Hi all, Hoping you can help - I have had a couple of walls replastered and need to tile the corner for a shower cubicle. Firstly, how long do I need to wait for the plaster to set before I tile? I read that you can do it alot sooner than if you were just painting. Also, I would normally seal fresh plaster with diluted PVA but I read a few posts back that you shouldn't use PVA under tile adhesive coz of the coating it leaves behind? Can I use just BAL primer before the adhesive? Is that enough? Thanks alot, Nix
I`d just stick the tiles on Nix.Though I would key the plaster with sand paper.I normally tell customers to leave fresh plaster for a week if painting then to apply a thinned out undercoat.They all nod but as soon as it looks dry the paint is on the wall!
Hi Nix, If you are unsure, then do a very diluted mix of pva and apply all over the walls, leave till nearly dry then apply your adhesive and tile as normal. This usually slows down the absorption rate of the plaster and will allow you to tile with no problems. Regards
PVA isn't always suitable, depends on your adhesive, seal prime as reccomender by adhesive maker as the plaster will suck the moisture out too fast, see this post. http://www.screwfix.com/talk/thread.jspa?threadID=8899&tstart=45 Jason
Prime it first, BAL prime APD is perfect for this, it's what it's designed for. Just follow instructions on the back of the bottle as far as dilution is concerned. Not priming the surface will lead to too much moisture being pulled from the adhesive too quickly. This create havoc with the final bond strength. Plus using the primer gives you much more adjustment time for the tiles. Mudster
I checked out this question on these forums last night to find I should prime the new plaster before tiling. I went to the local trade tile shop today to ask for a suitable primer, the assistant asked their expert who tried to sell me BAL Bond. I remembered Mudster's advice and bought BAL Prime APD instead, it was next to the other product on the shelf. Having checked the product guides online, BAL Bond would be OK but APD is made for new plaster. So once again, better advice is available here than from experts at trade or retail outlets. The guide suggests 4 weeks drying for new plaster before tiling; are they just being over-cautious? The areas I'll be tiling will mostly have just been skimmed and I can't afford to wait more than one week. Should I be OK to prime then tile after 7 days?
Plasterer friend of mine says 5-7 days for tile if just a skim, as long as it looks dry. But must be primed as per Mr Mudsters post.
Thanks for that. I was keen to get the kitchen tiles in before sparks 2nd fix. I should have enough time.