Tiling over tiles in bathroom - waste?

[bythebay]

Hi everyone,
I'm new to the forums and have enjoyed going through and reading through the old threads.

I am planning to tile over the existing tiles in by bathroom, but I am not sure what to do around the waste in the middle of the floor. I had a tiler come out and give me a quote to do the work for me (but since I am on a budget thought I'd give it a go myself). The tiler said I would need to get a plumber to come out and extend the waste pipe up a bit higher.

How can I go about doing this myself? Do I really need a plumber?
I am thinking of changing the current white waste to something like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Shower-Waste-Square-Grate-80mm_W0QQitemZ230189205263QQihZ013QQcategoryZ20602QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I have search on the net but can't really find any instructions on what to do with the waste.

Thanks :)

[Ashwood]

Is the waste trap in the middle of the bathroom or in the middle of the shower tray? The difference is that the former may pose a trip/fall hazard if not not perfectly level, while in a shower tray, people are more likely to expect the trap to be there.

Also depends on what you want - if in the shower tray area and you're just adding a minimal additional height, then it may be a good thing to have the waste trap lower than the surrounding floor tiles - catches the water to minimize ponding. Too many shower trays or wet areas have much much too little fall, imho. Just make sure you have excellent waterproofing under your new tiles and around all joints, especially around the waste trap.

If you need to raise the height, our other members may be able to point you in the right direction on how to do it.

[pharmaboy2]

the usual method for the waste, is for it to simply sit into the hole above it. The reason is that for waterproofing to work, the water must be able to enter the waste from the screed underneath, so simply removing the existing waste carefully - ie dont puncture waterproofing, and tile leaving space for thewaste, then put waste in with the tiling glue.

[dennford]

You can buy a waste extension specially made for tile thicknesses.

Go ahead with your tiling you'll be surprised just how easy it is to get a good result.

Denn

[durwood]

I had this problem when I did my bathroom a few years ago.
I had to take up the floor tiles as they led onto tiles in the hall way and I needed to keep the floor level.

I didn't remove them in the shower as I was trying to prevent problems if the result ended with a leaky shower. So I tiled in the shower over the old tiles and cut around the drain.

I then bought another hexagonal drain fitting and cut it off so it was slighly lower than the tiles. I then fixed it in place in the depression. As the old floor didn't leak before the new one doen't either and you can't tell that there is actually two drain fittings one on top of the other.

[pawnhead]

I'd chop up the old tiles to keep the floor level low.
I am thinking of changing the current white waste to something like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Shower-Waste-Square-Grate-80mm_W0QQitemZ230189205263QQihZ013QQcategoryZ20602QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
You could also consider a Smartile (http://www.iplex.com.au/segments/plumbing.shtm):

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y266/holgerdanske/th_Untitled-Captured-01-15.jpg (http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y266/holgerdanske/Untitled-Captured-01-15.jpg)

[gorotsuki69]

I'm doing the exact same thing at the moment. As suggested by my plumber, I am simply placing a drain hole cover over the existing hole and silicon/grouting it in. This raises it up a bit to the correct height of the new tiles. It saves a lot of $$$ doing it this way

[bythebay]

Thanks for all the replies, this forum is great.

Just to clarify - if I am tiling over tiles, I shouldn't have to re-waterproof should I?

The waste is in the middle of the room, not the shower.

Dennford - do you know where I would get a waste extension?

pharmaboy2 - if I did this, how would I acheive the extra height needed? Just using a layer of the tiling glue? Is the waste meant to be fixed in so that it can't be removed - as I have one that can be removed, another that is fixed in.


So - if I bought that waste grate like in the ebay link, I could just:
- remove old waste grate
- tile around hole
- then slip in the new grate and glue in

Would that be the process?

Thanks :D

[dennford]

I got mine from a hardware shop here in W.A. that specilises in tiling. Have just spoke to them and they tell me that those adaptors are available in either 40 or 50mm from either vinidex or hardy-iplex, so I'm sure that you should have no trouble.

Denn

[celeste]

Also, Bunnings / mitre10 or any plumbers outlet.

I use the same wastes, square is so much easier to tile around. If it's a bit high you can grind the base of the metal waste down with an angle grinder, I have.


Celeste

[pharmaboy2]

hiya - if you are tiling and the tiles are8mm thick, then you are only going to lift it 10mm. I agree on the sqaure ones are easier to deal with. hopefully removing the existing one, the waste pipe below will be wide enough to get the extension of the square grate down into the hole (about 20 mm deep usually). If it doesnt fit into the hole, you will have to grind down, which will be a PITA.

If the waterproofing level is directly below the existing tiles then removing it will have to be a very careful process - maybe even some re proofing with some sika flex pro might be in order, most floors I have seen (as a renovator not a tiler) are waterproofed below the screed direct onto the FC sheet - this will be easy, just dig it out and sit the waste in tile glue (dont use silicon because water will only be able to get in over the top of the grate - you want it to be able to drain the screed too)

[bythebay]

Thanks for the replies. I went to bunnings today, and the guy said he had never heard of an extender. I said I had a couple of options -

1.) leave the surrounds of the old waste and just take out the grate. Then just sit the new waste (metal) into the tile glue and tile up to it. Might be a problem as the metal 'pipe' that extends down from the new waste may be a bit long and need to be shortened somehow (big PITA). Was that kinda along the lines of what you were saying pharmaboy2? Or do you mean remove the whole waste (both outer bit and inner grate), then slotting the square waste (with extra long extension) into it... or over it... or would it just be the tile glue holding it in place?

Celeste - was that also what you meant? using the square waste (like in the ebay link) and just putting it into the tile glue?

2.)Second option was to completely remove the old waste, and put in a new pice of pipe that is slightly smaller that the exisitig pipe to extend the height. Then put a new waste on the top. Wasn't quite following what the guy was saying with this one.

Thanks again.:2tsup:

[celeste]

Hi

I just sit them over the existing waste minus the grate and use a little plumbers sealer (the blue stuff around the bottom.) and use your adhesive to hold it in place.

The square wates are designed to sit over the pipe in the floor, so it will not slide into it, as for the extender, measure the inside of the waste extension and the inside of the waste hole, go to bunnings a look for a bit of pipe that will fit in the middle of both and cut to size. There are lots of bits and pieces in that section you can play around with.

Otherwiae go to plumtec or galvins they are plumbing wholesale and they will sell to the public. they should have something to help, but you need measurements.

Celeste