Tanking for Showers and Wetrooms

Tanking is the provisioning of a waterproof membrane to a substrate to ensure protection against moisture and to prevent water ingress.

At Atlas Ceramics we recommend Weber.sys protect  as it is a ready mixed system that is suitable for under tiles and gives additional protection to water sensitive substrates such as wood or plaster. Tiles themselves are unaffected by water due to their composition; however getting a complete seal at the grout joints is where the difficulty lies.

Weber.sys protect  comes in two sizes – a shower sized kit which includes 4kg of the membrane, 10m of BE14 re-inforcing tape and also 1kg of PR360 primer and is perfect if you just need it for the one job. We also range a 7kg bucket of the membrane as a standalone product, along with tapes and primers; this is so tradesmen can buy bigger supplies to ensure they have enough for any job they may be undertaking.

With regard to applying the system, it is all in the preparation. All surfaces need to be clean, completely dry, and free from dust, grease or any other barrier which could contaminate.

Any existing covering (plasterboard etc) must be sound and capable of supporting the expected load from your new tiles/shower etc. If there is any flaking paint – this needs to be scraped off; please note that emulsion paint is not a suitable covering with this system. So if you have emulsion walls– it will need to be removed prior to tanking.

Any porous surfaces such as plaster or cement will need to be primed and left for 2 hours to dry. 1kg of PR360 primer is included in the shower sized kit.

 With regard to the application of the membrane – you will need to make sure that the area where you intend to apply the membrane is no colder than 5 °c and no warmer than 35°c; the substrates are not frozen, thawing or in direct sunlight and that any  underfloor heating  is off and the floor is cool.

Apply a coat of the membrane to the corners, angles and around any protruding pipework with a flat brush and also along any joints.

Place strips of the BE14 reinforcement tape along the angles and cut to size to ensure perfect fitting in corners. Make sure that you take care not  to damage the tape; work it into the protec membrane and smooth down with a flat trowel. Ensure that you do not cut the tape short at corners, overlap the strips and bed into the membrane.

Apply the first coat to the area with a roller and apply in one direction only (top to bottom or left to right).

As soon as the first coat is dry to touch; apply a second coat again with a roller in a 90° angle to the first – This is to ensure the membrane is applied evenly to the surfaces.

Finally leave the membrane to dry for at least 12 hours before affixing tiles to the surface. Please see the video below for a tanking system demonstration by the people of Weber.

If you have any further queries, please contact the Atlas Team by phone on (01425) 621173 or via email: info@atlasceramics.co.uk