Walk in shower Tanking Kits?

guideanna

Hi All,

This may be a diy question but it's for a new build so i'm sticking it in here!!

I'm planning on having a walk in shower in my new house and i want to find out how i should go about it.
I don't want a visable tray i want to tile the whole floor the same.

I've seen tanking kits you can buy that you use to seal the floor and surrounding walls before you tile and i'm just wondering has anyone any experience with these and can they recommend a brand to me and give me an idea of cost for the kits.

Also did any of you with walk in showers get the floor pitched? I saw these pre fabricated bases that you cut into the floor to fit and they have a pitch on them that allows the water to drain into the waste. Do i need one of these or would i be ok with just the tanking kit.
Shower will be aprox 1x1.2m

Thanks

We have a walk in shower, I used a tanking kit which worked well.

Basicialy it consisted of a tin of liquid membrane that was painted onto the walls and floor, some tape for the joints between the walls and floor and sealing glands for the pipes.

I think it costs around €80 but I bought it as part of an order of tiles so unsure exactly what it would have cost on it's own, I don't remember the brand.

A photo of our shower after tanking. http://dolanbaker.info/SelfbuildDiaryphotos/bathroomfloortanked.html

gman2k

I used a company before (from Meath afaik) who specialize in glass fibre tanking for the bathrooms/ showers etc.
They apply a resin to the surfaces, then thin sheets of glass fibre are rolled in, then more resin and more GF etc. You can do all surfaces - floor and up the full height of walls to create a fully waterproof tank that you then tile onto. There are special tile adhesives needed however. This system beats the DIY liquid membrane hands down all day every day.

There are Ebay sellers who sell the kits for same, resin, sheets of GF and rollers etc - for the DIY market.

and back to the OP's question;
If you have a level shower with the floor, then your floor needs to be cut down - slightly trickier with joists! to allow a tray to be placed insitu.
You can do the lot without a tray, and sheet the tray with WBP, but it does need to be at falls (just the shower tray area) to take the water away into the gully.
In this situation, the tanking membrane needs to be formed right into the gully itself, which is a little bit harder to do.

CJhaughey

I used both the Paint-on and the sheet membrane.
I needed to be absolutely positive about no leaks as it is in a 2nd storey timberframe house.
The floor is chipboard and I lined it out with 1/2" WBP tapering down to 1/4" and then floor level to create the fall.
I used a good coat of the paint on membrane then overlaid it with a layer of tile cement and schluter Kerdi membrane.
I had already installed a trap flush with the chipboard floor so it was relatively easy to bring the membrane down into the trap to create a sealed floor.
Schluter is about the most comprehensive system for tanking that I have seen, you can get a complete kit including the EPS shower tray that sits under the tiles.
Have a look at their website it has lots of good videos.

gman2k

Another hint - might sound obvious to some;
Ensure all WBP sheeting is screwed down (do not rely on nails as they will loosen a little)
Use non ferrous screws such as brass or stainless, and place at no more than 200mm apart.
This will ensure a rock solid base for your tanking and tiling over.

CJhaughey

And another tip, if you use Stainless screws you will need to countersink before you screw the WBP down or the heads of the screws will snap off.
I learnt this from experience.