Tiling on marine ply

Discussion in 'Tilers' Talk' started by Sidney24, Aug 11, 2010.

  1. Sidney24

    Sidney24 New Member

    Hi,
    I am not a professional tiler but i'm doing a job for a good friend who saw my tiling job in my own bathroom and begged me to do a job for him. I told him that i took ages to tile my bathroom because i was being extra careful and planning for ages before i actually cut a tile or laid down the adhesive. he said he didn't mind how long the job took, as he'd been let down by cowboys and wanted the job done correctly.

    Anyway, the tiling job is for a bathroom on the first floor of a residential home for people with learning difficulties. The residents like to splash about in the bath so i thought about waterproofing the floor before i laid the tiles.
    The cowboys had taken up the old floor boards and laid 18 mm ply over the beams (screwed down with 30mm screws here and there - god knows how they didn't hit the pipework underneath...) and they didn't use any noggins so the ply was bending where the plywood pieces met. They attempted to tile straight on this substrate before my friend caught them in time and got rid....
    I used 25mm Marine ply (£50 / 8'x4' sheet!) to re-board the floor. I also bought Wapgum WPS which i'm planning to trowel over the marine ply and the Mapeband tape to waterproof floor and the corners and walls joins as a precaution against water splashed onto the floor.....

    Is the tanking of the marine ply "overkill" for a bathroom floor (which isn't going to be totally immersed in water)? i'm worried about the puddles of water resulting from splashed water ingressing to the ply.....
    Is it ok to tile straight over the liquid tanking mapegum using the flexi bagged addy? Or do i need to prime the ply first? Should i use the tape on the plywood joins or just around the room where the floor meets the walls?

    I really want to do a good solid job but i'm not a professional - i told my friend to get a professional in, especially for this job, but he was practically begging me...he's tried three tilers (two were recommendations from the tile shop) and caught them just in time before they did a bodge job...

    Any help or advice is greatly appreciated
     
  2. Sidney24

    Sidney24 New Member

    PS
    I called the previous tilers "cowboys" because they deserved the label, not because i'm trying to imply that i'm a better tiler. Nor am i trying to denigrate the tiling profession.
    For example, one of the tilers, laid a terrible substrate as i mentioned, the other left his 17 year old son and his mate to do the job and they were clearly clueless (moving the tile on the floor for ages), and the other cowboy started applying adhesive on the old floorboards and plopped a tile on it... they were cowboys, my friend was really unlucky..
     
  3. Team of 99

    Team of 99 New Member

    Sid based on your comments, you do not need any assistance, you are a 'bit' of an expert already!
     
  4. Captain Leaky

    Captain Leaky New Member

    Marine ply is way OTT!

    WBP ply would be fine!
     
  5. Captain Leaky

    Captain Leaky New Member

    It also sounds as if you/the client can't make up your mind if this is a wet room floor or not.

    Either it is a wet room so then you tank it, slope it and have a drain installed or its NOT a wet room in which case tanking etc is pointless.
     
  6. Sidney24

    Sidney24 New Member

    Capt. Leaky and ITWYW, thanks for your replies.

    I suppose i'm caught in two minds, i agreed to do a tiling job which involved a bit of work on making the substrate solid. I was then told that the residents splash alot of water onto the floor and this got me thinking that i should tank the floor because the last thing i want is to receive a phone call that water is leaking into the kitchen below!
    As i said, i only do a bit of DIY for my own house and this is my first 'job' so to speak, i suppose i'm a little anxious about getting it right.

    I realise that i've probably gone too far regarding the marine ply but there's no going back, it's down now. I also bought the Mapegum liquid membrane and the MapeTape and i really want to tape the ply joints and wall/floor joints to have my mind at ease that the floor is waterproof.

    Can i trowel the Mapegum direct onto the ply and then tile over the liquid membrane when it's dry?
    Should i tape over the ply joints as well as the wall/floor joints?
     
  7. tic tic

    tic tic New Member

    since your going for the overkill..

    tape all joints etc..
    use a roller to apply the mapegum 1-2mm up the room then when dry(6hrs +) re-apply 2nd coat across the room leave to dry again,then use keraflex for tiling.

    mapegum,as i remember is for light traffic areas,check the spec for it mate.
     
  8. Sidney24

    Sidney24 New Member

    Cheers tic tic. I'll be working on it over the weekend and let you guys know how i get on with my first tanking job!
    I'm wondering whether i should tape around the radiator/water pipes too. If i tape up the corners and the joins of ply, the only holes left where water can possibly pass through to the kitchen below is around the radiator and water copper pipes. Won't the heat from the pipes be a problem? The m.i. of the Mapegum doesn't say anything about heat...
     
  9. Kinger

    Kinger New Member

    you really need to watch holmes on homes on discovery mate - seriously, loads of stuff to help you there.
     
  10. G Brown

    G Brown New Member

    I think you are still confused about the wet room/ tiled room scenario!
     

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