Hey friends,

I trust none of you have spontaneously combusted in the heat. Since I dedicate a significant portion of my newsletters complaining when it's not summer, I can't complain when it is. So let's crack on.

🛀 Ready For Tile

Where we left off there was some boarding still to be done at the loo side of the room. The concealed cistern is 500mm across and I only had 10mm tile backer to hand which is not strong enough to span across (20mm+ would). Instead I used a more rigid cement board which is frankly ghastly stuff to work with. Glad I only used one board of it this time.

Next up was to waterproof and reinforce the joints between boards. First I put the sealant/adhesive I used in the wet area to the test by making a little box. Once cured it was incredibly strong which bodes well for the niches. It held water but a few drips did get through.

To get the joints 100% watertight I used Marmox's excellent sticky back tape. All the tile-backer companies do a version of this tape but they're annoyingly expensive at up to £50 for a 10m roll. I went through 3 rolls which were kindly supplied as a freebie from the company (to be clear, we bought all the boards). The alternative method is to use cheap mesh tape and some waterproof tile adhesive so that's what I used elsewhere, as you'll see later, and prioritised wet areas and external corners for the tape.

You might also be able to see the glass in the window is now frosted. I thought about replacing the entire window but opted for some cheap privacy film instead. It's difficult to cut precisely but easy to apply with a spray of water and a squeegee, grout float or credit card to get the air bubbles out. I left the top clear for a view of the trees.

I then had another wait for the plumber to fit the bath waste. As I'll be tiling the sides he wanted to make sure it was leak proof so added a generous dollop of mastic and tested to see if the bath held water, which it did.

Next I could add the tile backer. This is 30mm thick marmox board which comes in a kit with adjustable legs, adhesive and tape. I bought it at the same time as the rest of the boards and stored it vertically in it's box this entire time which I think had made it twist. To remedy, I laid them flat on the floor with some heavy tiles on top which did the trick. I could then cut them to size, added copious amounts of sealant and moved it into position. It needs to be set back from the edge of the bath to allow the tile to be flush. It's trickier than it looks to get it straight and plumb.

If there is ever a leak you can cut around a tile and through the board for access, then glue it back it position and re-grout. Probably not as sensible as having a bath panel but it should look good.

Rolling back time, this wall (below) has been untouched except for installation of the towel radiator pipes. The problem with tiling direct on plaster is that it can only carry 20kg/m2 of tile+adhesive+grout. As we decided to increase our budget to large porcelain tiles I'm going to exceed this limit by 2 or 3 kg.

The obvious thing to do would be to mechanically fix tile backer over it like I did on the opposite wall but because the door architrave is so close to the wall, I don't want to reduce this further. The best thing would be to take all the plaster off and then, because it's uneven brick, I'd have to dot and dab or foam adhesive the tile backer to the brick to get it plumb then add mechanical fixings. But I really don't want to deal with more plaster and cost.

Regarding the weight limit, I'm not clear on what fails - is it the adhesive or the plaster? And does it make a difference if the plaster is on brick like this wall vs plasterboard? Assuming it's the adhesive that fails I can do something about that. The old trick was to use watered down PVA which would probably do fine in this non wet area (PVA is soluble so don't use in a wet area). SBR would be better but I found a primer made for the job. Two coats; the first watered down a bit more than the second. This gave the wall a wet look which you'll see in a sec.

Because of what I'll be doing with the underfloor heating I also applied it to the chipboard floor.

Electric underfloor heating cables come in mats like this:

This matting is then tiled over. According to British Standards you're not supposed to tile direct to wooden substrates (ply, chipboard, floorboards) so a tile backer is needed. 6mm would do. Even if tiling onto concrete or screed an insulated tile backer is preferable so the heat is pushed upwards through the tile rather than sucked up by the concrete. This is likely the best option for wet rooms where the floor will need tile backer anyway (if on floor joists)

As our bathroom is not a wetroom and I wanted to skip the tilebacker step I went for the Shluter Ditra Heat Duo system which has a plastic membrane with stud structures to encase the heating cable. As you install the cable afterwards there's more flexibility as to which areas are heated and which are not.

The additional benefits are that it's a decoupling membrane so less likelihood of tile or grout cracking; it helps with soundproofing and this 'Duo' version has a fleece on the back which helps with pushing heat upward.

The membrane comes in sheets and is adhered to the floor with a 6x6mm square notched tiling trowel, making sure to line up all the little studs. The tile adhesive should be 'flexible' so either 'S1' or 'S2'. I used this one.

There are a few rules for laying the cable:

• min 6cm away from walls
• min 20cm from radiators or other heaters
• 9cm (3 studs) spacing between cable runs
• Not to be placed under anything that sits on a floor (sink, toilet etc)

I like this pic - it looks like I'm flying. I'm actually standing on the inner edge of the bath, clinging to the window looking like a mad man. Good thing I've obscured the windows.

Here's where it enters the wall. The white label below the cabinet marks where the hot (not to be cut) meets the cold (can be cut). This then goes into the wall, up through the conduit supplied, to the thermostat. There are two sensors placed between heating cables. Note that I changed the heating cable's direction here to accommodate the sensors into the main body of the floor. The sensor cables also go up to the thermostat. One of the sensors is a backup in case the other fails and is rolled up inside the backbox of the thermostat.

The second black conduit brings power from the switched fused spur I'd put in earlier to the thermostat (part of the kit).

It's simple to wire up:

It's a great system, in spite of the cost, and I'm glad I went for it. Levelling compound is not needed, just more flexible tile adhesive between the plastic studs when tiling.

You're supposed to do a resistance test on the heating cable before and after installation to ensure that the cable has not been damaged. Shluter sell one but Steve had his own gadget to perform the tests. Yup, I'm owing him a lot of favours lately!

The shower pump is installed which I'll cover when it's up and running. This evening I've been working out tile layout so that starts in earnest this week!

🗑️ A Clear Out

These are the main tiles we'll be using stored in our garage. Truth be told this is about as tidy as it's been in the last year and the first time I've been brave enough to share a pic of my tool storage 🙈.

My corded tools have been sold or given to friends, yet there's so much more I've hoarded (I've written about this affliction under 'the wealthier you are the less stuff you need').

Do you think I have enough screwdrivers?

For years I've had this vague notion that one day I'll be blessed with bountiful time and energy to restore some of my grandfather's old tools but being honest with myself, it's unlikely to ever happen so these have all gone in the recycling. I've still kept a few vintage hand planes though.

For the things I'm keeping I've been trying to group them together to make them easier to locate such as:

painting and decorating

tiling

electrics

plumbing

sanding

etc

But then there are those tools which just don't quite fit with anything like my glazing hammer which would be at home with my hammers or my door and window bits. I'm sure there's no perfect system but I'm open to suggestions.

Anyway, could you identify these for me please?

👋

Hit "reply" if you've got any comments on this week's newsletter – otherwise I'll see you next time. Have an epic week :)

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