# Forum Home Renovation Tiling  Can I lay tiles on plasterboard

## tangle88

I am trying to lay some wall tiles on plasterboard in bathroom, do I need to prepare the surface first?

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## barney118

I would be concerned if your bathroom has plasterboard, do you have any pics, are you sure it is not villaboard? Bathrooms require waterproofing before any tiling.

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## tangle88

> I would be concerned if your bathroom has plasterboard, do you have any pics, are you sure it is not villaboard? Bathrooms require waterproofing before any tiling.

  I think you might be right, the house hasn't been built yet so I am not sure what's going to be install on the wall :Smilie:

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## barney118

> I am trying to lay some wall tiles on plasterboard in bathroom, do I need to prepare the surface first?

   

> I think you might be right, the house hasn't been built yet so I am not sure what's going to be install on the wall

  So why would you ask if the house isnt built yet and you are trying to tile onto ....  :Confused:

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## JB1

Nothing wrong with laying tiles on wet area plasterboard. 
You need to waterproof first.  
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## tangle88

> So why would you ask if the house isnt built yet and you are trying to tile onto ....

  I need to find out some details so I can do it myself instead of getting the builder to do it :Smilie:

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## tangle88

Has anyone installed 600*600 tiles by themselves before?

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## simopimo

My neighbour got a pretty good quote for tiling of his new kitchen.  After he got the quote, he told the tiler that they were 600x600 tiles.  The tiler was not very happy!!!  So I would assume that 600x600's are more difficult than the smaller ones!!!

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## JB1

> Has anyone installed 600*600 tiles by themselves before?

  Forget DIY for that size tile unless you want a @@@@ job  
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## METRIX

> Has anyone installed 600*600 tiles by themselves before?

  Yes, and they worked out fine no lippage. 
But if you dont have any experience in tiling, then your best to stick to smaller sizes, the large format are harder to get right because of lippage.

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## tangle88

> Yes, and they worked out fine no lippage. 
> But if you dont have any experience in tiling, then your best to stick to smaller sizes, the large format are harder to get right because of lippage.

  I am looking at some leveling system available on the market, would they help on 600*600 tiles? 
Like this one: QEP&#39;s LASH Tile Leveling System - YouTube

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## BalliangBuilder

These are great for a diy with larger tiles just make sure you use a large notched trowel to ensure you get proper contact with the floor adhesive.

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## Pulse

The lash clips are good, like the others said, large notch trowel, back butter also will give you nice thick bed to allow levelling and ensure contact. 
Cheers
pulse

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## METRIX

> I am looking at some leveling system available on the market, would they help on 600*600 tiles? 
> Like this one: QEP's LASH Tile Leveling System - YouTube

  
Yes, definitively these systems will help you achieve an almost lippage free surface, the best one IMO is the Tuscan Tile System, but it is very hard to find stockist in AU, and it's expensive. 
I have seen some guys use the LASH system and the results were very good, they all complained it was hard on the thumbs, pushing the wedges in, but the system is reasonably cheap, and gives a good result. 
So IMO worth it if you want to give large format a go because they can be temperamental to lay especially with no prior experience , but as Balliang said, you need to ensure you have 100% glue coverage, large format tiles don't like having hollow spots.  Tuscan Tile Leveling System - YouTube

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## tangle88

> Yes, definitively these systems will help you achieve an almost lippage free surface, the best one IMO is the Tuscan Tile System, but it is very hard to find stockist in AU, and it's expensive. 
> I have seen some guys use the LASH system and the results were very good, they all complained it was hard on the thumbs, pushing the wedges in, but the system is reasonably cheap, and gives a good result. 
> So IMO worth it if you want to give large format a go because they can be temperamental to lay especially with no prior experience , but as Balliang said, you need to ensure you have 100% glue coverage, large format tiles don't like having hollow spots.  Tuscan Tile Leveling System - YouTube

  So I presume a 18mm notch trowel should be sufficient for 600*600 tiles?  
Thanks Metrix for advising the LASH system, I found one on ebay here : TILE LEVELING SYSTEM LASH KIT | eBay
Is this the one you talking about? 
Which glue do you recommend for large size tiles, I have seen some Dunlop ones in Bunnings but not too sure how good they are.

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## Oldsaltoz

Just to clarify, there is plaster board that has a WP (waterproof) rating. 
'Some' of the cheaper new homes install it in the Laundry and Toilet areas, note these rooms normally only have a skirting tile. 
But almost all of them use Villaboard in the Bathroom and ensuite. 
Having a thin layer of treated paper over plaster as in plasterboard is not my isea of a good system, very easy to damage when you consider it only takes a pin hole to cause a failure. 
Villaboard on the other hand is stiffer and a whole lot harder to damage. 
Good luck.   :Smilie:

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## BalliangBuilder

> Just to clarify, there is plaster board that has a WP (waterproof) rating. 
> 'Some' of the cheaper new homes install it in the Laundry and Toilet areas, note these rooms normally only have a skirting tile. 
> But almost all of them use Villaboard in the Bathroom and ensuite. 
> Having a thin layer of treated paper over plaster as in plasterboard is not my isea of a good system, very easy to damage when you consider it only takes a pin hole to cause a failure. 
> Villaboard on the other hand is stiffer and a whole lot harder to damage. 
> Good luck.

  I totally agree, we never use plaster in wet area's.

