Fixing to stud work or battens

Timber or metal studding (1) is used to provide rigid support for the wedi Tilebacker board (4).

When the studs or battens are 75mm in dinsionsion or greater, and fixed at a rate of up to 300mm centres , wedi Tilebacker Building Board with a minimum thickness of 10mm can be used. All the board edges must be supported with any horizontal joints on cross noggings.

With studding at up to 400mm centres, 12.5mm wedi Tilebacker Board must be used and up to 600mm centres, wedi Tilebacker of at least 20mm must be used.

The board is fixed to the framework using proprietary washer PW60 and screw fixing. These are fixed at the rate of 5 per square metre at two per batten (600mm centres) The fixings must be a minimum of 30mm (5) from the edge of the Tilebacker board.

The screw fixing is tightened up to the board's surface. The washer is then driven flush to the board surface using a rubber-headed mallet and the screw is re-tightened.

A layer of adhesive is applied to joints and jointing tape (either TT25 Glass Fibre Jointing Tape or WT50 Waterproof Joint Sealing Tape) is applied while the adhesive is fresh. The tape is smoothed down with a taping knife or similar tool to remove any air bubbles and achieve a firm bedding. A thin layer of adhesive (3) is now applied on top of the tape and feathered down onto the board surface.

Tiles (7) can be applied once the taping work has set.. Again, Ardex-Flex 5001/6001 (9) is an appropriate adhesive. In wet areas, a thin solid bed fixing technique should be used to ensure there are no voids behind the tiles.

Once the bed has hardened sufficiently, the spaces between tiles can be grouted (8) with either the appropriate Ardex cement-based grout, incorporating Ardex E101 admix or the appropriate Ardex-Flex cement-based grout.

Movement joints in the tile bed, such as between adjacent walls, should be sealed with an appropriate sealant.