Hi, I'm getting a lot of mixed advice and was wondering what the right thing for long lasting tiles. The old tiles have all been removed and trying to arrange the walls for the new tiles. The tiler has said he will tile straight onto the wall, the builder is saying plaster and the electrician is saying dot & dab boards. I'm going to be using 80 x 80 porcelain tiles so was wondering about the weight of the tiles with dot & dab. Please advice as so confused.
If the walls are sound and fairly smooth with no loose material you should be able to prime and tile straight onto them. However, probably better to use backer board, which is fixed to the wall with adhesive and screws.
Thank you for the reply, there's no loose material but there are a few notches here and there. Just looked at the boards, are the 6mm ones OK? Obviously that's the more expensive option but seems to be a secure solution. If I was to fill in the cracks here and there and prime what would you recommend to use?
Forgot to say, use a powdered adhesive and you can also use it as a filler before tiling. Use SBR or acrylic primer (not PVA) on the walls.
Yes, the surface doesn't look too uneven. If not using a backer board it's still a good idea to tank (waterproof) the walls in the shower area.
The other wall where the shower is going was an airing cupboard, so just exposed bricks. Will definitely use a Baker board on that side of the wall. Thanks so much for your help.