Shower Enclosure Tanking - Possibly a con?

[kiteboy]

Hi guys

Just want to see what peoples thoughts are on the above

We are about to install a shower enclosure at home, and I am weighing up the tanking option

The enclosure is going against one solid oustide wall (concrete) and the other is on a stud wall that will hold the shower valve

Now we have bought aquaboard ready for the stud wall and also a tray with two tiling upstands........I would have thought that this in itself is quite a bit of protection

Anyway Ive been asking various people about this enclosure waterproofing .........one was a local tile shop owner and he looked at me funny when I asked him should we waterproof it tbh and hes been in the business years and he is well trusted and defo not a cowboy

The other was a guy in city plumbing and again he had never heared of it, altough Im not sure if he was an expert or not

Anyway my question is should we be tanking this enclosure or not

I am also wary of the large format tile we are going to have on the stud wall and the weight that they might add up too as I am aware that tanking reduces the weight holding capacity of aquaboard to around 30kg m2

I think we have plenty spare weight but Im just concerned that this whole tanking procedure is just one big money making adventure

It hasnt been around in the past and afaik only one manufactuer makes the kit for it........

Thanks for any thoughts guys

[ultimatehandyman]

I don't think it is a con, but I have not used it yet!

A couple of the guys at work have relatively new homes and both of them have had problems with the tiles in the shower area. When they have removed the tiles the backing board has been soaking wet and needed replacing. If it had been tanked then I don't think they would of had a problem like this!


There are quite a few high quality bathroom fitters/installers that come in here and I know that they all tank the shower areas before they tile.

[tim'll fix it]

aquapanel wont break down when wet but that doesnt make it waterproof

a tanking kit costs £50 and is enough to do a standard shower. For £50 I would rather have piece of mind that the enclosure was waterproof. And I tell my customers this.

most people still consider tiling a diy task which is why you get poor advice from tile shops on substrate preparation

[bstyle]

A lot of tradesmen in this country live in the past, they say they've been doing Showers for blah, blah years and never had a problem.

All I know is that I rip out a lot of Shower Enclosures and one thing is for sure, you use plasterboard in a Shower, get a crack in the grout or generally get water passing through the grout and you get problems.

It's not a gimmick, it is an essential way to build a Shower, end of story.

I think at the very least, using Tile backer board and sealing the first metre from the Shower Base is a necessity.

[Mudster]

We are pretty much the only country in Europe that doesn't consider tanking a necessity, we're in the dark ages.

Tanking is probably the single most important component of a shower build.

There is a common misconception that tiles are a waterproof barrier, they have never designed to be a waterproof barrier, just an aesthetic and hygienic finish.

I'm a stone wholesaler, I sell products to many retail outlets who are basically clueless about the products they sell. I spend as much time educating my customers (who are often in the trade) as I do selling product.

Tanking is not a gimmick by any stretch of the imagination, it's actually been a requirement for commercial installations for as long as I can remember, why it's taken so long to be adopted by the domestic side baffles me.

[kiteboy]

Ok thanks guys

Ill get the Bal kit then just to be safe

[TILER]

If you are waterproofing the walls with BAL kit, there is a BAL waterproofing animation on:

http://www.waterproofingshowers.ie/bal_installation.htm

Sealux provide the sealing system for the ledge/wall movement joint over which the wall membrane is lapped.