Can you tile onto plasterboard?

Question

Roger Bisby, of TV & Skill Builder fame, recommends tiling onto elements board, particularly in the bathroom, due to its waterproof properties. Then again, I notice most/all of the videos where he suggests this product are sponsored by the manufacturer. For balance, my professional tiler says that they would actively avoid elements board.

This leads me to the following questions.

• Is elements board really better than tiling on to plaster board?
• Is tiling onto plasterboard still the preferred method?

Answer 1

Around here (France) most tiled showers are done with waterproof drywall. There are a few caveats, and it needs to be done properly, but it tends to just work fine. For some reason cement board isn't popular.

I've used the elements board you link. It isn't 100% waterproof, because the foam is open-cell, but it sure is water resistant. It comes in various thicknesses.

They're made of open cell foam with a layer of fiberglass reinforced cement on both sides. The thinner ones cannot be used like drywall on studs because they're quite flimsy, so they need support. Foam isn't the strongest material... They're meant to be glued to an existing wall with thinset. This can be useful to make the wall flat and waterproof before laying the tile. They're also insulating, which is nice for a shower if the wall is not well insulated and cold in winter.

The thicker ones are must stronger and can be used as a more expensive but easier to work with alternative to drywall or ytong blocks.

The flimsiness of the thin panels can be used as an advantage to make curved surfaces, but this needs very small tiles or mosaic. I used it to make a conical slope in a walk-in shower with the drain in the center, and due to the insulating properties the floor gets warm very quickly.

However it still has corners which needs to be treated properly, just like drywall, with waterproof compound and moisture barrier. If you don't do the corners properly, or if the structure it's installed on moves and cracks the corners... or if there isn't enough studs and the wall bends when someone leans on it, cracking the grout... you'll be in trouble no matter what the material is.

If you want something fancy and new, that's actually useful, try epoxy grout instead.

Answer 2

Assuming that "elements board" is a UK term for some type of tile-backer/cement board...which the link states to be the case.

My logic goes like this:

Tile is one of the most expensive wall finishes, typically - in both cash expense for materials and time (more cash if not DIY.)

Using tile backer rather than drywall provides a better foundation, and reduces the odds that it will fail. In light of the cost of the rest of the job, the small saving on NOT using tile backer is questionable.

If your professional tiler prefers some other type of tile-backer, that may have to do with differences between "elements board" and other tile backers. If your professional tiler prefers drywall to any tile backer, I'd question their qualifications.

Answer 3

We had bathrooms done where there was a waterproof sealer applied to the plasterboard then the tiles applied to that and sealed with waterproof grout.

Been up over 12 years now and still as good as day 1.