How to tile over skimmed plasterboard?

Scootergirl

My European laundry reno is slowly proceeding & I am planning on tiling the floor this weekend.

The side wall was built out approx 15 cm to provide enough depth. It has now been skim coated. I’ve just realised that part of the wall that was skim coated will be tiled for the laundry trough splashback. I’ve deliberately left other areas that will be tiled as plain plasterboard as I’d read that was better for tiling.

Now I’m wondering if I need to prep the skim coated wall in any way before I tile?

MitchellMc

Hi @Scootergirl,

You were right to leave the other areas as bare plasterboard, as that's generally the easier surface to tile onto.

The skim-coated section should still be fine to tile, provided the coating is fully cured, firmly bonded and isn't a lightweight finishing/topping compound that isn't suitable beneath tiles. I'd give it a light sand to remove any high spots, thoroughly remove the dust and then apply a suitable tile primer before tiling. Dunlop specifically recommends its Primer & Additive over plasterboard jointing compounds before applying tile adhesive.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell