Plaster woes

[Longdogs]

Hi all

just started removing my old shower and tiles ready for a re-fit. The majority of the tiles came off no problem with no damage to the plaster but not the area inside the shower. The previous install was a bit of a bodge resulting in damp walls and plaster which is now easy to pull off. It looks as though someone has made a bodge in the past and added a strangely shaped piece of plaster board.

Underneath the plaster skim is what looks like a render which is also easy to remove.

I am thinking that the best way to put this right is to use backerboard ready for the new tiles but I'm not sure what to do about the plaster/render. Do I need to completely remove it then board the bare brick or is there a way of fixing the plaster enough so that I can board over it?

Many thanks for any advice.

 

[MatthewC]

This all sounds a bit modern - how old is the house and is it essentially of lime or cement mortar construction? (I can't tell from the photo but it looks a bit thin for lime.) If it i lime and that's an external wall then I personally would avoid plasterboard. In the bathroom in my Victorian house I used lime plaster on the walls and then used a minimum of tiles on the external wall - hopefully the outer wall will do the breathing for those few square metres!

 

[Penners]

I think I would seriously consider lining the wall with a tiling board, rather than trying to rescue that plaster. This would give a perfectly flat,impermeable backing to your tiles, thus avoiding a recurrence of the dampness problem. If you apply the panels over a grid of battens, this would leave an air gap behind, allowing the damp wall to dry out over time. Just be careful to design your batten grid in such a way that air can fully circulate behind the boards.

There are plenty of tiling board products to choose from - here's just one:-

https://www.travisperkins.co.uk/Knauf-Aquapanel-Tile-Backing-Board-12-5mm-1200mm-x-900mm-%281-08m%C2%B2-Sheet%29/p/991867

 

[a twig]

I think I would seriously consider lining the wall with a tiling board, rather than trying to rescue that plaster. This would give a perfectly flat,impermeable backing to your tiles, thus avoiding a recurrence of the dampness problem. If you apply the panels over a grid of battens, this would leave an air gap behind, allowing the damp wall to dry out over time. Just be careful to design your batten grid in such a way that air can fully circulate behind the boards.

There are plenty of tiling board products to choose from - here's just one:-

https://www.travisperkins.co.uk/Knauf-Aquapanel-Tile-Backing-Board-12-5mm-1200mm-x-900mm-%281-08m%C2%B2-Sheet%29/p/991867

I did exactly that, worked great for me.