Wet area flooring

[gregt]

Hi all. I'm new to this forum. Looks great.
I am renovating an old state house and have moved onto the bathroom and laundry. It had cracked concrete over rotten floor boards. I have knocked the whole lot out and can see the ground. I was planning to use Aquatite tounge and groove sheets over 90 x 45 h3 beams but am unsure what spacings to have. Also can this stuff be tiled straight over. I also think it is called a different product in the Eastern States so I hope you know what I'm on about.
Regards
GT

[OBBob]

Hi Greg

Not sure what aquatite is but they should be able to give you a brochure with its span requirements. Its probably good to try to keep the joists spaced similar to the existing house.

I guess teh product you ahve is a cement sheet of some sort, in which case tiling on to it should be fine but its a good idea to put a waterproof membrane first anyway or a sealer primer if the memebrane isn't required.

[arms]

. I was planning to use Aquatite tounge and groove sheets over 90 x 45 h3 beams but am unsure what spacings to have. Also can this stuff be tiled straight over. I also think it is called a different product in the Eastern States so I hope you know what I'm on about.
Regards
GT[/quote]

the spacings are directley associated with the thickness of the board e.g 16mm thick 450 mm spacing , 19mm thick 600mm spacing ,
the board has to have a fc sheet fixed to it before tiling as the tiles will seperate from the chipboard :D

[OBBob]

Didn't realise Aquatite was chipboard. You can get special adhesives to tile straight to chipboard ... but I wouldn't risk that in a bathroom.

[silentC]

Why not just use cement sheet? I used it for all of my wet areas. You can tile straight over it and it's not going to fall to bits if it gets wet. Not sure of the regs over there but we were required to apply a waterproof membrane to the entire floor in all wet areas, then the tiles were laid over a cement screed on top of that. You could get the same result using chipboard flooring and a tile underlay with a membrane but I think it's going to cost more that way.

BTW Aquatite flooring is water resistant chipboard, Bondall Aquatite is a waterproofing membrane.

[gregt]

I have already purchased the flooring as that is what I was told before finding you guys. Now I am worried I have the wrong stuff. A few questions though. I plan to build and internal wall over these sheets to seperate the bathroom from the laundry. Should be ok right? Not load bearing at all. A cement screed would be a last resort as I thought about that before and was worried about cracking tiles. Sealing it with any brusheable sealer is not a problem. I guess I should also contact the manufacturer as well (although you will probably help more).

[silentC]

I had all my floors laid with a fall to the floor waste. Sounds like you're planning to lay yours flat. I don't really know what the done thing is these days with regard to that but I like mine to fall to the waste because I hate pools of water on a bathroom floor. I'm not sure why you're concerned about cracking tiles though?

I don't know much about the Aquatite flooring but plenty of bathrooms these days are built straight over chipboard flooring. There should not be any problem building a partition wall on the chipboard, whole houses are built that way. You should also be able to lay a cement screed under your tiles if you want to build the floors up and fall to the waste like I have done.

[gregt]

OK guys, I have the floor in and levelled it. Next step is to put a membrane sealer on it right? After that I want to tile it but also would like to have a fall towards a waste outlet. I was told there are tile glues that will stick to this board but if I put a membrane on will they still work? Anyway I guess next I will need to lay a cement screed over it to get the falls required. Is there a standard type mix or anything special to be aware of here? Thanks in advance.

[silentC]

This is the bit that I always get a tiler in for. I hate it. I'm not sure what the mix is - it's sand and cement fairly dry. Ping a line around the walls at the height you want it to finish and then work it down to your floor waste. Ours was put straight over the membrane. There's a primer that goes on first, then you paint on the membrane, then the screed over that. Our tiler laid the screed then came back the next day to tile it.

But before you do that, have you put in flanges for the floor waste? The membrane needs to be lapped over the flange so that you have a completely sealed floor and any water that gets through the tiles theoretically runs across the membrane and into the flange. We checked ours into the floor so that the top of the flange is flush with the flooring, then the membrane goes over that and forms a flat surface so you don't get moisture building up around the flange.

