Hi,
Is there anything inherently wrong with putting ceramic wall tiles directly onto plasterboard, i.e. without it being skimmed?
Seems silly to get the plasterboard skimmed just to cover it with wall tiles, but just thought I'd best make sure first!
Thanks Dave
No - did this in my shower room and it's been fine. Probably the hardest test in a house.
Absolutely.
It really depends on the thickness of the plasterboard I've been told. If the plasterboard is 12.5 mm thick then it should be OK to tile directly on top of it, but if the plasterboard is only 9.5 mm thick it might not take the weight of the fully tiled wall.
The 12.5 mm thick plasterboard can take around 32 Kg / sqMtr which is just above the weight of tiles and adhesive (around 28 Kg / sqMtr) for that size area, but
9.5 mm plasterboard only take 17 Kg / sqMtr so is not quite strong enough to take the weight, and it doesn't make it any better that it may get a little damp.You're going to cover the plasterboard over with something, no matter what, so make a little hole with a wide bladed screw driver and make sure the plasterboard is 12.5 mm thick before you start.
BigWallop
Where do these figures come from? I would have thought that a distributed load such as those you have quoted would apply to the plasterboard when used for ceilings. In this case the tiling (or other covering) applies a bending load to the plasterboard. When vertical, all load is transfered through shear on the fixings to the supporting wall behind.
Anyone else any figures and sources for plasterboard loads?
A better argument for the thicker board would be its resistance to bending when it is leant on! This would obviously tend to crack grout and potentially loosen tiles.
Phil
Surely this would depend on many things?
Well, if the plasterboard gets damp it's a different matter, as being cardboard the tiles will fall off anyway. If it's a wall, and tiled from the bottom, the tiles themselves will take some of their own weight. Also, tiles don't all weigh the same.
Your calcs might well apply to a ceiling, though.
See paragraph 8 on this page:
Also paragraph 2 on this page:
Also, the tile fixing section on this page:
There's also some details on this page:
I was staying with friends earlier this year while getting my house into a livable state. Some of the silicone on their shower was a bit iffy, so I offered to re-do it. Shower has been there for about 10 years. Found that the grout had cracked over time, and water got behind the tiles. Several fell off, and the plasterboard was soaking behind. That was with two layers of plasterboard, too (which at least meant the second layer wasn't too wet).
Doing my shower I didn't take the risk, and used aquapanel instead of plasterboard. It can get soaked, and doesn't matter. Well worth it. They've now replaced the first layer of plasterboard with aquapanel, too.
I agree. You get this stuff from Wickes - look for "Good Ideas Leaflet" no
54 on their website
I did this with no difficulty. However I found that the plasterboard can get soggy when applying the adhesive directly, so I applied a coat of diluted PVA first. This worked with no problems. For a shower or very damp areas you should probably use the moisture resistant plasterboard (greenboard?).
Derek
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