Wood walls in bathroom

[plumbers mate]

My bathroom walls are wood panels - not cladding but wood on the main "studding"? of the lath and plaster wall - behind the wood is the back of the next room's plaster. The wood looks like the 1970's favourite pine cladding but is Victorian pine. The outside wall has the wood on the inside and behind that the structural double thick brickwork.
Presumably the victorian builder tried to pinch an inch or so of extra space?
However, I want an over bath shower - the present yucky green suite (avocado?) has to go and if I'm getting a new bath I'll get an over bath shower too .
So how do I waterproof the walls? I don't want to remove the wood but think it shold be covered with something and then tiled. This will preserve the integrity of the building even if it is hidden - the history will still be there. Most houses in the street have taken the wood off and replaced with plasterboard and tiles. Is there a lighter weight form of pre waterproofed "stuff" which I can fasten to the wood before tiling part of it?
The wood only goes down to what was the level of the (long since gone) cast iron bath which is how I know what the structure is.
Would I be better off taking the bullet firmly between my teeth and removing the wood on the two walls around the top and side of the bath?
Money is short and skills negligable.

 

[Penners]

If you want to preserve the wood visibly, how about cladding the shower area walls with transparent acrylic sheet? To avoid rot, it might be best to put spacers behind the fixing points, so that there's a small air-gap between the plastic and the wood.

There is a cheaper alternative (styrene, I think), but it's best avoided because it cracks very easily.

 

[DaveBrigg]

I had a similar dilemma, with similar constraints, only the walls are old lath and plaster. I used plasterboard screwed into the wall studs and then tiled it. I know that plasterboard and water don't mix, but was wary about using marine ply in case it expanded and made the tiles fall off. As a precaution, the plasterboard stops about an inch above the height of the bath, so that a leak around the top of the bath will not allow the water to reach it. Two years on and there have not been any problems, although if the grouting failed, things could get tricky.

 

[Lime]

The situation described is not a good one.
Water and condensation combined with wood is a difficult situation that only has one clear answer, lots of ventilation.
However I understand why that may be very undesirable in a bathroom.
covering up the wood in some fashion may provide a quick fix but I doubt it will be good long term.
Much depends on the ventilation (if any) behind the wood together with how damp the brickwork may get at certain times.
Up to now any moisture content in the brick walls has been able to escape through the interior wood covering but protecting the wood on the inner side may prevent further escape of moisture and allow it to get damp.

 

[MdB]

I've been reading up on tiling and bathrooms recently and came across the following points which you may find useful:

Aquapanel - Using aquapanel for a base for tiles is better than plasterboard as it doesn't fall apart when wet. It still allows moisture through though.

Waterproof tile adhesive - Is waterproof in the sense that it doesn't turn to mush when wet but like aquapanel it will let moisture through.

Professional tilers (not me - haven't done any yet) seem to use plasterboard + tanking system or aquapanel + tanking for shower areas. The plasterboard option seems to be more popular, I guess on cost grounds though it does sound a bit risky to me.

(I would welcome any corrections to the above by those in the know)

I guess my solution to your problem would be old pine boards, vented air gap (if possible), plastic sheet, aquapanel, tanking system, waterproof adhesive, tiles, waterproof grout. I don't like the sound of Penner's idea I am afraid.

 

[Cloudscape]

I'd never put plasterboard anywhere near water. For me, I'd be thinking about Aquapanel (rigid, fairly inert, waterproof and great for tiling on) on vertical battens. If the tiled area is tall enough so the top is above eye level, I might leave the top open, if breathability is a consideration. Aquapanel is quite heavy. If/when the tiled area was removed, the only evidence it was ever there, should be the screwholes?

 

[Penners]

I've used Aquapanel in the past, and been impressed with it as a material, despite its weight and cost! Its density could also lend some additional strength to what sounds like a rather insubstantial wall.

Initially I was under the impression that PM wanted to keep the wood visible, but having re-read her original post I think I was wr... wr... no - sorry, I just can't say it.

But yes, Aquapanel and then tiling would seem like a sensible formula.

 

[plumbers mate]

Thanks for the comments - I would Love to leave the wood visible but suspected it would not be possible.
Aquapanel sounds good to someone used the "Exp..sive" word and said it is heavy. Sounds like it could pull the panels off the battens/studding or whatever the bits are called. If I left a gap at the top, wouldn't water condensing off the ceiling (also wood panels) trickle down the back?
Suspect it might have to be plaster board and tiles as price is a big factor and as I'm retired, have very little spare cash and no hope of getting anymore. It is also a heavy option though --- Think I'll buy a tin bath for the kitchen and use a watering can shower instead.
It would be so much easier if I had no heart and could rip it off as others in the street have done - but I couldn't do that (it would be physically impossible - like throwing a book into a skip).

 

[Gervase]

If you use plasterboard then get the green-faced stuff which is meant for bathrooms, and make sure you tank it well using something like the BAL tanking system, which seals all joints with a textile and then coats everything in a waterproof rubberised polymer. If you then tile onto that using a flexible but waterproof tile adhesive you'll have a sound and watertight bathroom, and what lies beneath will remain safe, sound and dry. For the joint between the bath and the tiles consider using one of the flexible two-part seals like Trimseal or Sealux, which will allow for the small movement in wooden floors and still maintain a neat watertight seal. Don't rely on silicone, as it will eventually fail, and will look tatty even before it fails.

 

[MdB]

What Gervase has said, ties up with what I have read on various tiling forums.