Bathroom false wall construction

[foggy]

Picture the scene... My bathroom is 1900mm square and I have a standard 1700mm bath to go in along one wall. This'll leave me with a 200mm gap at one end, where I'm thinking to build a studwork wall around 1000mm tall across the width of the room, the plan being to house all the bath, basin and toilet plumbing inside including a concealed cistern for a back-to-(stud)work wall toilet pan. I'll also be hanging a semi-pedestal basin off the false wall. The bath tap and shower will be at the opposite end of the bath to the false wall so it's likely to be splashed from the shower and basin rather than drowned. The wall will be tiled, possibly the top shelfy bit too.

What would be the best way to construct the studwork?

I'm thinking plenty of 50x75mm timber fixed to the floor and wall, uprights at 400mm centres and braced with noggins etc. Then considering it'll be supporting the basin and finished with tiles, how would you face the wall? WBP ply, moisture resistant MDF or plasterboard?

And the top shelfy bit, how to finish it? Access to the pipes in case of emergency would be good. A length of bathroom type worktop? A tiled removeable board sealed in position with sealant? Other ideas?

Cheers!

[shimmey69]

Make sure noggins or struts are in the right area to attach sink etc to this way sink and pan are hung off wood frame rather than wall part.
Plasterboard will be fine of you fully tiling and sealing.
HTH???

[mgtony]

I done the same. Was made up from a 2x2 timber frame, the uprights and cross battens had to be set so that they were either side of the cistern incase it needed replacing and so that the tiled board would go back as close as it can to the cistern (about 200mm). I also located the timbers in the right place for screwing the basin to.
The frame is screwed at the sides and at the top rear frame piece to the back wall.
To access the pipework, using 200mmx200mm tiles, the 9 tiles (600x600mm) above the toilet are on a separate piece of aquapanel board which covers the whole area. (used instead of ply or plasterboard) which is held in place by the flushing handle and sealant instead of grout. I just run a knife around it if I need to remove it. The same under the basin with a piece two tiles wide.
For the top I put on a piece of sill board, painted white, which also lifts off to access the cistern. Did plan to eventually change it for a piece of limestone or something a bit better but it's still there.



(Ignore me in the mirror)

[Engineer1]

I'd be getting the specifications of the toilet you intend to fit I'm sure I've seen some that fit using a metal frame and others that fit using a wooden frame.

[mk1fan]

shimmey69 said:

Plasterboard will be fine of you fully tiling and sealing.

Don't bother with plasterboard, use cement board. It's the right product for the job and is robust. For such a small area the cost will be negligable.

As above, double check the fitting of your chosen pan - some come with floor brackets that need to be fitted abutting the rear face of the board finish and fixed to the floor - therefore the floor plate of the wall has to be interupted.

[CedGTV]

Engineer1 said:

I'd be getting the specifications of the toilet you intend to fit I'm sure I've seen some that fit using a metal frame and others that fit using a wooden frame.

Like this,



although there are more on the market that are cheaper.

I would also clad the wall in a Wedi board (generally comes in differing thicknesses and in 8' x 600mm lengths) as mentioned above, for a good substrate for water proofing and tiling.

[Simpo Two]

This works for me - two 600mm units:



There's a neat little Grohe cistern concealed in the unit above behind the WC, which is floorstanding so no frame required. The sink goes right back to the wall maximising floorspace ('Butt-Swinging Room' or BSR) and you get a cupboard underneath to hide bog rolls and cleaning materials.

The bath is on the other side and I tiled the 15cm gap between bath and wall to make a useful flat surface. Hence the bathroom is now 'galley style' (previously the WC was under the window). Your 200mm wall is using up a lot of valuable space.

[MuffDaddy]

Second shout for wedi or dukkaboard. Easier to work with, can be cut with a sharp knife, tiles stick to it very well and it doesn't move/swell when moist.

[dave_s13]

"No more ply" is another option.

I did similar with my new bath and the shower pipework runs behind the false bit.

I've thrown caution to the wind though and not left any pipework access. It would be a case of knocking a hole through the wall in the landing if it came to it.

[Du1point8]

I got a wooden frame that was then tiled:





resulting in this:

[Ricky_M]

If you are going to have a concealed cistern, make sure you allow access for maintenance.

Push button flush valves and equilibrium valves found in concealed cisterns often fail or play up, last thing you want is to rip off tiles to gain access.

[Du1point8]

Ricky_M said:

If you are going to have a concealed cistern, make sure you allow access for maintenance.

Push button flush valves and equilibrium valves found in concealed cisterns often fail or play up, last thing you want is to rip off tiles to gain access.

on top of the my cistern is 2 sections where the grout can be scraped off and the tiles are resting on the wooden frame... open it up and jobs a good one...

I suggested something else, were its silicon sealed instead of grouted and its a push click tile on a hinge, so cut the silicon sealant and click the tile opens... but they wanted several hundred for it no matter how I explained the design features.

[foggy]

Sterling work chaps!

I'll have much the same arrangements as mgtony albeit with a semi-pedestal basin and the bath to the left of the loo. My toilet pan is a back to the wall, the frames are necessary for the wall hung pans AFAIK. And was thinking similar i.e. to have a panel of removable tiles held in position with sealant.

All the bathroom gear has arrived so guess my project for the next few weekends... Time to get planning noggin positions and sourcing some wedi or dukka

[mk1fan]

Push comes to shove you can get Aquapanel from Wickes.

[apguy]

Simpo Two said:

This works for me - two 600mm units:



There's a neat little Grohe cistern concealed in the unit above behind the WC, which is floorstanding so no frame required. The sink goes right back to the wall maximising floorspace ('Butt-Swinging Room' or BSR) and you get a cupboard underneath to hide bog rolls and cleaning materials.

The bath is on the other side and I tiled the 15cm gap between bath and wall to make a useful flat surface. Hence the bathroom is now 'galley style' (previously the WC was under the window). Your 200mm wall is using up a lot of valuable space.

That's looks exactly what I want. Would mind revealing where you got that unit/sanitary ware from?

[Simpo Two]

apguy said:

That's looks exactly what I want. Would mind revealing where you got that unit/sanitary ware from?

No problem; the gloss white units and cherry-effect worktop came from B&Q and by market standards were cheap. WC is by Utopia (as is the delightful push-button flush, a DIYer's equivalent of an Aston Martin start button) and the washbasin came from Wickes. As I was concerned about the basin projecting into the room I 'borrowed' 3" from the partition wall and set one of the units back. Hence the unit behind the WC is cut shallower so the fronts line up.

Whether or not you can still get the styles is another matter as it was done in 2005.

Edited by Simpo Two on Thursday 10th February 00:25

[dave_s13]

Don't rule out Ebay for stuff like that.

I got all my en-suite gear from there:-

- Mira shower
- Glass shower screen
- Shower tray
- Easy plumb kit
- Short projection WC (ended up being free that one!!)
- Integrated gloss white vanity unit with basin.
- Tap
- Click clack tap waste

Saved a good few hundred quid at least and it's all just the same quality stuff you can get from B&Q et al.