Tiling in wet areas such as bathrooms and kitchens

Common issues and queries you can face

Water ingress and sensitives points

  • Joints between tiles are potential sources of water ingress, even if they are water-resistant.
  • Junctions between walls and floors (wall/wall, floor/wall) are under strong constraints and often represent a source of water ingress.
  • Sensitive points around pipes, taps and fittings also frequently allow water penetration.

Consequence of water ingress in wet areas

  • Water leakage in walls lead to deterioration in adjoining rooms.
  • Some substrates, particularly gypsum plaster and plasterboard, are very sensitive to humidity and have very little strength when wet.
  • Continued water ingress will, over time, cause the substrate to disintegrate and fail. As a final result, tiles can de-bond and cause the failure of the full system.

Step by step solution

Weber solution

  1. Substrate preparation

    • Check the existing substrate and scratch existing paint coatings to roughen the substrate if needed.

    • Replace weakly bonded tiles with other tiles or fill the void with a suitable repair mortar, like weberep 331 TX or other repair product.

    weberep 331 TX or other repair product.

    Clean the substrate and remove traces of dust, oil and other contaminants.

    • Rinse the substrate and let it dry

  2. Waterproofing layer and tile adhesive

    Tiling over sand bed:

    Apply 2 layers of weberdry 210 AFC or weberdry gum, an acrylic waterproof membrane, between the concrete substrate and the sand bed. All corners should receive a band of plastic mesh or polyethylene between the 1st and 2nd layer of weberdry 210 AFC or weber band between the 1st and 2nd layer of weberdry gum. After 24 hours minimum, fix the tiles with webercol floor, a thick adhesive mortar applied above the sand bed.

    webercol floor can be applied up to 40mm thickness.

     

    Tiling over concrete/plaster:

    • Cement-based system: Apply two coats of cementitious waterproofing membrane weberdry 130 PR with a band of polyethylene or plastic mesh embedded in the 1st coat. The application of weberdry 110 FX is recommended in all corners and junctions between walls and floors. Tile with webercol flex, webercol plus, max, fast or f1 and over cement plaster or concrete with tile with webercol WP, col K, col Bond, cerafix or webercol fix

    • Apply the 1st layer of weberdry gum with sufficient thickness to plug pores, cracks, and holes. Allow to dry and apply the second layer if necessary. Wait 6 hours between a coat and another. All corners, cracks or construction joints should receive reinforcement by introducing weber band between the first and the second layer. Wait at least 24 hours after application of weberdry gum before tiling.The final thickness of the product must exceed 1mm in order to form a consistent, seamless and flexible membrane.

  3. Tile grouting

    It is recommended to leave a minimum joint width of 2mm around the tiles. Grouting should be done at least 24 hours after fixing tiles, using weberjoint perfect, a high-performance grout with Hydro Repell® and Mould Stop® technologies or weberepoxy easy to avoid the creation of fungus and to reduce water absorption from the joints.