www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

Hey all, after lurking here for a bit I've decided it's time to ask for some advice. I'm wanting to tile my bathroom from floor to ceiling but am unsure of what to do next. So far I have taken the old tiles off of the wall and am left now with a bare porous surface. My question is do I need to get the walls plastered or can I apply a primer to the wall as it is and tile onto that? Ideally the 2nd option would be great as my budget is limited right now Here is a pic of the wall. Any help much appreciated.

Is that bonding plaster or sand and cement?? In the pic it looks like bonding plaster.

No idea i'm afraid although at a guess I would say it's bonding plaster as it doesn't feel as hard as cement.

The good news is that you can't tile onto bonding plaster.

In short, you need to have the wall skimmed and let it dry out. Prime with a proper primer for tiling (not PVA). use bagged adhesive. Silicone all internal corners, around bath, basin, toilet and where wall and floor tiles meet.

use good quality bagged adhesive and grout. Bal from Topps tiles, jewsons. Nicobond from Nichols and Clarke. Marpei, which you can get from Screwfix.

Thanks for the speedy replies. A couple more questions though: how hard is it to skim the walls? Can it be done easily enough by your average DIYer?

Yes and no.....depends if the average DIY'er is already good at trowel control. Some average DIY'ers are shite hot in some areas and cack in others. Just the same for trades people, brick layers good at lining in but not too good on corner work, carpenters bang on the money at 2nd fix but hopeless at roofing.

You can always give it a go and scrape it off before it takes if it is crap, after all a bag of multi is under 10 quid.

The skim needs to be good though because it is forming the backing for the tiling. If you have a wibbly wobbly finish and you try to tile with say 250x350 tiles, you are going to struggle to get a decent finish to them unless you know what you are doing with tiling. Again, even applying tile adhesive you have to have decent trowel control.

If you decide to have a go at applying the skim coat yourself then you will have to PVA the walls and let it dry. Then PVA walls again and start plastering when that has gone tacky.

Thanks again for the advice. I think I'll give it a go, nothing ventured and all that malarky. Would this be suitable for priming the walls?

http://www.bal-adhesives.co.uk/products/prime-apd

Would Wickes 1 coat be alright to use for skimming? Sorry for asking so many questions lol

Don't go any where near one coat lol

Just normal multi finish will be fine and you can get that in Wickes if that is local for you.

The primer is fine also.

Thanks for all your advice, I can crack on tomorrow :)