And don't forget the ally angle at the doorway to finish your tiles to. That needs to be in first as well.

[Metung]

Hey silentC, I just plugged your co-ordinates into Google Earth - very revealing. You cut a pretty dashing figure in your birthday suit. I hope I haven't been beaten to the punch on this.

[Cliff Rogers]

Have a look at this stuff, it is what we are having laid.
Ours is going on a concrete floor but it will work with a cement sheeting over timber as well.
http://www.bradnams.com.au/waterstop/Default.asp
http://www.bradnams.com.au/waterstop/BWDWaterstop.pdf
http://www.bradnams.com.au/waterstop/WaterStop_Installation.pdf

The walls are Villaboard over a timber frame with a 'licquid applied waterproof membrane' over a strip of sealent around the joins.

[OBBob]

Gees you have got good satellites over your house!!

Looks like a nice place.

[silentC]

Those are supposed to be the coordinates of the automated weather station at the airport, but they're a bit off.

My place is somewhere near by, but I'm not telling where. Don't want anyone perving on us from above!

(actually when the Google maps photos were taken, our house was still under construction, so the most you would see in that pic is the top of the chippy's head, and he always wore a hat :D )

[gregt]

Ok guys. I seem to be getting differing stories about how to put tiles over this stuff. One says that they won't stick because of the glue in the board. Another says it needs to be sealed with the right sealer but couldn't tell me which one. Another says I need to lay that 6mm tiling board over the whole lot then tile that. Isn't there a right way:?

[OBBob]

I think each way will actually work as long as you do it properly with the correct materials.

But to answer the question ... shouldn't the supplier have a 'correct way'. They usually have a customer help line, which are sometimes surprisingly good.

[silentC]

Sounds like you're not planning to use a membrane on it?

[gregt]

The board is down (I probably should have used CFC). The area is about 4mtr x 3mtr split half with bathroom and laundry. A slight fall (very slight) is away from the shower base. It is a solid base with solid sides PVC. No tiles in the shower cubicle. Anyway do I put a membrane on and then tile it or membrane then lay that tileing sheet then tile. Thanks for your help.

[gregt]

Found out it is made by the laminex group. Googled it and found this http://www.thelaminexgroup.co.nz/pdf/products/Technical%20Bulletin%20Pynefloor%20Particleboard%20in%20Wet%20Area%20Floors.pdf
Looks like a membrane MUST be used in wet areas as suggested previously. They have pretty well covered their bums in the data sheet as well. Hope this stuff goes on easy. I guess a 20ltr bucket and a roller would be the go.:2tsup:

[silentC]

I watched the waterproofer at our place do a bit. It goes on like very sticky paint. He used a small roller (about 4" I think) and a brush for the tight spots. There was a primer that went on first, then the membrane went on the next day. I think there was a tape that he put on all the joints and gaps but it had been primed by the time I saw him and so I'm not sure. It has to be continuous, so I'm pretty sure there would have been.

[Cliff Rogers]

The tiler who did ours used a big caulking gun with stuff that looked like grey glue on all the joints & corners first.

[nic]

The tiler who did ours used a big caulking gun with stuff that looked like grey glue on all the joints & corners first.

That would be bond breaker
No?

Nic

[silentC]

Yep sounds right. I recall that now - it's important to use it at the juncture betweens flooring and wall sheeting so that the membrane doesn't split with movement.

The first job I ever did after these rules came in, we used a fibreglass tape which was bonded to the wall and the floor but there was a bead of round polyurethane foam that ran around the perimeter of the room behind it and the tape was tucked around it. The theory being that the slack in the tape and the polyurethane bead would absorb any relative movement between the walls and the floor and protect the membrane. Since then, either regulations have slackened, or new products have come along that serve the same purpose because it's not required any more.

[Cliff Rogers]

That would be bond breaker
No?

Nic
Dunno, he put the sealer over that & then the green waterproofing over that.

I have (or had :rolleyes: ) some pictures but they may have been deleted in a clean up.

Just looked, they are gone, :cool: I'll upload them again.