When tiling in wet areas such as bathrooms, showers, wetrooms, pools, etc. it is vital to make the correct product selection to avoid costly failures.
Ensuring your wetroom, bathroom or shower installation is fully waterproof is perhaps the most important part of any developer’s work, because tiles, tile adhesive and tile grout on their own will not inherently protect against water damage.
Did you know that the British Standards (BS 5385) and NHBC Standards 2023 both state, that in wet areas or areas of repeated or persistent wetting, backing surfaces should be protected by a suitable tanking system.
BS 5385 Part 4 states that the use of a ceramic tile together with an impervious tile grout and tile adhesive are NOT a substitute for a tanked or waterproofed bath, shower or wet room installation. The effects of water damage are well known and documented.
Therefore, using a suitable waterproofing (or tanking) product – such as new BAL Waterproof 1C – is a prerequisite for a wet room installation, either within the building structures or ideally on the substrate surface prior to the application of ceramic of natural stone tiles.
Waterproofing on the substrate surface is often ideal as this ensures water is prevented from tracking through a screed for example into other areas.
In a wet room, waterproofing should be specified on both walls and floors.
Available now, BAL Waterproof 1C is a ready-mixed tanking solution that can be used without priming on most common substrates* and is ready to tile after only two hours!
Formulated with fibre-strand technology for improved strength, it can be applied in one-coat on walls and floors with a brush, roller or 4mm notched trowel.
No additional tapes or matting are needed as it is crack-bridging from 2-3mm.