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## METRIX

> So I presume a 18mm notch trowel should be sufficient for 600*600 tiles?  
> Thanks Metrix for advising the LASH system, I found one on ebay here : TILE LEVELING SYSTEM LASH KIT | eBay
> Is this the one you talking about? 
> Which glue do you recommend for large size tiles, I have seen some Dunlop ones in Bunnings but not too sure how good they are.

  Lash system yes that is the one you have found, specialty tile stockits also sell this system and others.  Tiling Levelling Systems | Tiling Tools 
Trowel size depends on the quality of the floor, as the name suggests "notched" what this does is leave a equal sized gap between each line of glue, so when you bed the tile in, it squeezes the notches together forming a complete coverage of the tile (or almost complete), so for a 12mm notch you will end up with a 6mm bed of glue. 
I am not sure of your floor quality, but a 12mm trowel is usually sufficient, but you can go up to a 20mm if the floor is irregular as you need good coverage when you push the tile down. 
Glue, this is a hard one there are so many of them, see links below for cement based ones from Davco, it' best to speak to your local tile supplier they can recommend one suitable for the particular surface and type of tile. 
The "Dustless" type are good as they help keep dust down when pouring out of the bag, follow the manufacturers instructions for mixing, and use a mechanical mixer for a clean lump free mix, you can buy an attachment for an electric drill to help with the mixing.  ParexDavco: Australia

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## METRIX

> Just to clarify, there is plaster board that has a WP (waterproof) rating. 
> 'Some' of the cheaper new homes install it in the Laundry and Toilet areas, note these rooms normally only have a skirting tile. 
> But almost all of them use Villaboard in the Bathroom and ensuite. 
> Having a thin layer of treated paper over plaster as in plasterboard is not my isea of a good system, very easy to damage when you consider it only takes a pin hole to cause a failure. 
> Villaboard on the other hand is stiffer and a whole lot harder to damage. 
> Good luck.

     :What he said:

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## tangle88

I know before laying down the tiles, you need to check the leveling of your concrete floor. Does anyone know how to do this?

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## tangle88

> Lash system yes that is the one you have found, specialty tile stockits also sell this system and others.  Tiling Levelling Systems | Tiling Tools 
> Trowel size depends on the quality of the floor, as the name suggests "notched" what this does is leave a equal sized gap between each line of glue, so when you bed the tile in, it squeezes the notches together forming a complete coverage of the tile (or almost complete), so for a 12mm notch you will end up with a 6mm bed of glue. 
> I am not sure of your floor quality, but a 12mm trowel is usually sufficient, but you can go up to a 20mm if the floor is irregular as you need good coverage when you push the tile down. 
> Glue, this is a hard one there are so many of them, see links below for cement based ones from Davco, it' best to speak to your local tile supplier they can recommend one suitable for the particular surface and type of tile. 
> The "Dustless" type are good as they help keep dust down when pouring out of the bag, follow the manufacturers instructions for mixing, and use a mechanical mixer for a clean lump free mix, you can buy an attachment for an electric drill to help with the mixing.  ParexDavco: Australia

  Thanks METRIX, that's a very detailed explanation. 
Another thing confuses me is the Expansion Control joints, do I really need this for my floor?  I assume my floor will be pretty level as it will be fresh concrete slab poured by my builder. Tile & Stone Trims | Tiling Tools

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## METRIX

> I know before laying down the tiles, you need to check the leveling of your concrete floor. Does anyone know how to do this?

  You can put a level across it if the distance is small, if it is large, put a string line down close, say under a few bricks, , pull it tight and put a few bricks on the other end and you will see any discrepancies.
Unless your floor is really bad then you dont need to worry about this as you will adjust for any uneneness with the tiles and a small level as you are laying them.

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## METRIX

> Thanks METRIX, that's a very detailed explanation. 
> Another thing confuses me is the Expansion Control joints, do I really need this for my floor?  I assume my floor will be pretty level as it will be fresh concrete slab poured by my builder. Tile & Stone Trims | Tiling Tools

  Expansion joint don't have anything to do with the floor, but with your tiles, if your distance is over a certain length, say 10m you would require an expansion joint, the reason for this is the tiles will expand slightly thrughout the year (similar to timber but at a much smaller rate). 
If you have a huge run of tiles these can expand quite a bit, if there is no expansion joint over the huge run the tiles can pop up or crack due to the pressure on them by all the other tiles  (you would need to ask the tile shop or a tiler if these are required and what distance they need to be done at). 
Floating timber floors have the same issues

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## tangle88

So does anyone know how can I get the OC if I take over the house from builder and finish up the floor myself?

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## wozzzzza

> Another thing confuses me is the Expansion Control joints, do I really need this for my floor?

  i dont do a lot of tiling but i have regularly seen floors with expansion joints in the tiles and the tiles still go pop and all bunch up, so im not convinced these are worth while or not.
for instance i have a balcony now i have to tile 5.2m long and 1.2m wide, it has 2 expansion joints along the 5.2m side and one along the centre of the other side and a bead of silicone all aorund the perimeter and still all the tiles popped the other day. go figure.  

> Which glue do you recommend for large size tiles, I have seen some Dunlop ones in Bunnings but not too sure how good they are.

   i tend not to use anything like this from bunnings as its normally crap. goto the local tile shop and get a good brand.

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