Hi, I’m a DIYer refitting our bathroom, and am at the stage of laying the floor.
I’ve bought Hardibacker boards for overboarding the original floorboards (which are solid and flat). On top of that I will lay porcelain tiles.
The devil is in the detail though, and I’d really appreciate some guidance on the questions below. To help, I’ve added some pics to this post. Might be worth mentioning all the walls are all tiled bar the bottom row, and we have a new vanity unit for the sink…
1) When it comes to cutting backerboard (and the tiles ultimately) around the toilet waste and water pipe, and the vanity unit pipes, how neat should the cuts be? As a basic DIYer, I don’t have many big power drills for expert cutting, so can I just cut a rectangle (say) and slot the board/tile around those areas? That would leave a gap behind the pipes, but it wouldn’t be visible - would that need filling in with something?
2) HardieBacker say to screw or nail the boards down. Is one better than the other?
3) Do I screw/nail the boards down whilst the adhesive is wet or dry? If it’s wet, I’m imagining the adhesive being squeezed out at the sides of the board…
4) There’s a small section of slightly loose floorboard (see the pic without pipes in). The 3rd board from the shower tray has a cut from some 1st fix plumbing, creating a square section that is stiff but still wobbly by hand. Can I just board over the top of it, or should I remove it first? It must only be no more than 4 inches squared…
5) Finally, how close do I place boards and tiles to the threshold in the doorway? I’m guessing I need to buy the appropriate threshold first, fit it, then make sure the board/tile goes sufficiently underneath?
Would really appreciate any advice please…
TIA, Al.
