it ran to 7 pages of debate
    Generally suggested that PVA is not used in conjunction with tiles so don't be tempted ok

    4. Yep the mirror adhesive looks fine, a decent brand, follow manufacturers instructions and use plenty, don't scrimp. The vertical weight of the mirror will be supported by the tiles anyway (score this area of wall also)

    5. Especially as tiling in a wet area use good quality materials, generally considered to be a separate tile adhesive and powdered grout (both waterproof) not an all in ready mixed bucket that promises to do both jobs in one

    5. Are you prepared for all that condensation that is gonna form on the mirror ?
     
    tarquinkrikery likes this.
  4. tarquinkrikery

    tarquinkrikery New Member

    Hi DIYDave

    First, thanks off for replying with real helpful info.

    1) Good stuff - I'll go with that and hopefully get it as flat as possible. I'll purchase a bigger chisel on the way home!

    2) Cool, that sounds a lot easier than sanding and/or wire brushing for hours! It doesn't look shiny at all, I think I've gotten off lightly as it's a new build so they've probably just skimped by using a matt emulsion - it looks that way anyway!

    3) Lol! Hopefully no massive debate - I've had a look online and Primer G seems to be regarded reasonably highly so hopefully that will be ok?!

    4) Glad it looks ok, I'll buy more than I need - I can always return it if not used!

    5) I had already bought a combined pre mixed lot. And then realised (thankfully before any tiling) that I've got porcelain tiles from porcelanosa - hadn't put two and two together! lol. So that's going back and I'm gonna get some Mapei Keraquick on the way home as this looks like it'll do the trick :)

    6) That's what the Mrs is for..... I do the building she can do the cleaning :) Well that's the idea, strangely it never seems to work that way! :/ lol

    Cheers again
     
  5. StevieSteve

    StevieSteve Member

    Some good advice from Dave above.
    I use BAL Prime when priming, it dries quicker than Primer G.
    You'll find that the grout & adhesive is water resistant, not waterproof, I always use tanking when doing a shower area.
     

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